Agricultural Water Management Interventions Research Articles

Agricultural drought risk and local adaptation measures in the Upper Mun River Basin, Thailand

Northeast Thailand is one of the country's important agricultural regions. Yet, it is frequently grappled by droughts affecting crop production as most of the cultivation depends on rain-fed irrigation. This study employs a comprehensive framework for assessing the drought risk in the Mun River basin, including hazard, exposure, and vulnerability factors. Hazard is estimated using a multivariate approach considering drought duration and severity, while exposure and vulnerability are evaluated using eighteen proxy factors encompassing physical and socioeconomic aspects. Local adaptation measures adopted by farmers to cope with droughts are an integral part of the risk assessment framework. Factors are normalized to five equally spaced categories and are aggregated using weights obtained from AHP through a survey among 50 local experts. Further, an extensive survey was conducted among 122 farmers in two hotspots with high hazards but contrasting vulnerability to investigate adaptation practices. Experts in the region perceive a higher importance of adaptive capacity than drought susceptibility while defining vulnerability. The results show that people living in areas with high hazard levels and physical vulnerability also tend to have a higher adaptive capacity to manage water scarcity. Overall, 22% of the area is under high to very high drought risk. Specifically, 14% of the area in Nakhon Ratchasima, 15% in Buriram, 8% in Surin, and 19% in Si Sa Ket provinces have very high risk. Among two hotspots, Dan Khun Thot district farmers have diversified crops and practiced various adaptive measures to build their resilience against drought and have low vulnerability and risk. In contrast, adaptation measures are implemented to a far lesser extent in the Phlapphla Chai district and have high vulnerability and risk. The education level of farmers is found to be directly linked with the implementation of local adaptation measures. The disparity in the adaptive measures adopted in two districts highlights the significance of agricultural water management interventions. Access to climate information regarding droughts, building farm ponds, and crop management practices are the preferred adaptation measures taken by the farmers. The study recommends districts in each province identified as having high risk are prioritized and supported by the local government to improve farm-level water management practices and drought resilience. It is imperative as looming climate change will further exacerbate future droughts.

Agricultural water management practices to improve the climate resilience of irrigated agriculture in India

AbstractThe projected implications of climate change for water and agriculture to meet diverse and competitive water demands requires smart water management solutions. Science‐ and evidence‐based, agricultural water management (AWM) can significantly contribute to reduce unsustainable water use and help enhance water resilience and adaptation to climate change. This paper presents a brief overview of potential AWM practices focusing on enhancing water resilience, increasing yields, and wherever possible, reducing emissions. This is achieved via increased land and water use efficiency, water and energy savings, and improved water productivity with considerable scope to improve agricultural resilience. In this context, the prioritization of a location‐specific portfolio of smart AWM practices to make the right investment decisions is very important. We present two distinct and complementary approaches to prioritize AWM practices in this paper: one follows stakeholder analysis to build a prioritized portfolio of climate‐smart AWM practices and the other employs a simple water balance‐based approach to prioritize interventions. The way forward in mainstreaming and scaling out context‐specific climate‐smart AWM interventions is also discussed with a focus on capacity building, water management extension services, and the mobilization of resources through the convergence of institutions and co‐financing from relevant development schemes.

Impact of raised beds on surface runoff and soil loss in Alfisols and Vertisols

Hydrological monitoring is crucial to designing agricultural water management (AWM) interventions. This study characterizes the soil hydraulic properties of Alfisols and Vertisols and develops rainfall-runoff-soil loss relationships through long-term hydrological monitoring. Two types of landform management techniques, i.e., raised bed and flat bed, were followed in three paired watersheds of 2–5 ha, characterized by deep Vertisols, medium deep Vertisols and Alfisols. Surface runoff and soil loss were monitored at the outlet of the respective watersheds for 8–12 years. In addition, 29 infiltration tests were conducted using a tension disc infiltrometer by applying a suction of −150 mm, −100 mm, −50 mm, and −20 mm. Soil macro porosity and hydraulic conductivity in the raised bed landform were found to be almost double those in the flat beds at −50 mm suction head in both the soil types. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was found higher in Alfisols compared to Vertisols; however, less runoff was generated in Vertisols compared to Alfisols. This phenomenon is largely explained by the high water storage capacity of Vertisols. Runoff generated from both the soils was less than 2% of total rainfall (<500 mm) received in dry years. In normal years (600–900 mm), runoff coefficient for Vertisols ranged from 7–11% of total rainfall compared to 16–17% in the case of Alfisols. However, runoff generated from fallow land was 17% in deep Vertisols due to higher soil moisture content and limited available storage compared to the cropped land. The raised bed method reduced surface runoff by 15–20 mm in Alfisols compared to 35–40 mm in Vertisols. Runoff from the raised beds was significantly lower during light and moderate intensity rainfall compared to the flat bed method; however, this difference was not significant during events of high and very high intensity rainfall. In addition, raised beds reduced soil loss by 30–60% compared to flat beds. The results of this study are useful in designing evidence-based AWM strategies under rainfed conditions.

Impact of agricultural water management interventions on upstream–downstream trade‐offs in the upper Cauvery catchment, southern India: a modelling study*

AbstractThe Cauvery basin in southern India is experiencing transboundary issues due to increasing water demand. This study analysed water balance components and the impact of agricultural water management (AWM) interventions in the upper Cauvery catchment of the Cauvery basin. Results showed that the study catchment receives an average of 1280 mm of annual rainfall. Of this, 29% (370 mm) flows downstream, 54% (700 mm) contributes to evapotranspiration (ET) and 17% (215 mm) contributes to groundwater recharge and surface storage. Rainfall varies from 700 to 5400 mm and the Western Ghats (mountain pass) are the main source of freshwater generation. The estimated ET in different catchments ranged from 500 to 900 mm per annum. An increase in the allocation of fresh water supplied by all three reservoirs (Hemavathi, Harangi and KRS) was observed in the canal command areas, from 1450 million cubic metres (MCM) yr‾¹ in 1971–1980 to 3800 MCM yr‾¹ in 2001–2010. AWM interventions harvested 140–160 MCM (13–20 mm) of surface runoff upstream of the upper Cauvery and reduced inflow into the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir by 2–6%. The study findings are useful for designing and planning suitable water management interventions at basin scale.

Modeling the impact of climate change on the hydrology of Andasa watershed

This paper was aimed to study the impact of climate change on the hydrology of Andasa watershed for the period 2013–2099. The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) was calibrated and validated, and thereby used to study the impact of climate change on the water balance. The future climate change scenarios were developed using future climate outputs from the Hadley Center Climate Model version 3 (HadCM3) A2 (high) and B2 (low) emission scenarios and Canadian Earth System Model version 2 (CanESM2) Representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. The large-scale maximum/minimum temperature and rainfall data were downscaled to fine-scale resolution using the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM). The mean monthly temperature projection of the four scenarios indicated an increase by a range of 0.4–8.5 °C while the mean monthly rainfall showed both a decrease of up to 97% and an increase of up to 109%. The long-term mean of all the scenarios indicated an increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall trends. Simulations showed that climate change may cause substantial impacts in the hydrology of the watershed by increasing the potential evapotranspiration (PET) by 4.4–17.3% and decreasing streamflow and soil water by 48.8–95.6% and 12.7–76.8%, respectively. The findings suggested that climate change may cause moisture-constrained environments in the watershed, which may impact agricultural activities in the watershed. Appropriate agricultural water management interventions should be implemented to mitigate and adapt to the plausible impacts of climate change by conserving soil moisture and reducing evapotranspiration.

Viewing Agricultural Water Management Through a Systems Analysis Lens

AbstractAppropriate agricultural water management (AWM) is crucial not only for alleviating water scarcity but also for food and nutrition security and healthy ecosystems. The multidimensional nature of AWM and inherently complex feedbacks between its components necessitate a systems approach. This paper proposes six dimensions of AWM and illustrates the importance of a systems approach using six separate, but linked, classical AWM topics. By emphasizing the whole picture of AWM and interactions among its subsystems at multiple levels, a systems approach offers the opportunity to holistically scrutinize the pros and cons of proposed AWM interventions beyond their direct effects at the locus that a single‐dimensional approach foretells.

Asssesing the effectiveness and impact of agricultural water management interventions: the case of small reservoirs in northern Ghana

Agricultural water management, particularly management of multi-purpose small reservoirs (SRs) in drier savanna areas of the northern Ghana, is being promoted as a key solution to improve agricultural production, enhance food security and livelihoods of smallholder farm households. However, little empirical evidence exist on how effective these small water infrastructures are in terms of delivering multiple benefits and their impact on the livelihood of smallholder farmers. This study assessed the effectiveness and impact of the small reservoirs on smallholder vegetable farmers in northern Ghana. A participatory rating method using a 5-point Likert-scale was used to assess the effectiveness of SRs in delivering multiple livelihood benefits and an endogenous switching regression model was applied to assess the SRs’ impact using a primary data collected from 328 randomly sampled vegetable farmers. Results from the Likert scale analysis show that most of the SRs are either dysfunctional or underutilized and not effective in delivering multiple benefits. Results from the endogenous switching regression model show that there is only about 3% increase in the income of vegetable farmers participating in irrigated vegetable production using SRs against the counterfactual situation but this change is insignificant statistically. The current low level effectiveness and impact of SRs could be enhanced by improving their management, for example, through the provision of incentive mechanisms such as subsidies to the private sector involvement in rehabilitation, management and irrigation service provision and strengthening the capacity of existing water users associations. Furthermore, small reserviors should be recognized not only as water sources for small scale irrigation but also as providers of multiple livelihood benefits to local communities and consequently should attract due attention in public resource allocation in their rehabilitation and management/institutional capacity building.

Opportunities for Agricultural Water Management Interventions in the Krishna Western Delta - A case from Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract2)Agricultural water management has gained enormous attention in the developing world to alleviate poverty, reduce hunger and conserve ecosystems in small-scale production systems of resource-poor farmers. The story of food security in the 21stcentury in India is likely t o be closely linked to the story of water security. Today, the water resource is under severe threat. The past experiences in India in general and in Andhra Pradesh in particular, indicated inappropriate management of irrigation has led to severe problems like excessive water depletion, reduction in water quality, water logging, salinization, marked reduction in the annual discharge of some of the rivers, lowering of ground water tables due to pumping at unsustainable rates, intrusion of salt water in some coastal areas etc. Considering the importance of irrigation water resource efficiency, Krishna Western Delta (KWD) of Andhra Pradesh was purposively selected for this in depth study, as the farming community in this area are severely affected due to severe soil salinity and water logging problems and hence, adoption of different water saving crop production technologies deserve special mention. It is quite disappointing that, canals, tube wells and filter points and other wells could not contribute much to the irrigated area in KWD. Due to less contribution from these sources, the net area irrigated also showed declining growth at a rate of –6.15 per cent. Regarding paddy production, both SRI and semi-dry cultivation technologies involves less irrigation cost (Rs. 2475.21/ha and Rs. 3248.15/ha respectively) when compared to transplanted technology (Rs. 4321.58/ha). The share of irrigation cost in Total Operational Cost (TOC) was highest for transplanted technology of paddy (11.06%) followed by semi-dry technology (10.85%) and SRI technology (6.21%). The increased yield and declined cost of cultivation of paddy in SRI and semi-dry production technologies respectively were mainly responsible for the low cost of production of paddy in SRI (Rs. 495.22/qtl) and semi-dry (Rs. 532.81/qtl) technologies over transplanted technology (Rs. 574.93/qtl). This clearly indicates that, by less water usage, paddy returns can be boosted by adopting SRI and semi-dry production technologies. Both the system-level and field-level interventions should be addressed to solve the issues/problems of water management. The enabling environment, institutional roles and functions and management instruments are posing favourable picture for executing the water management interventions in the State of Andhra Pradesh in general and in KWD in particular. This facilitates the farming community to harvest good crop per unit of water resource used in the production programme. To achieve better results, the Farmers’ Organizations, Water Users Associations, Department of Irrigation etc., will have to aim at improving productivity per unit of water drop used and this must be supported through system-wide enhancement of water delivery systems and decision support tools to assist farmers in optimizing the allocation of limited water among crops, selection of crops based on farming situations, and adoption of appropriate alternative crops in drought years.

Setting up agricultural water management interventions – learning from successful case studies in the Volta and Limpopo river basins

Abstract Long-term investments in agricultural water management (AWM) interventions in the Volta and Limpopo river basins have aimed at improving water availability and quality for smallholder farming systems. However, sustained and wider uptake of AWM technologies and approaches has not been as successful. We need to learn from successful AWM interventions, those interventions that have led to a sustained or increased uptake of AWM technologies or approaches, and which have led to improved well-being of farmers and livestock keepers in the rural development context of sub-Sahara Africa. This paper explores AWM interventions, specifically, the impacts these interventions have had and the factors contributing to the success of these interventions. In four countries within the Volta and Limpopo river basins, consultations were carried in 33 case studies of successful AWM interventions with implementing organisations and beneficiaries using a participatory GIS methodology. A systematic text analysis of 55 case study reports showed that these 33 interventions have had a positive impact on the well-being of beneficiaries and there was a sustained and wider uptake of the AWM technologies or approaches introduced. A clear demand for the technology, appropriate design of the technology, input support, training and capacity building, and a sense of ownership of the community helped to sustain the uptake of AWM technologies and approaches. We conclude that implementing organisations would benefit from investing in the soft components of an AWM intervention, as this will increase the likelihood of successful adoption and adaptation of the AWM technologies and approaches in the long-term.

Mapping the potential success of agricultural water management interventions for smallholders: Where are the best opportunities?

From field to basin scales, there are many appropriate interventions used to manage rainfall efficiently and productively in smallholder farming systems. Yet, successful targeting and scaling-out of these approaches remains a challenge. This paper presents an innovative approach in decision support called ‘Targeting Agricultural Water Management Interventions’ (TAGMI) with application in Limpopo and Volta river basins (available at http://www.seimapping.org/tagmi/). The online open-access TAGMI uses country-scale Bayesian network models to assess the likelihood of success for outscaling various agricultural water management (AWM) interventions at sub-national level. The web tool integrates multiple sources of expertise on the enabling environment for outscaling based on key social, human, physical, financial, and natural factors. It estimates the relative probability of success of an AWM intervention across the Limpopo and Volta river basins. Here we present TAGMI as a ‘proof of concept’, areas of high, medium, and low probabilities of success for three AWM technologies common in Limpopo and Volta River Basins: the soil water conservation/in situ rainwater harvesting technologies in rain-fed systems, small-scale private irrigation and small reservoirs used for communal irrigation purposes. We then apply a climate change scenario and discuss the robustness in potential AWM, according to the TAGMI tool. Finally, we discuss the need for generic or specific information on ‘best practices of implementation’ for successful uptake of technologies in poverty-constrained smallholder farming systems.

Performance of Small‐Scale Water Management Interventions on Crop Yield, Water Use and Productivity in Three Agro‐Ecologies of Malawi

AbstractAgricultural water management interventions play a critical role in mitigating hunger during droughts and dry seasons in southern Africa. A study was conducted in Malawi to compare the performance of improved agricultural water management interventions with traditional water management practices to assess the performance of the interventions on crop yield and water use. The study used questionnaires and focused group discussions to collect data from farmers and key informants. The results showed significant gains using regulated surface irrigation compared with unregulated surface irrigation. The results showed that yield increases of 33 and 37% for onion and tomato respectively were obtained from wetland seepage irrigation compared with upland cultivation. Treadle pump irrigation increased crop production by 5–54% compared with water can irrigation. Treadle pumps also increased gross and net incomes by ≥12%, suggesting that farmers using the treadle pump were able to realize higher incomes across all crop enterprises compared with farmers using water cans. However, there is a dire need to improve the efficiency of the surface irrigation systems for rice production because the water applied was about two to three times the gross irrigation requirement which could result in environmental degradation through increased salinity and waterlogging. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Taking stock of forty years of agricultural water management interventions in smallholder systems of Burkina Faso

Agricultural water management (AWM) strategies have been extensively studied and promoted in Burkina Faso during the past four decades. However, rainfall variability and water access continue to limit agricultural production of most of the smallholder farming systems of the country. Our goals in this paper are: (i) to review the evolution of AWM development with respect to the technologies promoted, while emphasizing the context, approaches, investments and outcomes; (ii) to explore the linkages between the evolution of AWM projects, their outcomes and their impacts on rural livelihoods; and (iii) to provide recommendations to enhance the impact of new development initiatives. Between 1970 and 2009, 195 bilateral and multilateral AWM projects were implemented in Burkina Faso, corresponding to an investment of US$ 641 million.The study of the evolution of these projects allows one to assess the reasons for their success or failure. While projects involved many technical solutions, their actual impact on livelihoods is debatable. Using an outcome–impacts framework, we provide recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness and sustainability of investments in agricultural water management.

Opportunities to Build Groundwater Resilience in the Semi‐Arid Tropics

Agricultural water management (AWM) is the adaptation strategy for increasing agricultural production through enhancing water resources availability while maintaining ecosystem services. This study characterizes groundwater hydrology in the Kothapally agricultural watershed, in hard rock Deccan plateau area in India and assesses the impact of AWM interventions on groundwater recharge using a calibrated and validated hydrological model, SWAT, in combination with observed water table data in 62 geo-referenced open wells. Kothapally receives, on average, 750 mm rainfall (nearly 90% of annual rainfall) during the monsoon season (June to October). Water balance showed that 72% of total rainfall was converted as evapotranspiration (ET), 16% was stored in aquifer, and 8% exported as runoff from the watershed boundary with AWM interventions. Nearly 60% of the runoff harvested by AWM interventions recharged shallow aquifers and rest of the 40% increased ET. Water harvesting structures (WHS) contributed 2.5 m additional head in open wells, whereas hydraulic head under natural condition was 3.5 m, resulting in total 6 m rise in water table during the monsoon. At the field scale, WHSs recharged open wells at a 200 to 400 m spatial scale.

Opportunities to Build Groundwater Resilience in the Semi-Arid Tropics.

Agricultural water management (AWM) is the adaptation strategy for increasing agricultural production through enhancing water resources availability while maintaining ecosystem services. This study characterizes groundwater hydrology in the Kothapally agricultural watershed, in hard rock Deccan plateau area in India and assesses the impact of AWM interventions on groundwater recharge using a calibrated and validated hydrological model, SWAT, in combination with observed water table data in 62 geo-referenced open wells. Kothapally receives, on average, 750 mm rainfall (nearly 90% of annual rainfall) during the monsoon season (June to October). Water balance showed that 72% of total rainfall was converted as evapotranspiration (ET), 16% was stored in aquifer, and 8% exported as runoff from the watershed boundary with AWM interventions. Nearly 60% of the runoff harvested by AWM interventions recharged shallow aquifers and rest of the 40% increased ET. Water harvesting structures (WHS) contributed 2.5 m additional head in open wells, whereas hydraulic head under natural condition was 3.5 m, resulting in total 6 m rise in water table during the monsoon. At the field scale, WHSs recharged open wells at a 200 to 400 m spatial scale.

Simulated water resource impacts and livelihood implications of stakeholder-developed scenarios in the Jaldhaka Basin, India

This paper shows how multidisciplinary research can help policy makers develop policies for sustainable agricultural water management interventions by supporting a dialogue between government departments that are in charge of different aspects of agricultural development. In the Jaldhaka Basin in West Bengal, India, a stakeholder dialogue helped identify potential water resource impacts and livelihood implications of an agricultural water management rural electrification scenario. Hydrologic modelling demonstrated that the expansion of irrigation is possible with only a localized effect on groundwater levels, but cascading effects such as declining soil fertility and negative impacts from agrochemicals will need to be addressed.

Rethinking Development Models and Irrigation Projects in Nepal

Despite decades of investment and institutional refinement, externally funded irrigation programs still exhibit low success rates and more particularly in countries facing institutional and political challenges. This paper aims at bringing fresh insights on the reasons for such shortcomings with the particular case study of a donor-sponsored program recently implemented in the Mid and Far Western Regions of Nepal.Findings indicate that the political situation and institutional system in Nepal have substantially affected the outcomes of the agricultural water management (AWM) interventions conducted by the program. Yet, beyond the influence of these contextual factors, two other (less acknowledged) mechanisms have contributed to create a gap between project objectives and outcomes: a) concepts commonly found in project documents and development discourses such as participation or empowerment are kept vague and ambiguous and lack an explicit recognition of power distribution; and b) the organizational system of many funding agencies tends to create incentives for project staff to show outcomes rather than to make impacts.These findings suggest that refi ning current models of AWM interventions is not sufficient to improve their achievements. A more radical shift is needed. A few avenues for change include to: 1) pay a greater attention to the meaning and operationalisation of common development concepts (e.g., rights based approach, empowerment or participation); 2) consider the way interventions affect power distribution among stakeholders, including communities; and 3) modify the organizational system of the funding agency to increase its downward accountability to targeted beneficiaries. To sum-up, we need to rethink development as a means of empowering governments and citizens rather than as a way to provide assistance.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7226 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.112-120

Agricultural water management and poverty linkages

Water is critically important to the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people living on less than $1 a day, particularly for the 850 million rural poor primarily engaged in agriculture. In many developing countries, water is a major factor constraining agricultural output, and income of the world's rural poor. Improved agricultural water management can contribute to poverty reduction through several pathways. First, access to reliable water improves production and productivity, enhances employment opportunities and stabilizes income and consumption. Secondly, it encourages the utilization of other yield-enhancing inputs and allows diversification into high-value products, enhances nonfarm outputs and employment, and fulfils multiple needs of households. Third, it may contribute either negatively or positively to nutritional status, health, societal equity and environment. The net impact of agricultural water management interventions on poverty may depend individually and/or synergistically on the working of these pathways. Improved access to water is essential, but not sufficient for sustained poverty reduction. Investments are needed in agricultural science and technology, policies and institutions, economic reform, addressing global agricultural trade inequities, etc. But how best to match the agricultural water management technologies, institutions and policies to the needs of the heterogeneous poor living in diverse agro-ecological settings remains unclear. This article provides a menu of promising pathways through which agricultural water management can contribute to sustained poverty reduction.