Bridging Knowledge Gap : A Key to Improving Water Resources Management Prof. Mohan Reddy Junna Principal Researcher-Irrigation IWMI-CA Tashkent, Uzbekistan

IWMI’s Project in CA IWRM (SDC) Water Productivity Improvement Project (SDC) Small Transboundary Rivers (SDC) Groundwater (OPEC fund) Mapping Irrigated Areas of Selected Projects (GIZ) Salinity Mapping in Iraq (Australian Aid) Water Use Efficiency of Potato crop under drip irrigation (BMZ)

Problems at Field Level Actual Practice in Developing World KNOWLEDGE & PRACTICE OF IMPROVED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Irrigation Water Management Globally, more than 75% of water is used in Agriculture sector Water Use Efficiency is low Reasons: – Design and Operation Issues Related to Water Delivery (Typically a Government agency) – Design and Operation Issues Related to Water Use at Field Level (‘farmers’)

Water Supply Systems (Canals) Old design concepts developed during – Mono-crop – Inadequate communication facilities – Limited types of water control structures WE still continue to teach more or less the same even today. Today’s education is weak in fundamentals and heavy in TOOLs.

Problems at WUA level Inadequate infrastructure Fluctuations in flow rates received Accessibility to information on irrigation norms Inequity in water distribution Low collection rate of water charges & economic sustainability Management Capacity

Problems at Field Level Performance of Irrigation Systems is still low at field level. Furrow irrigation is still is dominant and affordable method for field crops Irrigation extension system is either very weak or non-existent Still expect on-farm water management to improve! But HOW?

Problems at Canal Level Inadequate structural control Fluctuations in flow rates->flow depths in main canals Inappropriate structures Inequity in Water Supply to different WUAs Unreliability in Water Supply

Approaches There is no ‘quick fix’ to …. Irrigation improvement is an “Evolutionary Process” and must be institutionalized Solutions have to come from “within” that fit the social, economic, political and environmental conditions Revamping water curriculum

Capacity Building Needs – Inadequate preparation in basic principles of irrigation and drainage systems: For example: Design and evaluation of furrow irrigation, level-basin/furrow irrigation systems. Design and evaluation of sprinkler/drip irrigation systems. What are the modern canal structures ? How do you estimate the actual ET of widely spaced crops such as orchards?

Capacity Building Needs There seems to be over-emphasi s on tools such as – EXCEL-based solutions – GIS applications – Use of software without knowing what is inside the software Less emphasis on irrigation science and engineering, particularly with respect to modern technologies

Performance Management of Canal Deliveries using Web and Mobile Phone Technologies- India

Web-based SMS technology for Irrigation Scheduling  Use Weather stations, Web-based technology, and Mobile phone technology for disseminating information on irrigation scheduling to farmers (thousands of farmers)  SMS technology is used in South Africa for Irrigation scheduling  Web and SMS technology for information on water deliveries.  IWMI is implementing RS, Web and SMS technology in four countries in Africa, and India.  WE proposed to introduce this in Fergana Valley in the next Phase of our projects

Use of Remote Sensing, Web and SMS Technologies for Irrigation Scheduling

Use of Web-SMS Technologies within WUAs for equitable distribution of water (Idea)