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Agricultural Water Management (agricultural + water_management)
Selected AbstractsPolitics, Plurality and Problemsheds: A Strategic Approach for Reform of Agricultural Water Resources ManagementDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 6 2007Peter P. Mollinga Starting from the assessment that past efforts at reform in agricultural water management in developing countries have achieved very little, this article argues that a fundamental change is required in the approach to policy and institutional transformation if the present deadlock in the internalisation of ecological sustainability, human development/poverty alleviation and democratic governance into the ,core business' of water bureaucracies is to be overcome. ,Social engineering' approaches need to be replaced by ,strategic action' approaches that acknowledge the inherently political character and the plurality of actors, institutions and objectives of water management , a perspective operationalised here around the notions of ,problemshed' and ,issue network'. [source] Water fluxes at a fluctuating water table and groundwater contributions to wheat water use in the lower Yellow River flood plain, ChinaHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 6 2007Jianfeng Yang Abstract Capillary upflow from and deep percolation to a water table may be important in crop water supply in irrigated areas of the lower Yellow River flood plain, north China. These fluxes at the water table and the variations of the capillary upflow in relation to crop evapotranspiration need to be investigated to quantify the effect of a water table on soil water balance and to improve agricultural water management. A large weighing lysimeter was used to determine daily crop evapotranspiration, daily capillary upflow from and daily percolation to a fluctuating water table during a rotation period with wheat growing in a dry season and maize in a rainy season. The water table depth varied in the range 0·7,2·3 m during the maize growth period and 1·6,2·4 m during the wheat growth period. Experimental results showed that the capillary upflow and the percolation were significant components of the soil water balance. Three distinctly different phases for the water fluxes at the water table were observed through the rotation period: water downward period, the period of no or small water fluxes, and water upward period. It implied that the temporal pattern of these water fluxes at the water table was intimately associated with the temporal distribution of rainfall through the rotation period. An empirical equation was determined to estimate the capillary upflow in relation to wheat evapotranspiration and root zone soil water content for local irrigation scheduling. Coupled with the FAO-Penman,Monteith equation, the equation offers a fast and low cost solution to assess the effect of capillary upflow from a water table on wheat water use. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Assessment of the water,salinity crop production function of wheat using experimental data of the Golestan province, Iran,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 4 2009A. R. Kiani stress hydrique; stress de salinité; fonctions de production; blé Abstract Optimisation of agricultural water management in arid and semi-arid regions requires the availability of water,salinity crop production functions. A two-year experiment was conducted in the northern Golestan province of Iran to assess the water,salinity production function of wheat. The treatments in the experiment consisted of four levels of irrigation water, i.e. 50 (W1), 75 (W2), 100 (W3) and 125 (W4) % of crop water requirement, and four levels of water salinity, respectively 1.5 (S1), 8.5 (S2), 11.5 (S3) and 14.2 (S4) dS,m,1. The plots were arranged in a randomised complete block design with three replications and water quantity as main plot treatment and water quality as subplot treatment. The data were analysed using linear, quadratic, Cobb,Douglas and transcendental functions, complemented with an economic analysis. The results indicate that for the given climate,soil conditions, transcendental functions best predict wheat yield under both water and salinity stress conditions. Yield reduction caused by a unit increase of matric potential is found to be larger than that caused by a unit increase of osmotic potential. The marginal rate of technical substitution indicates that each one of the two factors studied, namely soil salinity and water supply, can be substituted with the other in a wide range in order to achieve equal amount of yield. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. L'optimisation de la gestion de l'eau agricole dans les zones arides et semi-arides nécessite de savoir la relation entre l'apport d'eau selon sa salinité et la production végétale. Une expérience de deux ans a été menée dans le nord de la province du Golestan en Iran pour évaluer la fonction de production de l'eau saline sur le blé. Les traitements expérimentaux consistaient en quatre niveaux d'apports d'eau soit 50% (W1), 75% (W2), 100% (W3) et 125% (W4) des besoins en eau des cultures, et quatre niveaux de salinité de l'eau, respectivement 1.5 (S1), 8.5 (S2), 11.5 (S3) et 14.2 (S4) dS,m,1. Les parcelles ont été disposées dans un bloc de Fisher randomisé avec trois répétitions avec la quantité de l'eau comme variable principale et la qualité de l'eau comme variable secondaire. Les données ont été analysées en utilisant les fonctions linéaires, quadratiques, Cobb,Douglas et transcendantes, complétées par une analyse économique. Les résultats indiquent que, pour un climat et un état du sol donnés, les fonctions transcendantes donnent les meilleures prédictions du rendement de blé en condition de salinité et de stress hydrique. La baisse de rendement causée par une augmentation d'une unité de potentiel hydrique est plus importante que celle causée par l'augmentation d'une unité de potentiel osmotique. Le taux marginal de substitution technique indique que chacun des deux facteurs étudiés, à savoir la salinité des sols et l'apport d'eau, peuvent être largement substitués l'un à l'autre pour viser rendement identique. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Investments in agricultural water management for poverty reduction in Africa: Case studies of Limpopo, Nile, and Volta river basinsNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 3 2008Munir A. Hanjra Abstract Much of Sub-Saharan Africa is burdened with water scarcity and poverty. Continentally, less than four percent of Africa's renewable water resources are withdrawn for agriculture and other uses. Investments in agricultural water management can contribute in several ways to achieving the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and ensuring environmental sustainability. Increased yield and cropping area and shifts to higher valued crops could help boost the income of rural households, generate more employment, and lower consumer food prices. These investments can also stabilize output, income and employment, and have favourable impacts on education, nutrition and health, and social equity. Investments in agricultural water management can cut poverty by uplifting the entitlements and transforming the opportunity structure for the poor. The overall role of investments in agricultural water management in eradicating hunger and poverty is analyzed. This paper contributes to the present debate and efforts to identify strategies and interventions that can effectively contribute to poverty reduction in Africa. It provides an overview of population growth, malnutrition, income distribution and poverty for countries in three case study river basins , Limpopo, Nile, and Volta. With discussions on the contribution of agriculture to national income and employment generation, the paper explores the linkages among water resources investments, agricultural growth, employment, and poverty alleviation. It examines the potential for expansion in irrigation for vertical and horizontal growth in agricultural productivity, via gains in yield and cropping area to boost the agricultural output. Factors constraining such potential, in terms of scarcity and degradation of land and water resources, and poor governance and weak institutions, are also outlined. The paper argues that increased investments in land and water resources and related rural infrastructure are a key pathway to enhance agricultural productivity and to catalyze agricultural and economic growth for effective poverty alleviation. 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