scholarly journals Actions and measures for mitigation drought and water scarcity in agriculture

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leszek Łabędzki

Abstract The paper characterizes the phenomena of droughts and water scarcity in Polish agriculture and their impacts on crop yield. Various preventive measures should be undertaken to mitigate the harmful effects of droughts and water scarcity. The most important is the development of water resources. To accomplish this aim, small scale water retention projects and irrigation development programs should be further implemented in many provinces of Poland. Effective use of irrigation water, optimization of water distribution, crop rotation, rehabilitation and modernization of the existing irrigation systems, soil reclamation are the examples of other measures. The pressure for increased water supplies is intensifying in Poland. That is why there is an urgent need to improve the uniform national plans of drought and water scarcity mitigation including guidelines on how to prevent and counteract the effects of water scarcity in agriculture and to release recommendations stating the most adequate measures to be undertaken.

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Machmoed Effendhie ◽  
Arif Rahman Bramantya

The purpose of this study is to track the introduction of the irrigation agency (Watershappen) in the Vorstenlanden area Surakarta and Yogyakarta as well as effects on the relationship between farmers, farmers and plantation owners. In addition, this study aims to understand the patterns of institutional change and the water distribution system in the Vorstenlanden region and consequently on agriculture and plantation. State involvement in the problem of water distribution in the Vorstenlanden area causing a collision between a proportional system that has been done by the traditional farmers with absolute system applied state. As a result, irrigation conflicts arise between plantation because of the use of a watershed point for some plantations. Conflicts between plantations and farmers because of water scarcity due to the autonomy of the estate in the distribution of water to agricultural land and conflicts between farmers as water encroachment without the knowledge of other farmers. 


Author(s):  
Zulhadi Lalu

Irrigation facilities is one of the key factors in farming, especially for food crop farming, including rice. A smallscale irrigation system has an area of less than 500 hectares, and it is the backbone of family food security which in turn will lead to national food security. Damage irrigation system networks will threaten food production increase. In the future, irrigation infrastructure must be better managed so that agricultural sector can realize agricultural diversification, conserve wider irrigation system and maintain local wisdom and social capital in irrigation management. The objective of the paper is to analyze performance, problems and solutions of small irrigation systems in Indonesia, including small irrigation concepts and understanding, small irrigation performance and development, small irrigation development policies, factors affecting smallscale irrigation development, investments, and prospects. The paper also compares various performances, problems and solutions of small irrigation systems in other countries. Small scale irrigation performance is often better than large-scale irrigation, in the sense of water availability throughout the year and equitable water distribution for all service areas


The conservation of water resources through their optimal use is a compulsory for countries with water shortages in the arid and semi-arid regions, and it should be in an environmentally friendly manner to avoid the serious consequences of the use of environmentally harmful substances, the implications of which are currently evident from climate change, pollution of water bodies, soils, etc. Since Egypt is one of those countries suffering from water scarcity and uses about 82.5 percent of its water consumption in agriculture, according to data of the Ministry of Irrigation in 2010, so this research is focusing on the use of new methods to increase the efficiency of irrigation water, to achieve high productivity of agricultural crops with less water use that will certainly help to alleviate or solve the water scarcity issue. The study used a physical based model, to simulate the methods used to increase sand soil properties to ensure larger water retention index. Within this work, soil have been sampled from different areas, to simulate the behavior of arid lands, under different water retention techniques. Soil was exposed to different techniques, as it was mixed with soil additives in different quantities and different types. Physical barriers of cohesive soil and polyethylene sheets were used in addition to studying the effect of mulch on water storage capacity in noncohesive soil. Water retention have been measured using the direct method of determination soil water content by oven drying and the volumetric water content (𝞱v ) with time graphs have been plotted in groups, as well as the cultivated plants have been monitored as to measure the influence on plants growing and irrigation efficiency. And the experiment showed that the use of rice straw (RS) and wheat straw (WS) in the powder condition have a significant effect in increasing in the soil water content and even to the plant growth, the WS obtained 𝞱v values approaching the loam soil at times and slightly less in the case of RS, when the percentage of RC and WS was 30% to the sandy soil volume/volume (v/v). Also the use of mulch of RS showed a noticeable increase in 𝞱v and significant improvement of plant growth to that without mulch. These proven technologies can be used in sandy land targeted for reclamation to reduce water use in agriculture.


Author(s):  
Jane Rowling

The Lincolnshire lowlands owe their existence to a long-term programme of formal and informal drainage, by which the landscape has been managed since the Roman period. The public bodies that have held responsibility for this drainage, namely the Commissions of Sewers followed by the Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) from 1930, are often perceived as solely aiming to remove water from the land as quickly as possible. Recent water management planning in Lincolnshire has begun to explore the idea of water retention, but, as this article will show, this is not a new idea. Far from keeping water out at all costs, Lincolnshire’s drained, farmed landscape is a porous one, which has benefited from a long history of deliberate, managed flooding and small-scale sacrifice of valuable agricultural land to water. This is a lacuna which exists in both the academic literature, and in the stories people involved in the drainage boards tell about themselves.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Smart Mhembwe ◽  
Newman Chiunya ◽  
Ernest Dube

Smallholder farmers across Zimbabwe have been facing a problem of food insecurity because of climate-induced droughts and lack of effective use of irrigation schemes. Rainfall patterns in the country have become more unpredictable and inconsistent with the traditional farming seasons. Faced with such challenges, many smallholder farmers in Shurugwi district in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe adopted small-scale irrigation schemes to improve food security. The principal objectives of this study were to examine the status of the irrigation schemes in the district; analyse the need to rehabilitate small-scale irrigation schemes; assess the initiatives towards the revival of irrigation schemes; establish the benefits that can accrue to smallholder farmers from small-scale irrigation schemes and discuss challenges faced by smallholder farmers in the running of small-scale irrigation schemes in rural areas. This qualitative study employed literature and interviews to obtain data from 40 purposively selected participants. The direct observation method was used to compliment the interviews. The findings of the study were that small-scale rural irrigation schemes have the capacity to significantly transform the lives of rural farmers through earning increased reliable income from farming if institutional and capacity issues of the farmers are addressed. Furthermore, the study found that small-scale irrigation schemes can also be a panacea to food security challenges mainly faced by rural households. As such, the article concluded that irrigation schemes are fortress and antidote to the effects of climate change. The study calls for capacity promotion on technical skills for the farmers, the establishment of many new irrigation schemes and the rehabilitation of the existing small-scale irrigation schemes in the country as well as calling on the farmers to adopt climate-smart irrigation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 652-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
KW Easter ◽  
S Zekri

This paper examines the reform of water and irrigation management in Africa and compares it with similar reforms in Asia.  Several things are evident from the review.  First, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is at an earlier stage of irrigation development and reform than Asia.  Second, the articulated need for reform is much stronger in Asia than it is in SSA.  Third, the productivity of small-scale irrigated farms is significantly lower in SSA compared to Asia.  Thus any irrigation investment strategy in SSA should be different from Asia and focus on increasing small-farm productivity as well as small-scale irrigation projects.  Finally, all direct government irrigation investments should be done jointly with decisions regarding the type of project management.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Postacchini ◽  
Giovanna Darvini ◽  
Fiorenza Finizio ◽  
Leonardo Pelagalli ◽  
Luciano Soldini ◽  
...  

Pump-As-Turbine (PAT) technology is a smart solution to produce energy in a sustainable way at small scale, e.g., through its exploitation in classical Water Distribution Networks (WDNs). PAT application may actually represent a suitable solution to obtain both pressure regulation and electrical energy production. This technology enables one to significantly reduce both design and maintenance costs if compared to traditional turbine applications. In this work, the potential hydropower generation was evaluated through laboratory tests focused on the characterization of a pump working in reverse mode, i.e., as a PAT. Both hydrodynamic (pressure and discharge) and mechanical (rotational speed and torque) conditions were varied during the tests, with the aim to identify the most efficient PAT configurations and provide useful hints for possible real-world applications. The experimental findings confirm the good performances of the PAT system, especially when rotational speed and water demand are, respectively, larger than 850 rpm and 8 L/s, thus leading to efficiencies greater than 50%. Such findings were applied to a small municipality, where daily distribution of pressure and discharge were recorded upstream of the local WDN, where a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) is installed. Under the hypothesis of PRV replacement with the tested PAT, three different scenarios were studied, based on the mean recorded water demand and each characterized by specific values of PAT rotational speed. The best performances were observed for the largest tested speeds (1050 and 1250 rpm), which lead to pressure drops smaller than those actually due to the PRV, thus guaranteeing the minimum pressure for users, but also to mechanical powers smaller than 100 W. When a larger mean water demand is assumed, much better performances are reached, especially for large speeds (1250 rpm) that lead to mechanical powers larger than 1 kW combined to head drops a bit larger than those observed using the PRV. A suitable design is thus fundamental for the real-world PAT application.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1154
Author(s):  
Chao-Chih Lin ◽  
Hund-Der Yeh

This research introduces an inverse transient-based optimization approach to automatically detect potential faults, such as leaks, partial blockages, and distributed deteriorations, within pipelines or a water distribution network (WDN). The optimization approach is named the Pipeline Examination Ordinal Symbiotic Organism Search (PEOS). A modified steady hydraulic model considering the effects of pipe aging within a system is used to determine the steady nodal heads and piping flow rates. After applying a transient excitation, the transient behaviors in the system are analyzed using the method of characteristics (MOC). A preliminary screening mechanism is adopted to sift the initial organisms (solutions) to perform better to reduce most of the unnecessary calculations caused by incorrect solutions within the PEOS framework. Further, a symbiotic organism search (SOS) imitates symbiotic relationship strategies to move organisms toward the current optimal organism and eliminate the worst ones. Two experiments on leak and blockage detection in a single pipeline that have been presented in the literature were used to verify the applicability of the proposed approach. Two hypothetical WDNs, including a small-scale and large-scale system, were considered to validate the efficiency, accuracy, and robustness of the proposed approach. The simulation results indicated that the proposed approach obtained more reliable and efficient optimal results than other algorithms did. We believe the proposed fault detection approach is a promising technique in detecting faults in field applications.


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