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Irrigation expansion is critical for agricultural and rural development, food and nutrition security, and climate change adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Lack of accessible energy for irrigation development due to limited off- and on-grid infrastructure and the resulting dependence on costly fuel-based irrigation have been key inhibiting factors for irrigation expansion in the region. Off-grid solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) can overcome many of the energy access and other challenges in the region, but their uptake has been slow. Given the nascent development of the solar irrigation sector in SSA, this paper combines a review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature with key informant interviews to identify systemic barriers to the adoption and growth of solar-powered irrigation. We identify uncovered risks, lack of incentives, and lack of capacity as the key factors limiting the adoption of solar-powered irrigation. Moreover, despite significant global cost reductions, solar-powered irrigation systems remain costly in SSA due to limited market development and geographical constraints. Lack of regulation and low investment in building local institutions and value chains further affect uptake and inhibit leveraging the energy transition for ensuring food security and agriculture-led poverty alleviation in SSA. We propose a move away from thinking of SIPs as “silver bullets” and towards a systems approach and the design of context-specific solutions to address risks, incentives and capacity challenges.

This paper examines the inequity in irrigation distribution in India using a variant of Theil's entropy measure for the period 1995–2010. The analysis reveals that the level of inequity in irrigation distribution has increased over time. Inequity has declined in canal, tank and well-irrigated systems and increased in the tube well-irrigated system. Decomposition analysis revealed that regional disparities have declined in all sources of irrigation except for tube wells. The role of property rights to groundwater, groundwater markets, energy pricing policy and competitive deepening of wells in worsening the inequity in access to groundwater resources is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering changes in irrigation planning and development due to climate change is necessary to avoid system failure. This study demonstrated that changes in dependable flow and diversion water requirements in the future due to climate change will reduce potential irrigable areas. Climate change were based on the published projected climate in the study area. The dependable flow derived from successfully calibrated and validated Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model streamflow simulations and the diversion water requirements based on the CROPWAT estimations of irrigation scheme were used to assess the potential irrigable areas. Substantial reductions in potential rice production areas (-4% to – 39%) were largely due to dwindled dependable flow (-1% to -25%) and an increase in diversion water requirement (+ 7% to + 26%). Reduction in potential irrigable area was projected during dry and normal years and may worsen towards the late twenty-first century under the worst-case climate scenario. Swelling of rivers during wet years will increase stream flows and potential irrigable areas but may also pose a danger of flooding. The development of water storage structures is necessary to reduce the adverse impacts of too much water during the wet years. Crop calendars should also be retrofitted to optimize the use of available rainfall during dry and normal years and climate-proof future irrigation systems. The results showed that it is necessary to incorporate climate change in irrigation planning and development. The methodologies described here could be used to climate-proof future irrigation systems in other areas in the Philippines and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Much research on environmental issues in Turkey has focused on conflictual state-led projects, for example on the large-scale GAP irrigation schemes or hydroelectric plants. This article shows that, in a complementary way, it is also necessary to study less contested projects, since power struggles for control over natural resources tend to occur in the implementation and everyday management of these as well. It analyses the everyday dynamics of negotiations and the arrangements found locally during the implementation of the national programme ‘1000 gölet in 1000 days’. Gölet, hillside reservoirs built for irrigation, enabled the government to demonstrate its involvement at a very local level in numerous villages in Turkey. However, the complex implementation of these numerous and relatively small projects compelled agents of the hydraulic administration to negotiate the transfer of their management to local actors. Taking irrigation cooperatives in the Izmir region as a starting point, this article highlights how the shaping of social arrangements for managing the new water resource depends both on local and supralocal power relations. It challenges the idea of a monolithic state disconnected from homogenous communities of irrigators, and reveals the flexibility of these relations. It focuses on the way actors – not only irrigators but also state officials at the local level – adapt norms, bend rules and find arrangements in order to shape new water institutions and infrastructure.

To foster poverty reduction in drought-prone Araucanía, the Chilean Irrigation Commission is planning an important expansion of irrigated areas. Scenarios incorporating climate change (2030–2059) were simulated for a pilot basin using the WEAP water allocation model, showing that larger irrigated areas, coupled with higher temperatures and less precipitation, are likely to cause severe seasonal water scarcity. As decision support for the planning of effective measures to increase drought resilience, we modelled the construction of two upstream reservoirs combined with higher irrigation efficiency. We find that unmet water demand can be reduced by up to 97.7% by these measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several field trials and laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the activities and processes of the development of the field irrigation systems at ElMahmoudia area, El-Beheira Governorate, Egypt, during the successful growing seasons winter 2016/17 and summer 2017 to investigate the effect of irrigation systems improvement projects on water productivity. The measurements were conducted in a tertiary canal (Mesqa) at the head of Nekla canal (Arafa Mousa Mesqa). Water consumption values for different crops were calcaulated, and water application was calculated through calibrating the capacities of the pumps and recording the operation hours. The most important results were as follows: Applied irrigation water decreased after irrigation improvement. Applied irrigation water for wheat, rice, maize, sweet potatoes and watermelon before irrigation improvement were higher than the corresponding values after irrigation improvement by 9.0%, 15%, 11%, 15% and 10% respectively. The productivity of wheat, rice, maize, sweet potatoes and watermelon increased after irrigation improvement by 7.0%, 4.0%, 3.0%, 8.0% and 9.0% respectively. Water productivity increased after irrigation improvement, and the increase ratios for wheat, rice, maize, sweet potatoes were 14.0%, 16.0%, 13.0%, 20.0%, and 18.0% respectively.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The use of traditional site selection methods for potential irrigation schemes is so common in Malawi. The overdependence of these methods has had significant consequences on the environment such as pollution, siltation, and land degradation and soil erosion. Traditional selection of irrigation sites is a complex task which is time-consuming, costly and involves collection of a lot of data sets. However, advances in Geographic Information Systems present an opportunity to easily integrate complex systems involving a lot of data sets. The objective ofthis study was to identify potential areas for irrigation farming in Kasungu district in Malawi using hybrid spatial datasets. METHODS: Multi criteria decision analysis approach was used in Arc GIS 10.8 to analyze datasets such as slopes, rivers, land use, soil types, soil depths, water quality, water quantity and drainage patterns. A questionnaire was used to solicit expert views on factors to consider when siting feasible irrigation areas. FINDINGS: This study observed that the use of Geographic Information System in irrigation site selection is flexible and time efficient due to its ability of handling complex and huge volume of datasets. Moreover, the produced maps enhanced an easy understanding ofthe identified areas hence providing an aid to making right decisions in environmental management. The study found that in Kasungu district, 36.9% of the land is highly suitable, 20.7% is moderately suitable, 33.1% is lowly suitable and 9.3% is not suitable for irrigation. CONCLUSION This paper provides good information on promoting the utilization of GIS to solve site selection problems in a bid to reduce soil erosion, pollution and improve land management. The study recommends the promotion of using GIS in government agencies for better decision-making in sustainable irrigation development. The scientific approach used in this study can also be extrapolated in the assessment and evaluation ofwater resources in Malawi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Increasing agricultural productivity in Africa will have important impacts not only on the agricultural sector but also can be a catalyst for industrialization through agro-processing. Irrigation, therefore, has a crucial role in enhancing food security and reducing hunger in the region. Numerous countries in Africa consider water and irrigation management as a key factor in improving their food security and ensuring access to drinking-water for their populations. Fortunately, there is evidence from a number of places on the continent where the adoption of efficient irrigation systems has led to higher productivity among smallholder farmers. While the appropriate interventions for the diverse agro-ecological zones of sub-Saharan Africa are known, adoption among smallholder farmers still remains a challenge. Digital technology opens the vast untapped potential for farmers, investors, and entrepreneurs to improve the efficiency of food production and consumption in Africa. From precision farming to an efficient food supply chain, technology could bring major economic, social, and environmental benefits. Increasing investment and involvement of the private sector is crucial for the up-scaling of irrigation technologies. Indeed, the sheer optimism across the startup ecosystem is that extreme hunger can be cured in Africa, in this generation, by significantly transforming the industry that employs most of its citizens. This paper draws on lessons from past trends in the irrigation industry and emphasizes on novel directions to ensure that farmers, as well as other stakeholders reap the benefits associated with improved technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Turkey, the nearly total transfer of irrigation systems to the irrigation associations improved the collection of irrigation fees, but not water use efficiency. The Irrigation Associations Law initially accorded decentralized irrigation associations clear legal status as decentralized entities, but amendments to the law have restored significant government control over their administration. Privatization through service procurement and build-operate-transfer models was promoted by an enabling legal environment, but failed in implementation due to lack of consensus among stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews 40 years of irrigation development in China including the transformation of the institutional and incentive structures in irrigation management. After rural reforms in the 1970s, irrigation investments slowed until the late 1990s. In North China, farmers became major investors in groundwater irrigation, leading to property rights' transfer of tube wells from collective to private ownership. Despite positive effects in cropping patterns, farmer income and development of groundwater markets, privatisation has accelerated groundwater table deterioration. Since the middle of 1990s, Water User Associations have replaced village collective management of surface irrigation. This approach was adopted by most provinces by early 2001 with mixed results; only institutions with water‐saving incentives realised efficient irrigation. The Government is reforming water price policies to provide water‐saving incentives to farmers while not hurting their income. While China has focused on water rights and markets, and despite regulations and pilot projects, full implementation of water rights has been slow. Research reveals greater policy scope for expanding irrigation technologies that generate real water saving to rural areas. Given pressure associated with water scarcity and concern for food security, further effective reforms in irrigation and policy incentives are expected. The Government has also initiated some pilot projects to resolve increasing water scarcity problems through adjusting agricultural production activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irrigation expansion is critical for agricultural and rural development, food and nutrition security, and climate change adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Lack of accessible energy for irrigation development due to limited off- and on-grid infrastructure and the resulting dependence on costly fuel-based irrigation have been key inhibiting factors for irrigation expansion in the region. Off-grid solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) can overcome many of the energy access and other challenges in the region, but their uptake has been slow. Given the nascent development of the solar irrigation sector in SSA, this paper combines a review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature with key informant interviews to identify systemic barriers to the adoption and growth of solar-powered irrigation. We identify uncovered risks, lack of incentives, and lack of capacity as the key factors limiting the adoption of solar-powered irrigation. Moreover, despite significant global cost reductions, solar-powered irrigation systems remain costly in SSA due to limited market development and geographical constraints. Lack of regulation and low investment in building local institutions and value chains further affect uptake and inhibit leveraging the energy transition for ensuring food security and agriculture-led poverty alleviation in SSA. We propose a move away from thinking of SIPs as "silver bullets" and towards a systems approach and the design of context-specific solutions to address risks, incentives and capacity challenges. • Decentralized Energy Solutions like Solar Irrigation Pumps can accelerate irrigation access sustainably in Sub-Saharan Africa. • Identified structural reasons which have inhibited the growth of SIP in SSA through a multi-level methodological approach. • Despite cost reductions in Solar PV technology, the costs in SSA have remained higher due to a lack of market development. • Lack of technical capacities and incentives for effective institution building are major bottlenecks [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several field trials and laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the activities and processes of the development of the field irrigation systems at El- Mahmoudia area, El-Beheira Governorate, Egypt, during the successful growing seasons winter 2016/17 and summer 2017 to investigate the effect of irrigation systems improvement projects on water productivity. The measurements were conducted in a tertiary canal (Mesqa) at the head of Nekla canal (Arafa Mousa Mesqa). Water consumption values for different crops were calcaulated, and water application was calculated through calibrating the capacities of the pumps and recording the operation hours. The most important results were as follows: Applied irrigation water decreased after irrigation improvement. Applied irrigation water for wheat, rice, maize, sweet potatoes and watermelon before irrigation improvement were higher than the corresponding values after irrigation improvement by 9.0%, 15%, 11%, 15% and 10% respectively. The productivity of wheat, rice, maize, sweet potatoes and watermelon increased after irrigation improvement by 7.0%, 4.0%, 3.0%, 8.0% and 9.0% respectively. Water productivity increased after irrigation improvement, and the increase ratios for wheat, rice, maize, sweet potatoes were 14.0%, 16.0%, 13.0%, 20.0%, and 18.0% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Crop-water-land nexus accounting framework was established from blue-green water perspective. • Water and land resources jointly contributed 65.4% of grain increase in China from 2005 to 2020. • Marginal efficiency of blue water in crop system was greater than that of arable land and green water. • Water-land intensive management along southwest to northeast is beneficial for food security in China. Water shortages and diversion of arable lands to other uses represent systemic risks to global agricultural production. However, few studies have comprehensively assessed blue-green water and land resources performance in crop cultivation and grain production. This study establishes a crop-water-land nexus accounting framework that distinguishes between blue and green water. Contributions of water and land resources to increases in grain production in China in the years 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 were evaluated based on provincial-scale crop-water-land nexus accounting. China produced 580.4 Tg of grain using 805.1 × 103 km2 yr−1 of arable land per year, 76.1 % of which was accounted for by 13 major grain-producing provinces. Annual water consumption in grain production was estimated to be 614.3 × 109 m3, including 183.0 × 109 m3 blue and 431.3 × 109 m3 green water. Albeit with significant spatial variation, land and water resource inputs increased over time. Excluding agronomic improvements, blue water, green water and arable land jointly contributed 65.4 % of the national increase in grain production (185.5 Tg) from 2005 to 2020. Irrigated cropland in major grain-producing provinces dominated grain production increases and national level shifts in water resources over the period studied. The marginal efficiency of blue water (0.784 kg m−3) in grain production was greater than that of green water (0.071 kg m−3). Reclaiming reserve land, upgrading irrigation technology and improving rainwater use efficiency in the provinces along a southwest to northeast axis (e.g., from Heilongjiang to Yunnan), are effective approaches for the country to continue to increase food production in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed a geographic information system (GIS)-based decision support system in the spatial identification of a viable location for shallow tube-well irrigation development in the province of Isabela. Factors such as slope, soil type; land cover and groundwater depth were used as input parameters. Around 98% of the existing shallow tube-wells were within the suitable area. The developed map was validated using existing irrigated areas. Results show that more than 377,000 hectares were found potentially suitable locations for shallow tube-well irrigation development. These areas are characterized with a water table depth of

Abstract Past water resource developments in dryland regions rarely estimated the full suite of environmental and social impacts arising from damming and diverting water for food production. Nowadays there is a greater focus on sustainable resource development which considers the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits. A challenge is to apply tools and methods which can capture the often disparate knowledge and data describing many costs and benefits. This paper describes a proof of concept application of a large Bayesian Decision Net to estimate the total utility of water resource development according to criteria of social, economic and environmental sustainability. We focus on two water-scarce catchments in remote northern Australia which are under investigation for development. The study catchments contain a diverse set of ecosystem services and socio-cultural values, including important Indigenous values and high value freshwater ecosystems. The Bayesian Decision Net was shown to have many properties that made it useful for performing a social, economic and environmental sustainability assessment, in particular its ease of construction; its ability to handle quantitative and qualitative data types; its preservation of system knowledge and; its ease of use in aiding decision making. From the perspective of the sustainability assessment in our case study, the total utility of water resource development for new irrigation is negative in both the studied catchments. The overall utility of water resource development could be positive if irrigation development is highly sensitive to the environment and there are very low environmental impacts, and much higher net economic returns to irrigators eventuate, possibly through higher commodity prices, lower capital costs of irrigation development or some combination of both. Highlights • Development of water resources involves trade-offs between economy and environment. • Integrated social-environment-economy sustainability (SEES) assessments support trade-offs analyses. • Bayesian Decision Networks (BDNs) support SEES assessments with diverse data types. • BDN applied to irrigation development scenarios of two remote catchments in north Australia. • The economic and ecosystem service benefits of the case study irrigation developments are questionable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor performance of government-managed irrigation systems persists globally. This paper argues that addressing performance requires not simply more investment or different policy approaches, but reform of the bureaucracies responsible for irrigation management. Based on reform experiences in The Philippines, Mexico, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan, we argue that irrigation (policy) reform cannot be treated in isolation from the overall functioning of government bureaucracies and the wider political structure of the states. Understanding of how and why government bureaucracies shape reform processes and outcomes is crucial to increase the actual significance of reforms. To demonstrate this, the paper links reform processes in the irrigation sector with the wider discourse of bureaucratic reform in the political science, public administration, and organisational science literature. Doing so brings to light the need for systematic comparative research on the organisational characteristic of the irrigation bureaucracies, their bureaucratic identities, and how these are shaped by various segments within the bureaucracies to provide the insights needed to improve irrigation systems performance.

A multi-country, multi-sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is employed to evaluate the economy-wide impacts of climate change under the IPCC's A2 and B1 scenarios and existing irrigation development plans in the Nile basin. The study reveals that climate change adversely affects mainly downstream Egypt and to a lesser extent Sudan, while it results in a limited impact in the upstream countries Ethiopia and the Equatorial Lakes region, where irrigated agriculture is still limited. The economic consequences for Egypt are especially substantial if the river basin countries pursue a unilateral irrigation development strategy. In order to prevent water use conflicts and ease water scarcity conditions, a cooperative water development strategy is needed as well as economic diversification in favor of less water-intensive sectors, combined with investments in water-saving infrastructure and improved irrigation efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plethora of literature exists on irrigation-induced agricultural development (IIAD). However, these studies deal only with the theoretical arguments and to date no proper investigation has been conducted to examine the distribution of the long-term benefits of IIAD in a semi-subsistence economy. This study investigates the long-term benefit changes of IIAD using data from the rice farming sector in Sri Lanka. The results show that: (1) IIAD has increased the overall social welfare through consumption of a larger quantity at a lower price, (2) non-farm sector gains are larger than the farm sector gains, (3) the distribution of the benefits among different types of producers depend on the magnitude of the expansion of the irrigated areas as well as the competition faced by traditional farmers and (4) selective technological adoption and subsidies have a detrimental effect on the welfare of other producers who do not enjoy the same benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early and mid-1980s, two seminal papers on agricultural water management came as a shock to the international professional community. They drew attention to the fact that public irrigation is particularly prone to rent-seeking and corruption. Both papers – one by Robert Wade in 1982 and the other by Robert Repetto in 1986 – described hidden interests of the involved stakeholders in irrigation development and management that open doors to opportunistic behaviour – thus perpetuating technical and economical inefficiencies. About twenty-five years later, Transparency International (TI) in its often cited Global Corruption Report 2008 – dedicated to the issue of corruption in the water sector – made the following statement: "corruption remains one of the least analysed and recognised problems in the water sector. This report provides a first step in filling this gap" (TI, 2008: 106). The question arises as to why, through twenty-five years following the publications of Wade and Repetto, the topics of corruption and rent-seeking in agricultural water management seldom gained serious attention in international research and development. And why, strangely enough, the critical topic of rent-seeking is hardly dealt with in the above-mentioned report and even in recent publications of the Water Integrity Network (WIN). The author, drawing on thirty-five years of experience in the field of agricultural water management and on cases from research and from development cooperation, puts forward his personal viewpoint on this matter. He contends that local as well as international professionals on different levels in the water sector are caught in multifaceted conflicts between formal objectives and hidden interests – and often tend to resort to rent-seeking behaviour themselves.

The purpose of this study was to apply an innovative model of expansion to irrigation management and development in fruit exporting regions in central Chile. The model showed how external influences (globalization, climate, mountains) and complex adaptive systems (water conflicts, institutions and markets) influenced the evolution of irrigation development (the extension and emergence of novel properties) towards constructive (planned irrigation development) and destructive (climate change) futures. The model was simple, geometrical, consistent and future oriented. It was an innovative representation of expanding irrigation development and valuable to entrepreneurial water developers because it described the macro-scale processes involved in irrigation development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To promote environmentally friendly competitive agricultural economy the Republic of Slovenia, through the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013, financed construction of nine large-scale irrigation systems (LIS). Seven new projects were financed on a total area of 1753.4 ha and two modernizations on a total area of 396 ha. Supported projects are located in the Pomurje, Podravje, Posavje and Savinja Valley regions, having received 11.54 million EUR total. Investors have been successful in obtaining funds, obtaining on average 88% of the funds requested. The most intensive development of new LIS in the period 2007-2013 took place in the municipalities of Murska Sobota, Ormož and Gorišnica. Municipalities and private companies were equally important for carrying out the newly built LIS, while the farmers' cooperative was the key investor in irrigation modernization projects. In the period 2007-2013 the development of LIS was directed towards building new, rather than modernising the existing, which is the opposite to the global trend at that time. In the period 2014- 2020, it continues to focus construction of new LIS, but also recognizes the importance of modernising the existing. Slovenia in the period 2014-2020 captures to some extent the global trend of modernizing LIS, directed towards technical improvements and increase of knowledge between farmers and agricultural extensions service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]