Issues and Opportunitiesin Water and Agriculture

Sectors of OIC Member States

Dr. Shahid Ahmaddr_shahidahmad2001@yahoo.com

Irrigated Farming Systems •Qanat Irrigation • Irrigation in Wet and Dry Mountains• Spate Irrigation •River Basin Irrigation • Pressurized Irrigation•Desert Farming

Qanat Irrigation

Spread of Qanat Irrigation

Qanat Irrigation System

Inside the Qanat

Qanat Irrigation System and House Cooling

Qanat in Iran

Qanat in Iran

Qanat in MENA Region

Kareze in Pakistan

Kareze in Pakistan

Kareze Rehabilitation in Pakistan - IUCN

Issues•Higher O&M Cost - Reduced

availability of skilled labour•Drying of Kareze due to

indiscriminate development of deep tubewells – depleting regional groundwater• Poor are losing livelihoods• Less priority for Qanat farming • Impacts on social system

Opportunities• Sustainable groundwater abstraction

system for all sub-sector of water use•No energy requirement• Social and cultural bonds within rural

society•Modernization potential – lining of

tunnels with PVC Pipes in Balochistan by IUCN• Social equity in distribution of water•Millennium old technology

Mountain Irrigation

Dry Mountain Irrigation in Afghanistan

Dry Mountain Irrigation in Pakistan

Wet Mountain Irrigation in Pakistan

Wet Mountain Irrigation in Indonesia

Issues• Glacial and snow-melt diverted from higher

elevation and used in highly coarse soils• Snow-melt and runoff in wet mountains • Low irrigation efficiency• Use of chemical agriculture polluting

freshwater ecosystms• Removal of forest plantation and

development of cultivatd lands • Sedimentation of water channels• Seasonality – reduced flows in winter• Small land holding and integrated farming –

subsistence level

Opportunities• Potential for use of sprinkler and drip

irrigation using hydraulic head and generating hydro-power• Moving towards high value fruits and

vegetables – deciduous fruits – apples and cherry• Isolated environments ideal for seed

production – potatoes• Value addition in nuts and fruit drying• Mountain Drip Farming - development of

commercial scale orchards using drip irrigation without land leveling

Spate Irrigation Systems

Spate Irrigation Scheme, Shebo Headworks, PishinBuilt 1880

Spate Irrigation in D. I. Khan - Pakistan

Spate Irrigation Yemen

Issues• Extreme climatic variability – too

much or too less water•Droughts and floods•Heavy sediment load – mud flow• Small land holdings• Variable size of command area•Difficult to manage flows under

extreme hydrologic conditions – difficult hydraulics• Focus on grain crops and fodders

Opportunities• Largest resource of water in some of the

OIC member states – Balochistan province and FATA in Pakistan, Yemen, etc.• Cascade of Storage Dams - storage of

flood water to control damages of floods and release water in drought years• Niche area – production of organic

produce as sediments in Spate flows is rich in nutrients• Potential area for food security – wheat,

oilseeds and pulses

River Basin Irrigation Systems

Nile River Basin

Nile River Basin – Farming in Egypt

Indus Basin River System

Indus Basin Irrigation System

Indus Basin Irrigation Farming

Issues•Water scarcity and seasonality•Non-equitable distribution of water•Waterlogging and salinity•Abstraction and use of poor quality

groundwater•Water pricing and recovery not

adequate for O&M• Low Irrigation Efficiency • Low Water Productivity

Opportunities• Potential to increase irrigation efficiency

from 40% to 55% under surface irrigation• Potential to double the productivity of

crops • Improved drainage will supplement water

productivity• Potential to focus on high value crops,

fruits and vegetables• Contribute to national economy and

provide employment to around 60% of population in Pakistan

Pressurized Irrigation Systems

Saudi Arabia Centre Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation System

Centre Pivot Sprinkler in Saudi Arabia

Libya Kufra Desert –Man-made River and Desert Farming

Centre-Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation in Sindh

Centre-Pivot Sprinkler Irrigation in Punjab

Issues• Increasing water demand• Profitability of farming reducing in

traditional farming systems• Availability and high cost of labour in

traditional irrigation system • Low irrigation efficiency• Extremely low water productivity• Surface irrigation difficult in sandy and

clayey soils and undulating topography• Increasing value of water and competing

water uses

Opportunities• Potential to double irrigation efficiency • Doubling crop productivity• Effective conservation tillage practices to

build organic level of soil• Enhancement of quality of produce• Suitable for heat and frost control• Suitable for fertigation and chemigation • Potential to reduce the cost of fertilizers

per unit of produce

Desert Farming

Issues•Water at premium - extremely short•Undulating topography •Coarse textured soils•Marginal quality of groundwater• Low profitability of desert farming

system•High crop evapotranspiration

requirement

Opportunities• Tripling irrigation efficiency and

productivity of crops• Localized irrigation reduces wetted

area• Potential to use marginal quality

groundwater – as salts accumulate in the periphery of the wetted area• Excellent for creeper-type vegetables,

melons and arid horticulture

Overall Opportunities•Wide diversity of irrigation farming

systems in OIC Member States •Rich experience - e.g. Qanats – Iran

a leading country – experience of millenniums • Experts and leading institutions in

Water and Agriculture •R&D capacity and institutions• Identification of lead country and

networking opportunities

Way Forward•Water – a most critical input in

agriculture of OIC member states•Need for shift in focus •Water, farming and food security – a

function of Irrigation Farming Systems•Networks based on Irrigation

Farming Systems

Way Forward• Decentralized Networks in OIC States having

Centre of Excellence• Egypt – Pressurized Irrigation and

Commercial Farming• Pakistan – River Basin Surface Irrigation and

Arid Mountain Farming • Yemen – Spate Irrigation• Iran – Qanat Irrigation • Indonesia – Wet Mountain Rice based Farming• Saudi Arabia – Desert Farming

• Linking Decentralized Network by COMSATS

Way Forward• COMSATS facilitate establishment of

Decentralized network in member states based on their level of excellence in a specific area• Members offer the support for

establishment of specific networks • Good example - Global Spate Irrigation

Network and Chapters in Pakistan, Yemen and Ethiopia