No. 15 (119) September 2006

57^th ICID EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING, 3^rd AFRO-ASIATIC ICID CONFERENCE
AND 7^th CONGRESS ON MICRO IRRIGATION

Three events of the ICID were organized on 10-16 September in Kuala Lumpur under the program of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), with the active participation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-industry of Malaysia. They were attended by the delegates from the most of the National Committees on Irrigation and Drainage, leaders of work teams, committees, representatives from the World Bank, FAO, ADB and others. The regional conference was held under the slogan “Irrigated agriculture as an effective driving force for progress”. The main objectives of the conference were:

• to assess the current status of agricultural production and need for transforming the sector;
• strengthen the legal framework in regard to agro-industry;
• disseminate state-of-the-art technologies for increasing food production;
• adapt innovation strategy and policy in agricultural management;
• promote optimum land and water use;
• focus attention on the promotion of research activities and development of a knowledge base for product output.

The Conference considered the issues of organization, policies; management; economics, research and development. A great number of papers were presented by China, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Iran, Thailand and others.

The Conference emphasized a few of the main ways for irrigation development and efficiency improvement:

• to consider irrigation as a strategic way for improving water productivity and producing more food of best quality;
• modernize large-scale irrigation schemes, especially in Asia;
• introduce new approaches into use and strengthen such systems enabling to sharply raise equity and sustainability in water use;
• strengthen equal access to land and water resources, providing social justice and equal opportunities;
• involve the capacity of the civil society in improving irrigation efficiency per water unit as much as possible.

The excellent results of the development of irrigation and its role in the progress of the area were demonstrated by hosts of the Conference – the Ministry of Agriculture and Department for Irrigation and Drainage of Malaysia.

The irrigation system and integrated project “North-West Selangor: Agricultural Development” covers 19,000 ha of irrigated paddy fields and 80,000 ha of drained and partly irrigated lands, where dry crops and plants such as palms, vegetables, legumes (“women’s fingers”), coffee, coconut and others are grown. The old irrigation system constructed by the English in 1936 gave low crop yields and was of poor interest to the local people. According to the National Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, a project was approved in 1978, under which the work with a total cost of US$84 million was done on the reconstruction of irrigated lands and drainage of paddy and surrounding lands. In 1990, $8.4 million and then other $2.04 million were allocated for the reconstruction of these lands. The work included: leveling, drainage, lined canals with outlets, roads, and power transmission lines. About $95 million invested by the government in the reconstruction and development of this massif were entirely repaid and had a significant social effect. If the crop yield of one rice season at the beginning of the project amounted to 2.4 t/ha, then in 2003 it was 7.13 t/ha under the average value of 4.76 t/ha for the whole country. Each hectare of paddy gives 2 harvests a year, enabling to receive 14 t/ha on average, and some farmers receive 20 t/ha or even more. In general, the system gives 270,000 tons of rice a year! High incomes made it practically possible to save 60,000 people from poverty and searching for food. If 67% of the population lived below the poverty level in 1977, then in 2002 this percentage reduced to only 10%, and in 2004 the poverty was entirely eliminated. The basis for high incomes of farmers – net profit is $800/ha – consists in careful observance of techniques: annual planning, application of a necessary number of fertilizers and pesticides, careful regulation of water level in check, differentiated for various periods – 20-25 cm before sowing, 5 cm in sowing "in water”, 10 cm in vegetation from 20 to 90 days, remaining of water in 90 days, and full unloading of checks. The crop is harvested by combines directly into machine bin. The farm associations are successfully working in the field of provision with seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, mechanisms, water regulation. The well-developed credit line enables to immediately meet the need for funds. The government finances all measures for water supply, land reclamation, water gauging (on average $1.9 million a year – or $10 per hectare of drained lands and $55 per hectare of irrigated lands), provides training for farmers, controls the quality of seeds, organizes plant protection. The associations of farmers begin investing in processing produce: cleaning and shattering grain, working wood from plantations and so on. It is necessary to note preferential taxation of farmers (farms pay only 0.4% of net profit for land tax – $3.2 per ha).

Over the thirty years, the half-savage coastal massif changed into a well-organized rural built-up region provided with all necessary communications, schools, local administrations and sufficiently comfortable farm-houses.

The analysis made by the Institute of Global Environmental Studies (Kobe, Japan) showed that the success of organization in Malaysia and poor organization in India and Indonesia are largely explained by that in Malaysia as opposed to these two neighbors, much attention is given to eliminating rather socio-economic obstacles than “water” obstacles in irrigation efficiency such as sustainability and quality of labor, delivery of fertilizers, energy, mechanisms. Furthermore, it is important to know that there is a lack of lands, credit opportunities, and finally, living conditions of farmers. A system of governmental support to farmers removing these factors should be organized.

The same aspects were highlighted in the papers presented by China, especially: strengthening he role of the government in water policy, introducing a water pricing system that stimulates water supply, intensifying the assistance to WUAs, organizing a training network for farmers and water specialists of WUAs, establishing Consultative Centers for introducing new water conservation technologies.

The Congress on Micro-irrigation considered the progress in the introduction of drip irrigation and sprinkling in the world. According to the ICID, FAO and other sources, these methods enabled to make the irrigated area 6 and 33 million ha respectively or less than 20% of the total irrigated area. The leader in both the positions is the USA – 1.9 and 13.3 million ha. In five countries – Israel, Jordan, Libya, Austria and Italy – all lands are irrigated by these methods. So-called "low-cost micro-irrigation systems", which cover more than 250,000 farmers in an area of 50,000 ha in developing countries, gained some distribution. The irrigation of greenhouses in the world amounts to 0.75 million ha and is rapidly growing. The main issues impeding the introduction of these methods are:

• the need for additional energy and growth in the cost of energy for providing pressure;
• the application of micro-irrigation requires developing a special cultivation technology for each crop, without which it is ineffective. Practically, micro-irrigation changes the character of irrigated agriculture as a process;
• micro-irrigation cannot be recommended everywhere: the area for its application should thoroughly be analyzed and economically grounded. The priority should be given to valuable crops in water shortage zones and especially gravity systems;
• a special attention should be given to system operation and personnel training.

Prof. Victor Dukhovny

ACTIVITIES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

This section is dedicated to international non-governmental organizations with a view to wider involvement of Russian-speaking audience in their activities.

Details: www.cawater-info.net/int_org/index_e.htm

WORLD WATER COUNCIL (in Russian only)

The World Water Council was established in 1996 in response to increasing concern from the global community about world water issues. Its mission is to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels, including the highest decision-making level, to facilitate the efficient management and use of water in all its dimensions and on an environmentally sustainable basis.

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THE ASIA-PACIFIC WATER FORUM

The goal of the APWF is to contribute to sustainable water management in order to achieve the targets of the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific by capitalizing on the region’s diversity and rich history of experience in dealing with water as a fundamental part of the human existence. Specifically, the APWF shall champion efforts aimed at boosting investments, building capacity, and enhancing cooperation in the water sector at the regional level and beyond.

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