Wastewater production, treatment, and irrigation in Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the driest region of the world with only 1% of the world’s freshwater resources. The increasing competition for good-quality water has cut into agriculture’s water share but since the use of freshwater for domestic, industrial and municipal activities generates wastewater, the volume of wastewater used in agriculture has increased. About 43% of wastewater generated in the MENA region is treated; a relatively high percentage compared to other developing-country dominated regions. This is because of the perceived importance of wastewater as a water resource and several oil-rich countries with the resources to treat wastewater. The MENA region has an opportunity for beneficial reuse of wastewater but few countries in the region have been able to implement substantial wastewater treatment and reuse programs. The major constraints leading to seemingly slow and uneven reuse of wastewater are: inadequate information on the status of reuse or disposal of wastewater and associated environmental and health impacts; incomplete economic analysis of the wastewater treatment and reuse options, usually restricted to financial feasibility analysis; high costs and low returns of developing wastewater collection networks and wastewater treatment plants; lack of wastewater treatment and reuse cost-recovery mechanisms and lack of commitment to support comprehensive wastewater treatment programs; mismatch between water pricing and regional water scarcity; preference for freshwater over wastewater; and inefficient irrigation and water management schemes undermining the potential of wastewater reuse. However, some countries such as Tunisia, Jordan, and Israel have policies in place that address wastewater treatment through a range of instruments. Policymakers in these countries consider use of treated wastewater to be an essential aspect of strategic water and wastewater planning and management. With flexible policy frameworks addressing rapid demographic changes and increasing water scarcity in the MENA region, water reuse has great potential if integrated with resource planning, environmental management and financing arrangements.     

Modelling the effects of climate variability and water management on crop water productivity and water balance in the North China Plain

In the North China Plain (NCP), while irrigation using groundwater has maintained a high-level crop productivity of the wheat-maize double cropping systems, it has resulted in rapid depletion of groundwater table. For more efficient and sustainable utilization of the limited water resources, improved understanding of how crop productivity and water balance components respond to climate variations and irrigation is essential. This paper investigates such responses using a modelling approach. The farming systems model APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems Simulator) was first calibrated and validated using 3 years of experimental data. The validated model was then applied to simulate crop yield and field water balance of the wheat-maize rotation in the NCP. Simulated dryland crop yield ranged from 0 to 4.5 t ha⁻¹ for wheat and 0 to 5.0 t ha⁻¹ for maize. Increasing irrigation amount led to increased crop yield, but irrigation required to obtain maximum water productivity (WP) was much less than that required to obtain maximum crop yield. To meet crop water demand, a wide range of irrigation water supply would be needed due to the inter-annual climate variations. The range was simulated to be 140-420 mm for wheat, and 0-170 mm for maize. Such levels of irrigation applications could potentially lead to about 1.5 m year⁻¹ decline in groundwater table when other sources of groundwater recharge were not considered. To achieve maximum WP, one, two and three irrigations (i.e., 70, 150 and 200 mm season⁻¹) were recommended for wheat in wet, medium and dry seasons, respectively. For maize, one irrigation and two irrigations (i.e., 60 and 110 mm season⁻¹) were recommended in medium and dry seasons, while no irrigation was needed in wet season.     

Water harvesting and supplemental irrigation for improved water productivity of dry farming systems in West Asia and North Africa

In the dry areas, water, not land, is the most limiting resource for improved agricultural production. Maximizing water productivity, and not yield per unit of land, is therefore a better strategy for dry farming systems. Under such conditions, more efficient water management techniques must be adopted. Supplemental irrigation (SI) is a highly efficient practice with great potential for increasing agricultural production and improving livelihoods in the dry rainfed areas. In the drier environments, most of the rainwater is lost by evaporation; therefore the rainwater productivity is extremely low. Water harvesting can improve agriculture by directing and concentrating rainwater through runoff to the plants and other beneficial uses. It was found that over 50% of lost water can be recovered at a very little cost. However, socioeconomic and environmental benefits of this practice are far more important than increasing agricultural water productivity. This paper highlights the major research findings regarding improving water productivity in the dry rainfed region of West Asia and North Africa. It shows that substantial and sustainable improvements in water productivity can only be achieved through integrated farm resources management. On-farm water-productive techniques if coupled with improved irrigation management options, better crop selection and appropriate cultural practices, improved genetic make-up, and timely socioeconomic interventions will help to achieve this objective. Conventional water management guidelines should be revised to ensure maximum water productivity instead of land productivity.     

An agro-pastoral household model for the rangelands of East Africa

East Africa contains areas with some of the greatest large mammal biodiversity on the planet. These areas are key natural resources for the economic development of the region. They are also key areas for pastoralists who have co-existed with wildlife for millennia. Increasing populations, conflicts between wildlife and cattle, and the growth of agriculture, are all placing great pressure on these lands This paper describes the development of a pastoralist socio-economic model that is linked to the Savanna ecosystem model. In this way, options and scenarios could be investigated for their impacts not only on the ecosystem but also on pastoralist households and their welfare. The model, named PHEWS (Pastoral Household and Economic Welfare Simulator), tracks the flow of cash and dietary energy in pastoralist households using a simple set of rules. The model was calibrated for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), northern Tanzania. The results of two population increase scenarios are presented. Model results indicate that all households in NCA depend to some degree on outside sources of calories, and that pastoralist welfare in NCA, even with small amounts of agriculture allowed, is under severe pressure at current human population levels. Strengths and weakness of the model are discussed, and next steps in its application identified.     

Estimating the impacts of water pricing on smallholder irrigators in North West Province, South Africa

Worldwide growing water scarcity has increased the call for economic instruments to stimulate rational water use in agriculture. Furthermore, cost-recovery is now widely accepted as a cornerstone of sustainable water management. In many developing countries, where agricultural water use is often still subsidised, water pricing policies are developed for allocating water efficiently and achieving sustainability of water systems. However, the impacts of water pricing policies on irrigation water use and on farm production systems is mostly unknown. We introduce an innovative two-stage methodology that allows estimating these effects at farm level. Applying the method to small-scale irrigators in South Africa, we show that water demand is quite responsive even to small changes in water price. In addition, the introduction of a water price significantly decreases farm profit. This appears to be a problem primarily for the poorer farmers.     

A package of water management practices for sustainable growth and improved production of vegetable crop in labour and water scarce Sub-Saharan Africa

A package of water management practices including pitcher irrigation method and water conserving techniques of manure application and mulching is experimented for sustainable growth and improved production of cucumber crop in Makanya village in North Eastern Tanzania. The increase in total yield due to package of water management practices is 203 per cent and water use efficiency obtained is 12.06 kg m⁻³. The seasonal water requirement of cucumber crop under package of water management practices ranges from 146.30 to 198.10 mm, which is on an average 4.19 times less as compared to control treatment of can irrigation. The irrigation interval in package of water management practices is 4.9 times higher than the can irrigation method. The water and labour uses are reduced by 75.9 and 73 per cent, respectively in package of water management practices. The results showed that the self-regulative nature of pitchers and moisture retention by water conserving techniques is helpful in mitigating water stress in crop root zone. The moisture retention period in soil is increased assisting reduction of labour hours required in irrigation. In local context, the water management practices included in the package are easy to understand, adopt, operate and maintain.     

Productive efficiency and allocative efficiency: why better water management may not solve the problem

It is commonplace for scientists and professionals who are not part of national and communal water discourses to have very clear views on what is economically and environmentally sound. They are certain of the fundamental principles which they claim should guide the development of policy. They believe that it will be possible to communicate the idea that `more can be achieved with less' and that `better water management' is something over which there can be a consensus. It will be demonstrated in the following analysis that only some ideal water allocation and management options are politically feasible. More importantly, it will be shown that the measures from which the most water use efficiency gains can be achieved are the ones for which `political prices' would have to be paid. These optimum options are, therefore, rarely addressed.     

Spreadsheets for water management — a case study from the Brantas Delta,East Java

The use of commercially available spreadsheet programs for scheduling of water supplies for large scale irrigation networks is a relatively new phenomenom. The paper describes the development and application of such a program for a 30 000 ha irrigation scheme in the Brantas Delta, East Java. The program has been in use for day-to-day scheduling of main system supplies since April 1986, during which time refinements and adjustments have been necessary to formulate a working package. The paper draws conclusions regarding the value of the program for improving water management.     

Irrigation scheduling strategies for cotton to cope with water scarcity in the Fergana Valley, Central Asia

The Central Asian countries face high water scarcity due to aridity and desertification but excess water is often applied to the main irrigated crops. This over-irrigation contributes to aggravate water scarcity problems. Improved water saving irrigation is therefore required, mainly through appropriate irrigation scheduling. To provide for it, after being previously calibrated and validated for cotton in the Fergana region, the irrigation scheduling simulation model ISAREG was explored to simulate improved irrigation scheduling alternatives. Results show that using the present irrigation scheduling a large part of the applied water, averaging 20%, percolates out of the root zone. Several irrigation strategies were analyzed, including full irrigation and various levels of deficit irrigation. The analysis focused a three-year period when experiments for calibration and validation of the model were carried out, and a longer period of 33 years that provided for an analysis considering the probabilities of the demand for irrigation water. The first concerned a wet period while the second includes a variety of climatic demand conditions that provided for analyzing alternative schedules for average, high and very high climatic demand. Results have shown the importance of the groundwater contribution, mainly when deficit irrigation is applied. Analyzing several deficit irrigation strategies through the respective potential water saving, relative yield losses, water productivity and economic water productivity, it could be concluded that relative mild deficits may be adopted. Contrarily, the adoption of high water deficit that produce high water savings would lead to yield losses that may be economically not acceptable.     

Management trends and responses to water scarcity in an irrigation scheme of Southern Spain

Improvement of irrigation management in areas subjected to periods of water scarcity requires good knowledge of system performance over long time periods. We have conducted a study aimed at characterizing the behaviour of an irrigated area encompassing over 7000 ha in Southern Spain, since its inception in 1991. Detailed cropping pattern and plot water use records allowed the assessment of irrigation scheme performance using a simulation model that computed maximum irrigation requirements for every plot during the first 15 years of system operations. The ratio of irrigation water used to maximum irrigation requirements (Annual Relative Irrigation Supply, ARIS) was well below 1 and oscillated around 0.6 in the 12 years that there were no water supply restrictions in the district. The ARIS values varied among crops, however, from values between 0.2 and 0.3 for sunflower and wheat, to values approaching 1 for cotton and sugar beet. Farmer interviews revealed some of the causes for the low irrigation water usage which were mainly associated with the attempt to balance profitability and stability, and with the lack of incentives to achieve maximum yields in crops subsidized by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. The response to water scarcity was also documented through interviews and demonstrated that the change in crop choice is the primary reaction to an anticipated constraint in water supply. Water productivity (value of production divided by the volume of irrigation water delivered; WP) in the district was moderate and highly variable (around 2€ m⁻³) and did not increase with time. Irrigation water productivity (increase in production value due to irrigation divided by irrigation water delivered) was much lower (0.65€ m⁻³) and also, it did not increase with time. The lack of improvement in WP, the low irrigation water usage, and the changes in cropping patterns over the first 15 years of operation indicate that performance trends in irrigated agriculture are determined by a complex mix of technical, economic, and socio-cultural factors, as those that characterized the behaviour of the Genil-Cabra irrigation scheme.     

Infusing the use of seasonal climate forecasting into crop management practice in North East Australia using discussion support software

Seasonal climate forecasting offers potential for improving management of crop production risks in the cropping systems of NE Australia. But how is this capability best connected to management practice? Over the past decade, we have pursued participative systems approaches involving simulation-aided discussion with advisers and decision-makers. This has led to the development of discussion support software as a key vehicle for facilitating infusion of forecasting capability into practice. In this paper, we set out the basis of our approach, its implementation and preliminary evaluation. We outline the development of the discussion support software Whopper Cropper, which was designed for, and in close consultation with, public and private advisers. Whopper Cropper consists of a database of simulation output and a graphical user interface to generate analyses of risks associated with crop management options. The charts produced provide conversation pieces for advisers to use with their farmer clients in relation to the significant decisions they face. An example application, detail of the software development process and an initial survey of user needs are presented. We suggest that discussion support software is about moving beyond traditional notions of supply-driven decision support systems. Discussion support software is largely demand-driven and can compliment participatory action research programs by providing cost-effective general delivery of simulation-aided discussions about relevant management actions. The critical role of farm management advisers and dialogue among key players is highlighted. We argue that the discussion support concept, as exemplified by the software tool Whopper Cropper and the group processes surrounding it, provides an effective means to infuse innovations, like seasonal climate forecasting, into farming practice.     

Water resources and water use efficiency in the North China Plain: Current status and agronomic management options

Serious water deficits and deteriorating environmental quality are threatening agricultural sustainability in the North China Plain (NCP). This paper addresses spatial and temporal availability of water resources in the NCP, identifies the effects of soil management, irrigation timing and amounts, and crop genetic improvement on water use efficiency (WUE), and then discusses knowledge gaps and research priorities to further improve WUE. Enhanced irrigation and soil nutrient (mainly nitrogen) management are the focal issues in the NCP for enhancing WUE, which are shown to increase WUE by 10-25% in a wheat-maize double cropping system. Crop breeding has also contributed to increased of WUE and is expected to play an important role in the future as genetic and environmental interactions are understood better. Agricultural system models and remote sensing have been used to evaluate and improve current agronomic management practices for increasing WUE at field and regional scales. The low WUE in farmer's fields compared with well-managed experimental sites indicates that more efforts are needed to transfer water-saving technologies to the farmers. We also identified several knowledge gaps for further increasing WUE in the NCP by: (1) increasing scientific understanding of the effects of agronomic management on WUE across various soil and climate conditions; (2) quantifying the interaction between soil water and nitrogen in water-limited agriculture for improving both water and nitrogen-use efficiency; (3) improving irrigation practices (timing and amounts) based on real-time monitoring of water status in soil-crop systems; and (4) maximizing regional WUE by managing water resources and allocation at regional scales.     

地下水库的实践经验探讨

因地制宜修建地下水库作为一项“绿色生态工程”是解决水资源稀缺问题的战略选择。本文在阐述地下水库含义的基础上，结合国内外地下水库的研究现状与实践经验，探讨了其在解决水资源稀缺性方面的优势及不足之处，对地下水库发展态势进行了展望。     

CPSP模型在华北井灌区农业水管理中的应用

为研究不同农业水管理措施对区域水平衡的影响,选择北京市大兴区为华北井灌区代表性研究区,以CPsP模型为技术支持,研究了提高灌溉水利用率、采用亏缺灌溉、改善农业种植结构及利用区外水源等不同水管理措施影响下区域水平衡、区域耗水、区域取水及用水指标的变化规律.结果表明,在资源型缺水区域,提高灌溉水利用率、采用非充分灌溉及改善农业种植结构在一定程度上能缓解区域水资源紧缺的压力,特别是采用非充分灌溉及改善作物种植结构能显著减少区域取水及耗水总量,并能减少地表水及地下水的补给量中回归水所占比例,在缓解区域水资源紧缺压力的同时也降低了区域水质遭受回归水污染风险.另外,在未来情景中,因经济快速发展及人口持续增长,工业及居民生活用水量增加,区域水资源供需矛盾将会加剧,为确保区域水资源良性循环,势必采取积极有效的水资源管理模式.     

Economics of rainwater harvesting for crop enterprises in semi-arid areas of East Africa

This paper presents an analysis of economics of rainwater harvesting by poor farmers in Tanzania. A questionnaire was used to survey 120 households to obtain information on the performance of their enterprises over 6 years (1998–2003). The information was mainly based on recollection as few farmers kept detailed records. Actual monitoring and measurements of yield and inputs was done in the farmers’ enterprises over 2 years during 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 production seasons. The analysis was done for four categories of rainwater harvesting systems differentiated by the size of catchments from which water is collected and the intensity of concentration and/or storage of the collected rainwater. These categories are: micro-catchments, macro-catchments, macro-catchments linked to road drainage and micro or macro-catchments with a storage pond. Results show that rainwater harvesting for production of paddy rice paid most with returns to labor of more than 12 US$ per person-day invested. These benefits are very high due to the fact that without rainwater harvesting it is not possible to produce paddy in the study area and rainfed sorghum crop realizes a return to labor of only US$ 3.7 per person-day during above-average seasons. For the rainwater harvesting systems, those designed to collect water from macro-catchments linked to road drainage, performed best during both categories of seasons. The results also show that contrary to expectations, improving rainwater harvesting systems by adding a storage pond may not lead to increased productivity. Another finding that goes against the widely held belief is that rainwater harvesting results in more benefits during the above-average seasons compared to below-average seasons. It is therefore, concluded that there is a potential for combining rainwater harvesting with improved drainage of roads. The construction of rural roads in semi-arid areas can beneficially be integrated with efforts to increase water availability for agricultural needs.     

The management of publicly-funded agricultural research and development in the UK: Questions of autonomy and accountability

The increasing costs of publicly-funded research and development in agriculture are giving rise to increasing pressures for accountability and to demands for an explicit science policy. The problem of reconciling these demands with the needs of a productive and vigorous scientific community is addressed through an analysis of the underlying concepts.The fundamental unpredictability of research, the importance of variety and autonomy for scientific progress and the dangers of defining research programmers based on social need rather than problem solubility are first discussed. This is followed by an examination of the ways in which R&D resources may be matched to requests for funding. Specifically, the limitations of cost-benefit analysis and of the current procedures for commissioning research are looked at. It is concluded that instead of trying to link funds to research proposals as at present, it would be better if funds were allocated on the basis of the past research results. Such a system would entail the development of agreed measures of performance, but it promises to be more effective, more objective and less bureaucratic than current procedures. Finally, centralised approaches to research management are shown to negate accountability and it is contended that more meaningful accountability is achieved by combining as much autonomy as possible with a system of monitoring research performance.     

Water productivity in rainfed systems: overview of challenges and analysis of opportunities in water scarcity prone savannahs

Addressing the Millennium Development Goals on food and poverty over the coming decade puts enormous pressure on the world’s finite freshwater resources. Without water productivity (WP) gains, the additional freshwater in agriculture will amount to 5,600 km³ year⁻¹ in 2050. This is three times the current global irrigation use. This paper focuses on the underlying processes and future opportunities of WP gains in water scarcity prone and poverty stricken savannah regions of the world. The paper studies the consumptive (green) WP dynamics rainfed farming systems, and shows that the often assumed linear relationship between evapotranspiration (ET) and yield (Y) does not translate into constant WP over a wide range of yields. Similarly, crop transpiration (T) and Y show non-linearity under on-farm and low yield conditions. This non-linearity is validated against several on-farm research experiments in semi-arid rainfed farming systems. With integrated soil and water management, focusing on dry spell mitigation and soil fertility can potentially more than double on-farm yields, while simultaneously improve green (ET) WP and productive green (T) WP. Through the adoption of appropriate soil and water management in semi-arid smallholder farming systems, crop yields improve and result in improved livelihoods and WP gains.     

Fresh tomato production for the Sydney market: An evaluation of options to reduce freshwater scarcity from agricultural water use

In response to the growing concerns of freshwater scarcity, two metrics are considered for assessing the impacts of consumptive water use of a kg of fresh tomato supplied to the Sydney market. The first is the water use efficiency (WUE)—commonly used by agronomists which considers the absolute volumes of water consumed, and second, a recently developed method for water footprints based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) which describes the impacts in terms of contributing to freshwater scarcity. The results indicated that although a kg of tomato supplied from within Sydney had the highest water use efficiency (38 L for a kg of tomato as compared to 39-78 L from other regions of Australia), it had the biggest LCA-based water footprint (16 L for a kg of tomato as compared to 1.9-2.2 L from other regions of Australia). WUE as an indicator of agriculture water use is inappropriate to indicate the potential to contribute to local freshwater scarcity; potential stress on local and regional water resources, estimated using LCA-based water footprints, provide useful dimension to assess consumptive water use. Having both metrics will enable to achieve short term benefits at the farm level for saving water (through water use efficiency), while also recognising that longer term changes are required for alleviating freshwater scarcity (through LCA-based water footprints). Scenario modelling indicated relocation of production away from Sydney or modernisation of Sydney tomato greenhouse industry as a priority for reducing freshwater scarcity. The latter may be the best long term option to reduce additional emissions from transport and to take advantage of recycled water sources from Sydney's wastewater.     

Optimizing yield,water requirements,and water productivity of aerobic rice for the North China Plain

Water resources for agriculture are rapidly declining in the North China Plain because of increasing industrial and domestic use and because of decreasing rainfall resulting from climate change. Water-efficient agricultural technologies need to be developed. Aerobic rice is a new crop production system in which rice is grown in nonflooded and nonsaturated aerobic soil, just like wheat and maize. Although an estimated 80,000 ha are cultivated with aerobic rice in the plain, there is little knowledge on obtainable yields and water requirements to assist farmers in improving their management. We present results from field experiments with aerobic rice variety HD297 near Beijing, from 2002 to 2004. The crop growth simulation model ORYZA2000 was used to extrapolate the experimental results to different weather conditions, irrigation management, and soil types. We quantified yields, water inputs, water use, and water productivities. On typical freely draining soils of the North China Plain, aerobic rice yields can reach 6–6.8 t ha⁻¹, with a total water input ranging between 589 and 797 (rainfall = 477 m and water application = 112–320 mm). For efficient water use, the irrigation water can be supplied in 2–4 applications and should aim at keeping the soil water tension in the rootzone below 100–200 kPa. Under those conditions, the amount of water use by evapotranspiration was 458–483 mm. The water productivity with respect to total water input (irrigation plus rainfall) was 0.89–1.05 g grain kg⁻¹ water, and with respect to evapotranspiration, 1.28–1.42 g grain kg⁻¹ water. Drought around flowering should be avoided to minimize the risk of spikelet sterility and low grain yields. The simulations suggest that, theoretically, yields can go up to 7.5 t ha⁻¹ and beyond. Further research is needed to determine whether the panicle (sink) size is large enough to support such yields and/or whether improved management is needed.