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19 pages, 2361 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Economic Value of Irrigation Water in Wadi Zabid, Tihama Plain, Yemen

by Wahib Al-Qubatee, Petra Hellegers and Henk Ritzema

Sustainability 2019, 11(22), 6476; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226476 - 18 Nov 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3025

This study used crop budgets to assess the impact of declining groundwater levels on the economic value of irrigation water in the Wadi Zabid region of Yemen. The study found that returns to land and water were highly sensitive to changes in groundwater [...] Read more.

This study used crop budgets to assess the impact of declining groundwater levels on the economic value of irrigation water in the Wadi Zabid region of Yemen. The study found that returns to land and water were highly sensitive to changes in groundwater depths over time and the free availability of spate water for irrigation. Crops differed in the amounts of irrigation water applied and in their returns to land and water. Banana had the highest irrigation requirement, but also delivered the highest return to land. Banana’s return to water was greater than that of date palm and feed sorghum, but lower than that of mango and food sorghum. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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18 pages, 2434 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stakeholder Roles and Perspectives on Sedimentation Management in Small-Scale Irrigation Schemes in Ethiopia

by Zerihun Anbesa Gurmu, Henk Ritzema, Charlotte de Fraiture and Mekonen Ayana

Sustainability 2019, 11(21), 6121; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216121 - 03 Nov 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2553

Abstract

Irrigated agriculture, particularly small-scale irrigation (SSI), is a mainstay for sustainable livelihoods in the developing world. In Ethiopia, SSI sustainability is threatened mainly due to excessive sedimentation. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the causes of sedimentation and how they sustain SSI under excessive sedimentation conditions [...] Read more.

Irrigated agriculture, particularly small-scale irrigation (SSI), is a mainstay for sustainable livelihoods in the developing world. In Ethiopia, SSI sustainability is threatened mainly due to excessive sedimentation. Stakeholders’ perceptions of the causes of sedimentation and how they sustain SSI under excessive sedimentation conditions were investigated in two SSI schemes in Ethiopia. A participatory rapid diagnosis and action planning was implemented, consisting of a literature review, participatory rural appraisal, and semi-structured interviews. Results show that farmers slightly differed in perception of excessive sedimentation drivers. Farmers reported design problems as the main cause of excessive sedimentation (64%), followed by poor operation and maintenance (O and M) practices (21%) and external factors (15%). In contrast, 62% of the interviewed engineers indicated erosion and irrigation technologies as the main causes of excessive sedimentation, while few reported poor design (13%). In addition to an intensive desilting campaign, farmers delayed the start of the irrigation season to avoid the intake of highly sedimented water. Local social capital and knowledge appeared to be more important than formal knowledge and blue-print institutions for dealing with sedimentation problems. Well-organized structure and extra time devoted by famers were vital for SSI sustainability. Integration of the farmers’ knowledge with that of the engineers could yield more effective ways to deal with sedimentation problems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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16 pages, 1475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating Agricultural Sustainability Based on the Water–Energy–Food Nexus in the Chenmengquan Irrigation District of China

by Chang Liu, Zhanyu Zhang, Shuya Liu, Qiaoyuan Liu, Baoping Feng and Julia Tanzer

Sustainability 2019, 11(19), 5350; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195350 - 27 Sep 2019

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2392

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the largest consumers of water and energy. This paper evaluated the agricultural sustainability of the Chenmengquan irrigation district of China based on the water–energy–food nexus. One objective weighting method and one subjective weighting method were integrated, based on game [...] Read more.

Agriculture is one of the largest consumers of water and energy. This paper evaluated the agricultural sustainability of the Chenmengquan irrigation district of China based on the water–energy–food nexus. One objective weighting method and one subjective weighting method were integrated, based on game theory, and a matter–element model was constructed to evaluate agricultural sustainability for the research region. The sensitivity of each index to the evaluation class was also analyzed. The results showed that agricultural sustainability was moderate in 2006–2012 and high in 2012–2015. The indexes, which represent water-use efficiency and yield per unit area of crops, had higher sensitivities in the context of the present case study. The results also indicated that agricultural sustainability had a comparatively positive trend between 2012 and 2015, and that pesticide utilization was the most important issue for agricultural sustainability. The approach of using the combination of a weighting method, based upon game theory, and the use of the matter–element model provides a guide for the evaluation of agricultural sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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20 pages, 3363 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Designing Optimum Water-Saving Policy in China Using Quantity and Price Control Mechanisms

by Khampheng Boudmyxay, Shuai Zhong and Lei Shen

Sustainability 2019, 11(9), 2529; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092529 - 01 May 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2982

Abstract

In an attempt to alleviate water scarcity, the government of China has introduced a water plan for the year 2030. Based on a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, this paper investigates how conservation of irrigation water, grain production, and the welfare of rural [...] Read more.

In an attempt to alleviate water scarcity, the government of China has introduced a water plan for the year 2030. Based on a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, this paper investigates how conservation of irrigation water, grain production, and the welfare of rural households will be affected by planned reductions to the irrigation water subsidy between 2018 and 2030. Four policy instruments, namely quantitative control (QC), quantitative control with a subsidy reduction (QC-SR), price control (PC), and price control with a subsidy reduction (PC-SR) are employed in the model. Most existing research has found that reducing the irrigation subsidy will lead to significant negative impacts to the agricultural economy, and especially to rural households. These predicted negative impacts are a barrier to agricultural water policy pricing reform. However, the results of this research show that a provincial subsidy reduction to 1% between 2018 and 2030 will have an insignificant impact on agricultural production as well as rural household incomes and welfare, despite the subsidy rate currently accounting for more than 90% of the total irrigation value at the macro level in most provinces. Furthermore, PC will create a demand for irrigation water, which is predicted to rise to more than five times the agricultural water planning level currently set for 2030, and PC-SR will not achieve the agricultural water planning goal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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19 pages, 1646 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Do Farmers Respond to Water Resources Management Policy in the Heihe River Basin of China?

by Guifang Li, Dingyang Zhou and Minjun Shi

Sustainability 2019, 11(7), 2096; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11072096 - 08 Apr 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2677

Abstract

Reducing agricultural water use is an inevitable choice to alleviate water shortage in arid and semi-arid regions, and high-efficiency irrigation technologies provide conditions for water conservation. However, without unified water resources management policy to redistribute the saved agricultural water, farmers’ behavior will lead [...] Read more.

Reducing agricultural water use is an inevitable choice to alleviate water shortage in arid and semi-arid regions, and high-efficiency irrigation technologies provide conditions for water conservation. However, without unified water resources management policy to redistribute the saved agricultural water, farmers’ behavior will lead to water rebound and large-scale expansion of cultivated areas, especially on the edge of oasis regions. To solve these issues and promote the sustainable development of water resources, it makes sense to explore the impact of unified water resources management policy from the perspective of farmers’ behavior. This study takes the typical irrigation zone in the Heihe River Basin as a case to discuss the response of farmers’ economic behavior to transferring irrigation water and restricting land reclamation, i.e., the unified water resources management policy with the technical efficiency of crop irrigation improved based on the bio-economic model. The results show that in the case of loosening land constraints, farmers will reuse all the saved water for agricultural production by reclaiming unused land or increasing the area of water-intensive crops (vegetables). Although the policy of restricting land reclamation can restrict land expansion, it cannot avoid water rebound caused by adjusting the crop-planting structure. Farmers’ land-expansion behavior can be largely restricted by transferring the saved irrigation water to non-agricultural sectors in irrigation zones with inadequate water, but to contain land-expansion behavior in irrigation zones with surplus water, the policy of restricting land reclamation must be implemented simultaneously. The study also reveals that farmers will choose to grow more cash crops (seed maize, vegetables, tomato, seed watermelon, potato, and rapeseed) and fewer food crops (wheat, maize) to increase the profit per unit of water in the scenario of loosening land constraints or transferring agricultural water. Furthermore, the study indicates that farmers’ economic income can be decreased or at least not increased with the transfer of agricultural water. Both benefit compensation from non-agricultural sectors and increased non-agricultural income can compensate farmers’ economic loss. Therefore, it is necessary to improve water rights trading systems and increase employment opportunities for surplus agricultural labor to promote economic development in rural areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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13 pages, 2112 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Evaluation of a Water Seed Drill

by Rana Shahzad Noor, Zhi Wang, Muhammad Umair, Muhammad Ameen, Muhammad Imran and Yong Sun

Sustainability 2019, 11(1), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010137 - 28 Dec 2018

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 11852

Abstract

Water content plays a crucial role in seed development, particularly at the seed sowing stage, and it ensures good seed germination. A water seed drill was designed and developed to provide an optimum quantity of water that is required for the soil in [...] Read more.

Water content plays a crucial role in seed development, particularly at the seed sowing stage, and it ensures good seed germination. A water seed drill was designed and developed to provide an optimum quantity of water that is required for the soil in the same furrow, right after seed placement. This soil moistening method not only improves the moisture level in the field, but it also saves a large amount of water by applying the needed water quantity in the line of sowing after seed placement. The water seed drill consisted of a wheat seed drill, a water application system, and a tank with 400 L capacity. The water seed drill yielded a 48% higher germination count than when wheat is planted through a conventional method. The data recorded also showed that the water seed drill raised the soil moisture to 24% from the existing 13% soil moisture content. The total operational cost of the water seed drill was 2.57-fold greater than the conventional seed drill, but the output cost of the water seed drill was 2.15 times (49,000 Rs/ha) more than that of the conventional seed drill. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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20 pages, 4362 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Irrigation Level and Irrigation Frequency on the Growth of Mini Chinese Cabbage and Residual Soil Nitrate Nitrogen

by Youzhen Xiang, Haiyang Zou, Fucang Zhang, Shengcai Qiang, You Wu, Shicheng Yan, Haidong Wang, Lifeng Wu, Junliang Fan and Xiukang Wang

Sustainability 2019, 11(1), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010111 - 25 Dec 2018

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3809

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is known to improve the quality and biomass of vegetables, but it is unclear how to manage the large amount of NO₃-N that accumulates in the soil after vegetable harvest. In this study, we examined the influence of [...] Read more.

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is known to improve the quality and biomass of vegetables, but it is unclear how to manage the large amount of NO₃-N that accumulates in the soil after vegetable harvest. In this study, we examined the influence of irrigation level and irrigation frequency on the growth and soil residual NO₃-N of the catch crop mini Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) in a greenhouse. Using conventional border irrigation with adequate water supply as a control (CK), three irrigation levels (W_H: 160% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), W_M: 120% ETc and W_L: 80% ETc) and three irrigation frequencies (intervals of F₂: 2 days, F₄: 4 days, and F₈: 8 days) were assessed in 2014, 2015 and 2016 in northwest China. The results showed that the weight of the leaves and leaf stalks was the primary determinant of yield, and that these are the primary N-containing vegetative organs of the plants. At the same irrigation level, the total N content of the plants increased in the order F₈ < F₂ < F₄. The trend in the total N content in the mini Chinese cabbage plants among different treatments was synchronized with the yield. The highest total N content in the plants was observed in the W_MF₄ treatment during all three years. The three-year averages of mini Chinese cabbage aboveground biomass, yield and water use efficiency (WUE) in the W_MF₄ treatment were 60%, 64.5% and 119.2% higher respectively than in the CK treatment. The residual NO₃-N content in the soil in the W_MF₄ treatment was only 1.3% higher than that in the CK treatment. The total N uptake in the W_MF₄ treatment was 79.2% higher than that in the CK treatment, and the N loss in the W_MF₄ treatment was 46.3% lower than that in the CK treatment. Under these experimental conditions, the W_MF₄ treatment can be recommended as an appropriate irrigation regime for mini Chinese cabbage under fallow greenhouse management in northwest China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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23 pages, 2858 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Potential Uses of Treated Municipal Wastewater in a Semiarid Region of Mexico

by Alfredo Valdes Ramos, Elsa N. Aguilera Gonzalez, Gloria Tobón Echeverri, Luis Samaniego Moreno, Lourdes Díaz Jiménez and Salvador Carlos Hernández

Sustainability 2019, 11(8), 2217; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082217 - 12 Apr 2019

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3705

Abstract

This paper presents an assessment of three potential applications of municipal treated wastewater in a semiarid region of northern Mexico. The potential applications considered are agriculture, industry, and watering urban green areas. The results indicate that in the best scenario, the maximal application [...] Read more.

This paper presents an assessment of three potential applications of municipal treated wastewater in a semiarid region of northern Mexico. The potential applications considered are agriculture, industry, and watering urban green areas. The results indicate that in the best scenario, the maximal application of treated wastewater is 150 L/s for industrial activities. Besides industrial applications, this scenario would allow farmers and urban green areas to receive 980 L/s and 70 L/s of treated wastewater respectively. Other issues and alternatives are also identified. With the implementation of this scenario, it is possible to improve the environmental, and even the socioeconomic conditions, of the study region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agricultural Water Management Using a Socio-Technical Approach)

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