2nd International ConferenceGraz October 10th, 2012

Water allocation and efficient water use in agriculture

Local Council Association – LCA (Malta)Regional Agency for Rural Development FVG – ERSA (Italy)

Malta – agriculture and Malta – agriculture and

irrigationirrigation

Total UAA amounted to 11,453 ha11,453 ha

Total UAA served by irrigation: 3,498 ha3,498 ha

annual rain precipitation: 550 mm/year550 mm/year

agricultural sector water demand: mainly from groundwater (80%)

treated effluent and rainwater harvesting: marginal importance

most widespread irrigation pattern: borholes that abstract water from the mean sea level acquifers

water requirements for agriculture cannot be met by groundwater alone but further alternative resources should developed

need to recover efficiency for water used for irrigation purposesrecover efficiency for water used for irrigation purposes

Region FVG – Facts sheetRegion FVG – Facts sheet

Total UAA 227,000 Total UAA 227,000 ha ha Arable crops 142,000 Arable crops 142,000 ha ha Vineyards Vineyards 23,000 ha 23,000 ha Orchards 1,800 haForages 33,000 ha

Average annual rain precipitation in the Region FVG: 1,500 – 2,000 mm

Region FVG: present challengesRegion FVG: present challenges

Surface systemSurface system 20.4% of the served 20.4% of the served areaarea

Sprinkler systemSprinkler system 26.8% of the served 26.8% of the served areaarea

in FVG total area served by irrigation is ca 145,400 145,400 haha...but…

droughts occurred in FVG in 2003, 2006 and 2012drought occurred in 2006 resulted in overall losses estimated in 51 MEuro

Increasing efficiencyIncreasing efficiency

If the rate of utilization of the system components cannot If the rate of utilization of the system components cannot change, no improvement can be achievedchange, no improvement can be achieved

No flexible system: higher rate in a given component = higher No flexible system: higher rate in a given component = higher consumption of the whole systemconsumption of the whole system

Flexible system: higher rate of utilization of a component can be Flexible system: higher rate of utilization of a component can be compensated by a lower rate applied to another component, same compensated by a lower rate applied to another component, same amount of amount of available wateravailable water can be allocated more efficiently can be allocated more efficiently

C - 1C - 1

C - 3C - 3

C - 2C - 2

C - 4C - 4

C - 1C - 1

C - 3C - 3

C - 2C - 2

C - 4C - 4

Fixed utilization rate,no flexibility, no increase in efficiency

Higher rate in C-1 is generated by a lower rate in C-2 and C-4.Increase in efficiency through reallocation of the resources among the components

How to increase efficiencyHow to increase efficiency

At which level we could act in order to increase the system At which level we could act in order to increase the system efficiency?efficiency?

Farms awareness Farms awareness on water issueson water issues

Irrigation Irrigation techniquetechnique Expert system (ICT)

ICT at higher ICT at higher hierarchical levelhierarchical level

Water Water GovernanceGovernance

Planning: works, Planning: works, investments, crop investments, crop

systemssystems

Increasing efficiency - 1Increasing efficiency - 1 Irrigation Irrigation techniquetechnique

Different irrigation techniques exhibit different water consumption, hence different efficiency for water use:

Surface system (SU)

Sprinkler system (SP)

Drip system

Other systems

“Surface technique”, SU: 2.2 l/(s*ha)2.2 l/(s*ha) “Sprinkler technique”, SP: 0.9 l/(s*ha)0.9 l/(s*ha) Potential savings estimation: 1.3 l/(s*ha)1.3 l/(s*ha)

Theoretical average water consumption

Increasing efficiency - 2Increasing efficiency - 2

Costs borne for water consumed, changing Costs borne for water consumed, changing supply pattern and fees appliedsupply pattern and fees applied acting on the water pricing: «Flat rate» vs. «Binomial fee»

water pricing and water supply: from «scheduled» towards «on demand» pattern

advantages for the farms pursuing water savings

Guided irrigationGuided irrigation

role of advisory services: enhancement in cultivation techniques

information on plant-soil water balance, farms are advised on «when» and how much to irrigate, via SMS or through Internet web services

Farms awareness Farms awareness on water issueson water issues

Increasing efficiency - 3Increasing efficiency - 3

Soil-Plant water balance data from sample areas integrated by an expert system (ESES)

Devices and apparatus of the water network coordinated by the outputs generated by the ESES

The ES ES coordinates irrigation operations, water inflow of the system results optimized

Flow-meters of an irrigation district can be switched on/off and controlled by the ES under the supervision of the water management team (remote control)

Expert system (ICT)

Increasing efficiency - 4Increasing efficiency - 4

ICT and technology can be coupled at a higher hierarchical level, i.e the whole network sharing common basinsbasins or withdrawl pointswithdrawl points

Data on the observed precipitation, water stored in the basins and weather forecast information can be integrated and used by a DSSDSS to assist the irrigation water managementirrigation water management of a whole district over the whole district over the whole seasonwhole season

ES can supervise the pumps and the devices control of the network according to the indications provided by the DSS/water management

ICT at higher ICT at higher hierarchical levelhierarchical level

Increasing efficiency - 5Increasing efficiency - 5

Critical points of the network hampering the system flexibility should be identified: investments and works to remove such obstaclesinvestments and works to remove such obstacles

Higher rate of resources utilization in a given area can be achieved through a reduced utilization of resources in areas showing lower needs: promote the technological connection technological connection among different irrigation districts so as to increase the overall flexibility of the irrigation system

Crop systemsCrop systems: propose different cultivations or different irrigation systems in areas with soil having low water capacity (AWC)

Crop systems and new irrigated areasCrop systems and new irrigated areas: cost/benefits assessment for new areas to be served by irrigation: -works or investments for irrigation are feasible?-different irrigation techniques to be considered-areas with soil with low AWC: which crops, which irrigation technique?

Planning: works, Planning: works, investments, crop investments, crop

systemssystems

Increasing efficiency - 6Increasing efficiency - 6

Promote the cooperation and information exchange among Authorities involved in water management

Coordinate the decisions and the irrigation water management of different areas so as to take advantage of the flexibility margins Coordination among the different final users management: industrial, civil and irrigation

Coordination among Authorities/stakeholders on future works/investments and plans: where efficiencywhere efficiency should be retrievedshould be retrieved?

Water Water GovernanceGovernance

The point of view of the expertsThe point of view of the expertsInterview with Ing. Stefano Bongiovanni, Director of the Association of land reclamation and irrigation consortia FVG

EFFECTIVENESS (0 – 10)

FEASIBILITY (0 – 5)

Irrigation techniques (SP vs. SU)

Irrigation techniques and soil AWC

Connections among districts

Connections among Basins/Reservoirs

Water losses and net maintenance works

Land use: which cultivations and crops

Water pricing system

ICT based on water balance at district level

ICT and water balance inform. for farmers

ICT and whole network water flow control

Advisory service for farmers

Coordination among planners

Remove obst. and critical points in the system

Transferability of the Transferability of the

solutions solutions Experiences or solutions pursued in a certain region cannot be simply exported to anotherKeep in mind: different rules, different organization and differences in land use and crops system

Some general remarks can be applied:

increase the system efficiency through flexibility maximizationflexibility maximization

effect of the existing plans on water management optimisation

ICT potential ICT potential in water management for irrigation purposes

coordination among water management authoritieswater management authorities

increase the farmers awareness farmers awareness on the cost of water and the marginal utility of the irrigation interventions

role of farm advisory servicesfarm advisory services

Thank you for your attention