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