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WATER PRODUCTIVITY OF IRRIGATED WHEAT IN THE MAROON IRRIGATION NETWORK OF IRAN
Author(s) -
Baghaei Leila,
Kahtoonabadi Ahmad,
Mousavi Farhad
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.1785
Subject(s) - maroon , agriculture , productivity , irrigation , population , geography , water scarcity , agricultural economics , agroforestry , water resource management , environmental science , economics , economic growth , agronomy , art , demography , archaeology , sociology , visual arts , biology
The rapidly growing population of Iran and non‐sustainable agricultural development practices have resulted in an increasing demand for irrigation water. This process, along with Iran's water source restrictions, necessitates investigation and research in the field of water productivity. Behbahan (Maroon Irrigation Network) District, which is located in Khuzestan Province, by benefiting from the Maroon River, has been considered a fertile land for agricultural activity for centuries. The access of farmers to the Maroon River within past decades has meant water has been taken for granted. However, since 2007, the land has faced a dramatic decline in rainfall and surface water. Water scarcity and limitation of available water in the region should force farmers to use water as efficiently as possible. Irrigated agriculture is one of the most water‐ consuming sectors in the region. Therefore, improving the productivity of existing water management practices is the most attractive option to produce more food for the increasing population. In this paper, the water productivity of irrigated wheat in Maroon is analysed. Some 125 farmers from the northern and southern parts of the Maroon Irrigation Network were selected by using a stratified random sampling method. Data were collected through surveying techniques such as questionnaires and interviewing. The data were analysed by using a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS16). Based on the research results, most of the farmers were middle‐aged and with a low level of literacy. Water in the Behbahan region was considered as a service rather than an economically high‐value commodity. Also crop per drop (CPD) index in comparison with similar regions (as a result of high water consumption) was lower than the average CPD index in 2007 and 2008 and was 0.48 and 0.41 kg m −3 respectively. The critical role of water in the border‐based provinces of Iran with due respect to sociocultural and political consequences, as for example in Khuzestan, reinforces the need to employ urgent tactics to increase water productivity through improving knowledge and infrastructure‐based systems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.