Open AccessEffects of modernization and medium term perspectives on water and energy use in irrigation districts
Author(s) -
Ileana Fernández García,
José Antonio Acevedo Díaz,
E. Camacho,
P. Montesinos,
J. Berbel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
zenodo (cern european organization for nuclear research)
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.5281/zenodo.30020
Subject(s) - medium term , term (time) , modernization theory , irrigation , water resource management , environmental science , natural resource economics , economics , economic growth , physics , agronomy , quantum mechanics , biology , macroeconomics
Increasing of water use efficiency has been a key strategy for dealing with water scarcity in semiarid countries. In Spain modernization of irrigation schemes has consisted in the substitution of old open channels systems by pressurized networks. However, this improvement has represented a significant increase in water costs, mainly due to the higher energy requirements.Five irrigation districts of Andalusia, Southern Spain, have been analyzed using performance indicators, before and after the improvement actions. Results indicate an average reduction in water diverted for irrigation of 23%, but water costs increased in 52%. Consequently, farmers are migrating to more profit- able crops, such as citrus, with higher water requirements. Furthermore, managers’ predictions about the cropping patterns for the 2020s suggest that the area devoted to citrus production will increase by 12%, implying even higher potential maximum irrigation water demand. Hence, farmers will have to adapt to a future scenario by using deficit irrigation and other water saving technologies. Consequently, the vulner- ability of the irrigated agriculture to the typical droughts of the Mediterranean climate may increase