Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
(1) As a first step, identify all factors affecting water use in the irrigation scheme.
(2) In a second step, select appropriate performance indicators for the prevail-
ing conditions of irrigation method, irrigation system, and socioeconomic
condition.
(3) Thirdly, measure the components of indicators and compute the indicator
values.
(4) As a fourth step, assess the irrigation performance by analyzing/comparing the
indicator values with the ideal one.
(5) Finally, analyze the irrigation modernization alternatives using technical and
economic criteria, make comparison of alternatives, and suggest/adopt the most
appropriate one.
A range of factors affect water use at farm level. These include soil type, farm-
ers irrigation system, climatic condition, crop type, crop rotation, type of farmer
(owner or leaser), farming practice, farmers' water management practice, farmers'
economic condition, amount of land, education level of the farmers.
Additional information may be recorded through farmer's interview about the
size of the test plot, name and code of the owner, the name of the irrigator,
etc.
Multiple regression analysis may be performed to assess the relationship between
water use (WU) and the factors, first including all the factors and then removing
insignificant factors individually and interactively.
4.2.5.2 Queries That Should Be Answered
Performance evaluation of an irrigation project should enable us to answer the
following questions:
Does the supply of water meet the demand (especially at peak demand period) of
the irrigators?
Is the quality of water acceptable for the intended use?
What is the pumping plant efficiency?
How much water is lost in supply canal (conveyance) and in the field (deep
percolation and runoff)?
How is the demand of water estimated?
How frequently is the water applied?
How much water (in depth) is applied per application?
Are other crop management events done at the right time and in the right way?
Are there any pollution problems from the project?
Is the quality of drainage water reasonable?
What are the values of water application efficiency, storage efficiency, and
distribution uniformity?
What is the overall irrigation efficiency?
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