PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF ON-FARM WATER MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS IN PUNJAB

Abstract

Water availability and its application affect most crop production activities and hence become important for sustained crop production in agri-based economy of Pakistan. The realization among farming community is increasing that On-Farm Water Management (OFWM) is of prime importance for satisfying the needs of irrigated agriculture and other related activities. They tend to endeavour to optimize the water supply to their crops within the limits of their knowledge and the farming practices. The Govt. of the Punjab initiated the On-Farm Water Management interventions in an organized manner in late seventies and invested billions of Rupees on various interventions (i.e. lining of watercourses, laser land levelling, zero tillage and bed-furrow, etc. out of which the major share was devoted towards lining of watercourses). This study was designed to evaluate the performance of on-farm water management interventions like watercourse lining, laser land levelling, zero tillage and bed-furrow. The study area was selected in the rice- wheat cropping zone of Punjab, Pakistan. Eleven districts were selected from the study area for the performance evaluation of watercourse lining and Resource conservation interventions. Sixteen sampled partially lined watercourses were randomly selected in four districts in Punjab province. The flow rate of each selected watercourse was measured at three sites along the length of the watercourse, i.e. at the head of lined section close to the outlet (mogha), at the end of the lined section, and in the unlined section at a distance equal to length of the lined section. The average value of conveyance losses in lined and unlined sections of sixteen sampled watercourses was 0.9 and 1.32 l/sec per 100 m length, respectively. The lowest losses were found in lined watercourses of Sahiwal district while the highest losses were observed in case of lined sections of Pakpattan district. The lined watercourses of Sahiwal district reduced the conveyance losses by 38% whereas the lowest reduction of 27% was found in the lined watercourses of Pakpattan district. Average reduction of 32% in conveyance losses was found by partially lining of selected watercourses in the study area. viiThe reported number of watercourses in Punjab is 58,770 whereas 43467 have been lined upto 2010-11. From the results of present study, it is concluded that the partially lining by 30% length has improved the watercourse conveyance efficiency by 10% and average annual water saving by partial lining (30% length) watercourses in Punjab was estimated as 4.6 BCM per year. Apart from augmenting the conveyance efficiency and reducing seepage losses, the lining of watercourses has significantly augmented the crop yield and farm income of the farmers. The average crop yield of the fields served by the partially lined watercourses has been augmented by 11, 12 and 9% for wheat, rice and sugarcane crops, respectively. Similarly, gross farm income from these crops were higher by 17, 36 and 25%, respectively For feasible and sustainable agriculture production, the cost of crop inputs should be decreased and at the same time the efficiency of resources must be increased. Resource conservation interventions (RCIs) such as zero tillage (ZT), laser land levelling (LLL), and bed-furrow (BF) play a key role to achieve these goals. A survey was conducted in year 2011-12 in ten districts of Punjab for data collection about the agriculture inputs and outputs of RCIs and conventional irrigation system. The analysis of data revealed that these interventions have saved significant irrigation water, augmented the crop yield and enhanced the farm income of the farmers. Irrigation water saved by zero tillage, bed- furrow and laser land levelling was 49 and 40, 31% per hectare respectively in the selected irrigated areas. Water productivity was higher for zero tillage (2.02 kg/m 3 ) followed by bed-furrow (1.59 kg/m 3 ) and laser land levelling (1.58 kg/m 3 ) interventions as compared to the conventional technique (0.89 kg/m 3 ). Fertilizer use efficiency by laser land levelling, bed-furrow and zero tillage was 18.19, 17.7 and 19.1% per hectare respectively as compared to conventional technique (13.98%). Hence, the OFWM interventions have provided excellent tool for making development towards improving and sustaining agriculture production, poverty empowerment and ensure food security in Pakistan and elsewhere under similar socio-environmental conditions.