Transcript Document

AN OVERVIEW OF WATER USE EFFICIENY &
WATER PRODUCTIVITY IN PALESTINE
By
Palestinian Hydrology Group
Ministry of Agriculture
Land Research Center
Submitted to the workshop entitled
Water Use Efficiency and Water Productivity
Amman, Jordan, 30/09 - 04/10/2005
In the context of the
WASAMED PROJECT
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Contents
•
•
•
•
•
Water Use Efficiency
Crop Water Requirements
Water Productivity
Interventions for Water Savings
Conclusions & Recommendations
2
Area Specifications
• West Bank and Gaza
Strip (WBGS) are those
parts of Historical
Palestine that has been
occupied by Israel in
1967.
• The total surface area
of both is nearly
6245Km² with a total
population of nearly 3.5
Million.
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Water Scarcity
Water scarcity in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip is resulted mainly from the Israeli
control over the vast majority of
Palestinian water resources as well as the
arid and semi arid climate conditions
prevailing. Therefore water scarcity in the
WBGS represents a critical constraint to
further expanding or even maintaining
existing irrigated areas.
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Is Water a Decisive Factor in Agriculture?
Availability of water forms the most
decisive factor in defining the role played
by this sector.
Agriculture sector consumes more than
65% of the available water. The irrigated
agriculture in the WBGS constitutes less
than 11% of the total Palestinian cultivated
areas. Hence, agriculture is the main
consumer of water
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Water Use Efficiency
Obstacles Encounter water use efficiency & System Efficiency
Category
Springs
Wells
Source



Obsolete and unavailability
of intake structures
Variation in quantity
Conveyance


Leakage and evaporation
Blockage of canals
Leakage
Low efficiency of main
conveyance, (Design)
Storage
No sufficient storage
Evaporation and/or leakage
No sufficient storage
Capital cost
Irrigation
Methods, (farm
level)
The use of traditional
techniques
Over irrigation
Clogging of networks
Low distribution efficiency
The use of traditional
techniques
Clogging of networks
Low distribution efficiency


Obsolete well
equipments
Accumulation of silt
Salinization
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Crop Water Requirements
Crop water requirement is an important factor that
determines the optimum water productivity.
Crop water requirements vary from one place to another
in the West Bank. It depends largely on the climate, soil
condition and crop season and type and on the
geographic location. For example, crop water
requirement in the Jordan Valley is more than it is in the
mountain areas for the same type of crops. Accordingly,
it is important to choose the best combination of factors
in order to ensure the best water productivity while
minimizing crop water requirements.
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Major Agro-ecological regions of WBGS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The Jordan Valley Region lies 90-375 meters below
sea level with only 100-200 mm of rainfall per year.
The Eastern Slopes Region is a transitional zone
between the Mediterranean and desert climate with
annual rainfall of 150-300 mm.
The Central Highlands Region lies 400 to 1020
meters above sea level, rainfall varying from 300 mm
in the southern foothills to 600 mm in the north.
The Semi-Coastal Region lies 100 to 300 meters
above the sea. Rainfall ranges from 400 to 700 mm
per year.
The Coastal Plain is the Gaza Strip. Rainfall ranges
from 200 mm in south to 400 mm in the north
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Water Productivity
Water productivity is considered one of the
important indicators to determine the optimum
output per unit of water. This is becoming more
important in the areas where water is scarce
and highly demanded such as the case in
Palestine.
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Water Availability Cost
Water pricing process takes into
consideration the followings:
well operator salary, fuel and oil,
maintenance, labor, equipments, spare
parts…etc. In Springs’ case; Canal
operator and canal maintenance.
Water price may vary from time to time
according to operation and maintenance
requirements and usually, water is priced
in terms of monetary units per time units.
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Financial return of water in terms of US$/m³
Item
Unit
Vegetables
Open*
Financial US$ / m3 0.33
return
Vegetables
Greenhouses
Fruits
Citrus
2.03
0.37
0.08
•For individual growing season
Source: Nofal I. (1998)
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Greenhouses the Most Profitable
In spite of the reality that greenhouses
are the most profitable farming. However,
farmers don’t prefer to invest in
greenhouses mainly because of the
followings:
1) High capital cost of greenhouses; one dunum
cost about 8000 US$.
2) Intensive labor; greenhouses need a daily
work.
3) Expensive agriculture inputs.
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Arrangement of some crops according to water use
Season
Crop
Area for 1000
m3
(m2)
Production for
1000 m3
(Ton)
Production value
for 1000 m3
(US$)
Coastal
Sep-May
Tomato-gh
1250
22.5
7458
Ghore
Aug-May
Tomato gh
900
17.3
5727
Semi Coastal
Sep-Jul
Tomato gh
1000
16.0
5303
Coastal
Autumn
Pepper
1420
7.1
2824
Ghore
Autumn
Potato
2439
8.0
2667
Coastal
Summer
Tomato
1162
7.7
2537
Semi Coastal
Spring
Potato
3333
5.8
1938
Semi Coastal
Winter
Cauliflower
2000
4.0
1325
Ghore
Winter
Tomato
1851
4.0
1325
Ghore
Winter
Potato
1960
3.9
1299
Ghore
Winter
Squash
2500
3.8
1243
Coastal
Permanent Citrus
1250
1.3
435
Climatic
Zone
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Factors Affect Crop Productivity
There are many factors that might affect the crop yield
and profitability rather than water only, Experience in this
field shows that water is not the only limiting factor for
crop yield and profit. However, in addition to water, main
factors that might affect crop yield and financial return
could be addressed as the following:
• Weather conditions especially in opened agriculture.
• Market and prices.
• Crop husbandry, which comprise weed control, shaping
of basin and ditches, fertilizers, pest and disease control.
• Quantity of irrigation water
• Quality of irrigation water
• Soil characteristics
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Crop Yield Response to Irrigation Water:
A case Study from Qalqilya, West Bank
To illustrate the importance of water as a limiting
factor for some crops and the effect of other
factors and to assess the relation between
applied irrigation water and the financial return
of water; an example was taken from an
irrigation scheme in Qalqilya area and a group
(sample) of farmers were viewed for this
purpose.
The sample comprised twelve citrus farmers
who adopt basin irrigation techniques. However,
water is considered as a limiting factor in citrus
yield and forming about 50% of the total
production cost.
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Relation between water (m³) and financial return (US$).
900
800
800
700
700
600
500
500
400
400
300
300
200
200
Financial Return
Irrigation Water
600
Applied
Irrigation
Water
Financia
Return
100
100
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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Farm ers
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The Palestinian agricultural policy is represented in the
“efficient management of irrigation water to maximize the
return per cubic meter”.
The intended policy could be achieved through
implementing the following actions:
• Rehabilitation of water resources.
• Increasing the efficiency of water delivery and irrigation
systems and to encourage investments in water projects.
• Benefiting from brackish and treated water for irrigation.
• Building small dams where economically and socially justified
and to encourage water harvesting.
• Intensifying and strengthen extension and research activities
and the transfer of technology.
• Providing appropriate legislative and institutional frameworks.
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Constraints Facing Existing Policy
• The Palestinian policy were practiced in reality where it
is applicable at a large scale especially in the field of
rehabilitation of water resources, increase the efficiency
of water delivery and irrigation systems and intensifying
and strengthen extension and at a small scale in the field
of benefiting from unconventional water resources.
– Indeed, the Palestinians are encountered by a group of
constraints in this field on top of them the Israeli occupation
which control most of the land and water resources in Palestine
which in turn hinder them from developing their natural
resources and;
– The other main constraint is the Palestinian financial incapability
of conducting the required development process in the
agricultural sector.
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
A reasonable percentage of the Palestinian farmers adopt modern
irrigation techniques.
There are distinct variations in financial return between different
cultivated crops; greenhouses have the highest financial return (2.03
US$/m3) while citrus has the lowest (0.08 US$/m3).
Shifting from low profitable crops to high profitable crops is crucial issue
in improving farmer income and productivity of unit water.
Shifting from traditional irrigation techniques to modern ones is an
important factor in improving irrigation efficiency and consequently in
raising financial returns of water.
Transforming irrigation water from unit time concept (hours) to unit
volume concept (cubic meter) through introduction of water meters could
increase much the water use efficiency, equity among farmers and
flexibility of water.
Intensification of extension services through following awareness
campaigns aiming at water conservation techniques, crop profitability,
plant protection and appropriate crop husbandry.
Building of experiment program to obtain field information which should
include field irrigation efficiency, irrigation requirements, water
management practices, relation between water and crop profitability
could contribute in increasing farmer income and water using efficiency.
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Thanks for
Listening
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