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Management trends and responses to water scarcity in an irrigation scheme of Southern Spain

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  • Garci­a-Vila, M.
  • Lorite, I.J.
  • Soriano, M.A.
  • Fereres, E.

Abstract

Improvement of irrigation management in areas subjected to periods of water scarcity requires good knowledge of system performance over long time periods. We have conducted a study aimed at characterizing the behaviour of an irrigated area encompassing over 7000 ha in Southern Spain, since its inception in 1991. Detailed cropping pattern and plot water use records allowed the assessment of irrigation scheme performance using a simulation model that computed maximum irrigation requirements for every plot during the first 15 years of system operations. The ratio of irrigation water used to maximum irrigation requirements (Annual Relative Irrigation Supply, ARIS) was well below 1 and oscillated around 0.6 in the 12 years that there were no water supply restrictions in the district. The ARIS values varied among crops, however, from values between 0.2 and 0.3 for sunflower and wheat, to values approaching 1 for cotton and sugar beet. Farmer interviews revealed some of the causes for the low irrigation water usage which were mainly associated with the attempt to balance profitability and stability, and with the lack of incentives to achieve maximum yields in crops subsidized by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. The response to water scarcity was also documented through interviews and demonstrated that the change in crop choice is the primary reaction to an anticipated constraint in water supply. Water productivity (value of production divided by the volume of irrigation water delivered; WP) in the district was moderate and highly variable (around 2[euro] m-3) and did not increase with time. Irrigation water productivity (increase in production value due to irrigation divided by irrigation water delivered) was much lower (0.65[euro] m-3) and also, it did not increase with time. The lack of improvement in WP, the low irrigation water usage, and the changes in cropping patterns over the first 15 years of operation indicate that performance trends in irrigated agriculture are determined by a complex mix of technical, economic, and socio-cultural factors, as those that characterized the behaviour of the Genil-Cabra irrigation scheme.

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  • Garci­a-Vila, M. & Lorite, I.J. & Soriano, M.A. & Fereres, E., 2008. "Management trends and responses to water scarcity in an irrigation scheme of Southern Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(4), pages 458-468, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:95:y:2008:i:4:p:458-468
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    1. Soto-García, M. & Martínez-Alvarez, V. & García-Bastida, P.A. & Alcon, F. & Martin-Gorriz, B., 2013. "Effect of water scarcity and modernisation on the performance of irrigation districts in south-eastern Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 11-19.
    2. Firat Arslan & Juan Ignacio Córcoles Tendero & Juan Antonio Rodríguez Díaz & Demetrio Antonio Zema, 2023. "Comparison of Irrigation Management in Water User Associations of Italy, Spain and Turkey Using Benchmarking Techniques," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(1), pages 55-74, January.
    3. Silvestre García de Jalón & Marta González del Tánago & Carlos Alonso & Diego García de Jalón, 2017. "The Environmental Costs of Water Flow Regulation: an Innovative Approach Based on the ‘Polluter Pays’ Principle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(9), pages 2809-2822, July.
    4. Zema, Demetrio Antonio & Nicotra, Angelo & Mateos, Luciano & Zimbone, Santo Marcello, 2018. "Improvement of the irrigation performance in Water Users Associations integrating data envelopment analysis and multi-regression models," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 38-49.
    5. Córcoles, J.I. & de Juan, J.A. & Ortega, J.F. & Tarjuelo, J.M. & Moreno, M.A., 2010. "Management evaluation of Water Users Associations using benchmarking techniques," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Ignacio Lorite & Margarita García-Vila & María-Ascensión Carmona & Cristina Santos & María-Auxiliadora Soriano, 2012. "Assessment of the Irrigation Advisory Services’ Recommendations and Farmers’ Irrigation Management: A Case Study in Southern Spain," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2397-2419, June.
    7. Kafle, Kashi & Balasubramanya, Soumya, 2021. "Can Perceptions of Reduction in Physical Water Availability Affect Irrigation Behaviors? Evidence from Jordan," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315121, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. García-Tejero, I. & Romero-Vicente, R. & Jiménez-Bocanegra, J.A. & Martínez-García, G. & Durán-Zuazo, V.H. & Muriel-Fernández, J.L., 2010. "Response of citrus trees to deficit irrigation during different phenological periods in relation to yield, fruit quality, and water productivity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(5), pages 689-699, May.
    9. Salvador, R. & Martínez-Cob, A. & Cavero, J. & Playán, E., 2011. "Seasonal on-farm irrigation performance in the Ebro basin (Spain): Crops and irrigation systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(4), pages 577-587, February.
    10. Martínez-Alvarez, V. & García-Bastida, P.A. & Martin-Gorriz, B. & Soto-García, M., 2014. "Adaptive strategies of on-farm water management under water supply constraints in south-eastern Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 59-67.
    11. Varghese, Shalet Korattukudy & Veettil, Prakashan Chellattan & Speelman, Stijn & Buysse, Jeroen & Van Huylenbroeck, Guido, 2013. "Estimating the causal effect of water scarcity on the groundwater use efficiency of rice farming in South India," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 55-64.
    12. Demetrio Antonio Zema & Pasquale Filianoti & Daniela D’Agostino & Antonino Labate & Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja & Angelo Nicotra & Santo Marcello Zimbone, 2020. "Analyzing the Performances of Water User Associations to Increase the Irrigation Sustainability: An Application of Multivariate Statistics to a Case Study in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-18, August.
    13. Cruz-Blanco, M. & Lorite, I.J. & Santos, C., 2014. "An innovative remote sensing based reference evapotranspiration method to support irrigation water management under semi-arid conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 135-145.
    14. García-López, J. & Lorite, I.J. & García-Ruiz, R. & Ordoñez, R. & Dominguez, J., 2016. "Yield response of sunflower to irrigation and fertilization under semi-arid conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 151-162.

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