Existing Solutions

Irrigation, water use effciency, agriculture, arid conditions

technical

SIRRIMED project will address issues related to sustainable use of water in Mediterranean irrigated agricultural systems, with the overall aim of optimizing irrigation water use. The approach proposed in SIRRIMED for reaching this goal will be based in an Integrated Water Irrigation Management (IWIM) where the improved water use efficiency will be considered at farm, irrigation district and watershed scales. These strategies include innovative and more efficient irrigation techniques for improving water productivity and allow savings in water consumption. SIRRIMED will consider the development, test and validation of new deficit irrigation strategies, the sustainable and safe use of poor quality waters and the improvement of precise irrigation scheduling using plant sensors. These new techniques will be integrated with suitable husbandry irrigation practices. At the district scale, efforts should be directed towards an integrated policy of water allocation which accounts for the characteristics and specificity of each farm, requiring the availabity of data bases and efficient management tools (decision support systems) specifically designed to fulfil the objectives of maximizing water use efficiency. At the watershed scale, priority is devoted to the assessment of new models of water governance, and the definition of strategies and policies aimed at promoting a more responsible use of irrigation water. Finally, SIRRIMED will establish a sound dissemination strategy for transfer of knowledge towards the end users, with a real partipatory approach to facilitate an adequate involvement of stakeholders (farmers, association of irrigation users, water authorities and SMEs)

• Spain: Segura and Guadalquivi basin.
• France: Crau Plane (Rhône Delta)
• Italy : Canale Emiliano-Romagnolo
• Greece : Karla basin
• Morocco : Guerdan Region (SoussValleyofMorocco)
• Lebanon: Litani basin
• Egypt: Noubaria Region.

Project in progress (Second year of development).

In many watersheds of the Mediterranean Countries, water resources are presently fully or overcommitted. Demand for water is likely to continue increasing due to population growth as well as increased demand from in-stream users. Irrigated farms are the largest consumers of fresh water in Mediterranean Countries: either individually or as members of irrigation districts, using up to 80% of all allocated water in some regions. With the increasing water demand of other sectors and environmental constraints, water resources available for agriculture will decrease in the next decades. However maintaining or increasing the fraction of irrigated agriculture in the national food production is essential to reach or maintain food security and welfare in many countries of the World, and especially within theMediterraneanBasin. In this critical context, there is an urgent need to foster the adoption and implementation of alternative irrigation systems and management practices that will allow increased crop/water productivity.

About 70% of water resources are dedicated to irrigation in Mediterranean Countries, implying that any increase in irrigation water use efficiency (WUE) will save a significant amount of water. This appears to be the most efficient and straightforward means to comply with the EU water policy, mainly in areas with high level of water stress on the aquifers, where it is compulsory to reduce and eliminate the gap between uptake and recharge. At a mean term horizon, part of the saved water could be available for other agricultural, industrial and domestic uses. On the other hand, the conservation and preservation of the water resources, and its better use by farmers will enhance the sustainability of irrigated farming systems (lower input farming systems).

The worldwide interest and priority in reaching integrated and sustainable irrigation management are well recognized. Therefore, the scientific and technological outputs of this project will have a large exploitation and diffusion amongst the community of the water resource professionals (farmers, engineers, enterprises, water managers) as well as in the scientific community. Special attention is given to these issues in SIRRIMED, through the implication, partnership and participatory approach involving growers, water managers, SME and extension services. We believe that the outputs of the project will represent a valuable and significant contribution to the farmers’ level, extension services, water authorities and policy makers. SIRRIMED is first and foremost an applied project, whose outputs and deliverables have immediate and practical application in terms of farmers’ information and training, water savings, and decision making for water policy makers (water pricing, structures, planning, etc.)

One of our main goals is to become a project of reference for research on global change impact on sustainable agriculture in the Mediterranean realm. Apart from Europe and Northern Africa, regions with Mediterranean-type climates include parts of western North-America (i.e., California), South America, South Africa and Australia. Mediterranean agro-ecosystems are typically limited by water, contrary to continental or boreal climates that are energy limited.

The key concepts of SIRRIMED can be defined as (i) integration, (ii) harmonisation and (iii) participation.

 (i)   Integration. SIRRIMED will develop an integrated approach to water use and management, by giving more consideration to the management of water as a resource rather than just the provision of water as a service.

 (ii) Harmonisation. The concept of ‘system harmonisation’ relies on consensus and collective decision making based on a process of optimisation of a production chain. SIRRIMED will apply this concept at the district scale, involving farmers and water service providers as main stakeholders.

 (iii) Participation. A basic working concept of SIRRIMED is the close involvement of researchers and stakeholders in a participatory approach to build local capacity and support innovation in irrigated agriculture.

“Sustainable use of irrigation water in the Mediterranean Region”  is a project  supported by the European Commission under the EFP7 Cooperation Theme “Food, Fisheries and Biotechnologies.

Juan José Alarcón Cabañero, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain.

www.sirrimed.org