Comparison of practices

• Use of water resources
• Use of land resources
• Environmental protection

Country: Turkmenistan

Province: Mary Region

District: Sakarçäge District

Other settlement: Zakhmet Daikhan Farm

Country: Uzbekistan

Province: Namangan Region

District: Pap District

Sakar-Chaga District (area of 53,000 ha; population of 132,000 people) is located in the northwestern part of Mary Region in the Murgab River delta. The majority of local residents live in the oasis hosting 80% of settlements.

Foothill droughty area; extremely water pervious soils with pebble bed; the site is located below the Zhijdalisoj Water Reservoir

Start date: 01.01.2009

End date: 31.12.2010

Start date: 01.01.2013

End date: 31.12.2014

Land salination represents the main challenge in the area due to improper irrigation technology and lack of drainage, in their turn leading to extremely low productivity. With time, the existing irrigation management system resulted in irrational use of water and land. While water distribution rates were calculated in a centralized manner depending on specific crops, in practice water supply monitoring is extremely poor – water supply (canals) infrastructure is inconsistent with farmers’ needs leading to excessive and, vice versa, insufficient watering of different sites. In addition, there exists an informal water payment system leading to the advantageous position of certain users.

Irrational use of irrigation water and fertilizers; deficit of electric power; low soil bonitet; poor crops productivity; poor quality of agricultural products; soil erosion

Set of hydro-reclamation measures: preventive land forming (leveling), composting, monitoring of ground water bedding and mineralization, decentralized water management planning, capacity building, etc.

Free-flow drip irrigation system (DIS)

Actions:

A series of measures were executed to prevent land degradation and improve land reclamation condition, including introduction of high-performance drainage systems and reclamation technologies, construction of a new collector and cleaning of the existing one, construction of 9 water-regulating and 2 water-measuring facilities.

Results:

• 50 hectares of degraded land rehabilitated and can be used for agricultural purposes. About 35 ha of land saved from degradation thanks to preventive land forming;
• regular seminars held for land users on potential ways of applying various advanced methods of maintaining rural economy and effective use of water resources;
• about 60 measuring stations installed to monitor the level and mineralization of ground water.

Actions:

Free-flow DIS was installed at the Zhijdalisoj Water Reservoir and was connected to the already operating gravity irrigation piping network. Due to the elevation difference between the pipe inlet and outlet (at the point of entry to the irrigated site) the system generates natural water pressure allowing free-flow DISs installed in gardens to operate without any pumping equipment, i.e. electricity.

Results:

Technical:

thanks to free-flow DIS, water and fertilizers are distributed evenly, strictly according to corresponding norms, in due time and economically (water saving - up to 50%).

Financial and economic:

increased (by 30-40%) crop yields and improved yield quality.

350,000 sum/ha ($150/ha) saved due to electricity saving and no need to repair pumping equipment.

Lessons learnt:

• salinized land was rehabilitated not only thanks to reclamation actions but also by composting. In particular, high-quality humus is produced to enhance soil salinity parameters;
• the process of designing water use plans for individual farmers launched;
• one new collector built.

Recommendations:

It is necessary to focus on strengthening the role of local associations in rendering irrigation services and managing the canal’s water level.  Local water users will be rendered an opportunity to design effective irrigation water management schemes.  The experience of decentralized water planning and management accumulated by water tenants will be documented and distributed as a part of knowledge-management (capacity-building) strategy.  It is necessary to closely cooperate with the newly established Agriculture Advisory Service working on sustainable land and water management, as well as to disseminate corresponding practices in other areas.

Lessons learnt:

Application of natural (gravity-based) water pressure allows making DISs more affordable for farms located on slope acreage of mountain foothills.

Recommendations:

It is necessary to carry out research to identify locations where free-flow DISs could work thanks to natural water pressure.

Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)

Domestic tools (outcomes of research by domestic R&D organizations)

1. Cost of implementation: High

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha:

3. O&M costs: High

4. Expert support: Not needed

1. Cost of implementation: Moderate

2. Approximate cost of investment per 1 ha: $2-2.5,000

3. O&M costs: Moderate

4. Expert support: Needed at implementation stage

Project title: Local-level capacity building and investment for sustainable management of land resources.

Project duration: 2009-2010.

Project goal and objectives: overcoming barriers to higher efficiency and performance of water supply systems in climate change induced drought conditions.

Project beneficiaries: Zakhmet Daikhan Farm (approximately 300 daikhan households).

Project implementer: Ministry of Nature Protection of Turkmenistan and German Technical Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

Project title: Innovative science and technological work “Introduction of DISs using natural water pressure in areas adjacent to foothill water reservoirs”.

Project duration: 2013-2014.

Project goal and objectives: create DISs operating without pumping equipment.

Project beneficiaries: employees of Zhijdalisoj Water Reservoir of the Naryn-Syr Darya BISA (Basin Irrigation System Administration).

Project implementer: State Committee on Science and Technology  of the Republic of Uzbekistan (SCST of the RUz).

http://www.turkmenistan.ru/?page_id=3&lang_id=ru&elem_id=17207&type=event&layout=print&sort=date_desc 

SIC ICWC

SIC ICWC