Use of water resources

Country: Tajikistan

Province: Districts of Republican Subordination

District: Shahrinaw

Settlement: Mirob” Water User Association (WUA)

Mirob WUA is located in the Kafirnigan and Varzob River Basins (river catchment areas); deep (below 3 m) ground water occurrence; middle loamy soils

Start date: 01.01.2012

End date: 31.12.2013

Need to enhance water use planning and water consumption calculation techniques for agricultural crops with the account of climatic conditions and crop development phases based on decade water use planning hydro-modules proceeding from precipitation availability.

CROPWAT 8.0 Software

Actions:

• Analysis of existing methods of water resources use planning in dekhan farms of the Gissar Valley;
• Designing a water use planning technique with the account of irrigation patterns in dekhan farms.

Results:

Financial and economic:

effective use of irrigation water; reduced water consumption per harvest unit.

Ecological:

improved ecological and reclamation condition of irrigated land.

Technical:

executed decade hydro-modules based on precipitation availability allowing dekhan farms to plan their water consumption and draw up crop irrigation schedules depending on expected weather conditions in the Gissar Valley as well as to coordinate other technological and weather-dependent processes associated with crops cultivation.

Social:

prevention of conflicts, controversies and misunderstanding among water users related to irrigation water distribution.

Lessons learnt:

CROPWAT 8.0 Software allows enhancing the technology of water use planning via specification of irrigation modes depending on expected precipitation availability.

Recommendations:

It is necessary to widely apply CROPWAT 8.0 Software.

Foreign tools (transfer of foreign experience)

Project title: Improving water use planning technology based on CROPWAT 8.0 Software.

Project duration: 2012-2013.

Project goal and objectives: design a science-based water use planning technique using CROPWAT 8.0 Software to calculate water consumption for different crops with the account of climatic conditions and crops development phases based on decade water use planning hydro-modules proceeding from precipitation availability.

Project beneficiaries: water users of Mirob WUA.

Project implementer: Sh. Shotemur TAU.

Report by the Operation of Hydro and Reclamation Systems Chair of Sh. Shotemur TAU, Dushanbe, 2013, 46 p.