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B-23 During the last three decades, sprinkler and micro irrigation systems owing to their capability to apply water efficiently, low labour requirement, and increase in quantity and quality of crop yield/produce have made a breakthrough in many countries around the globe. Use of sprinkler irrigation for field crops commenced in 1950s and today, variety of sprinkler systems ranging from simple hand move to large self propelled systems are in use worldwide. Drip irrigation was first used about 40 years ago but its wide-scale adoption commenced in 1970s when it was used on 56,000 ha. In the present paper, efforts have been made to compile the world-wide area coverage of both sprinkler and micro irrigation using ICID, FAO databases and other sources. It is seen that at present, the global coverage of sprinkler and micro irrigated areas is 33 million hectares (Mha) and 6 Mha, respectively. Region-wise spread of sprinkler irrigated area is: Americas (13.3 Mha), Europe (10.1 Mha), Asia (6.8 Mha), Africa (1.9 Mha), and Oceania (0.9 Mha). The top ten sprinkler irrigated countries are - USA, Russia, China, India, France, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. These countries together constitute 75% of total sprinkler irrigated area. In case of micro irrigation, the highest coverage is in Americas (1.9 Mha) followed by Europe and Asia (1.8 Mha each), Africa (0.4 Mha), and Oceania (0.2 Mha).The top 10 countries in micro irrigated areas are – USA, Spain, India, China, Italy, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. These countries share 77% of the total micro irrigated area of the world. In five countries viz. Austria, Israel, Libya, Slovak Republic and United Kingdom, irrigation is accomplished solely through pressurized systems. Besides the micro Irrigation systems that are of the state-of-the-art, low cost drip irrigation systems - also called as “Affordable Micro irrigation Technologies” (AMITs) are being increasingly used in some developing countries. These systems have same technical advantages as conventional micro irrigation systems and are available as a packaged kits suitable for small fields (0.02 to 0.4 ha). Low cost drip systems are used on some 50,000 ha by over 250,000 smallholders mainly in developing countries. Micro irrigation is increasingly used in greenhouses and irrigation of lawns, parks and golf courses. The Greenhouses cover about 0.75 Mha around the world and the growth in acreage is likely to continue in the coming years. 7 th International Micro Irrigation Congress GLOBAL SCENARIO OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREAS S.A. Kulkarni 1 , F.B. Reinders 2 , and F. Ligetvari 3 ABSTRACT

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Page 1: 7th Micro Irrigation Congress 2006

B-23

During the last three decades, sprinkler and micro irrigation systems owing to their capabilityto apply water efficiently, low labour requirement, and increase in quantity and quality ofcrop yield/produce have made a breakthrough in many countries around the globe. Use ofsprinkler irrigation for field crops commenced in 1950s and today, variety of sprinkler systemsranging from simple hand move to large self propelled systems are in use worldwide. Dripirrigation was first used about 40 years ago but its wide-scale adoption commenced in 1970swhen it was used on 56,000 ha.

In the present paper, efforts have been made to compile the world-wide area coverage ofboth sprinkler and micro irrigation using ICID, FAO databases and other sources. It is seenthat at present, the global coverage of sprinkler and micro irrigated areas is 33 million hectares(Mha) and 6 Mha, respectively. Region-wise spread of sprinkler irrigated area is: Americas(13.3 Mha), Europe (10.1 Mha), Asia (6.8 Mha), Africa (1.9 Mha), and Oceania (0.9 Mha).The top ten sprinkler irrigated countries are - USA, Russia, China, India, France, Brazil, Italy,Spain, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. These countries together constitute 75% of total sprinklerirrigated area. In case of micro irrigation, the highest coverage is in Americas (1.9 Mha)followed by Europe and Asia (1.8 Mha each), Africa (0.4 Mha), and Oceania (0.2 Mha).Thetop 10 countries in micro irrigated areas are – USA, Spain, India, China, Italy, Brazil, SouthAfrica, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. These countries share 77% of the total microirrigated area of the world. In five countries viz. Austria, Israel, Libya, Slovak Republic andUnited Kingdom, irrigation is accomplished solely through pressurized systems.

Besides the micro Irrigation systems that are of the state-of-the-art, low cost drip irrigationsystems - also called as “Affordable Micro irrigation Technologies” (AMITs) are beingincreasingly used in some developing countries. These systems have same technical advantagesas conventional micro irrigation systems and are available as a packaged kits suitable forsmall fields (0.02 to 0.4 ha). Low cost drip systems are used on some 50,000 ha by over250,000 smallholders mainly in developing countries. Micro irrigation is increasingly usedin greenhouses and irrigation of lawns, parks and golf courses. The Greenhouses cover about0.75 Mha around the world and the growth in acreage is likely to continue in the comingyears.

7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

GLOBAL SCENARIO OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREAS

S.A. Kulkarni1, F.B. Reinders2, and F. Ligetvari3

ABSTRACT

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The present paper provides information on country and region-wise coverage of sprinklerand micro irrigated areas, a brief about the AMITs and micro irrigation in greenhouses. Casestudies highlighting growth and trends of sprinkler and micro irrigation in USA and India arealso given in brief.

Sept 10 – 16 2006, PWTC, Kuala Lumpur

1 Director I, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 48 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi110021, India, E-mail : [email protected]

2 Chairman, Working Group on On-Farm Irrigation Systems and Vice President, ICID, ARC-Institute for AgriculturalEngineering (ARC-IAE), Private Bag X 519, Silverton 0127, South Africa 141, E-mail: [email protected]

3 Vice President Hon., ICID, Chairman, Hungarian National Committee, ICID (HUCID), Gödöllo, P.o.Box 303, H-2103;Hungary, E-mail : [email protected]

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GLOBAL SCENARIO OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREAS

S.A. Kulkarni1, F.B. Reinders2, and F. Ligetvari3

ABSTRACT

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7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

During the last three decades, sprinkler and micro irrigation systems owing to their capabilityto apply water efficiently, low labour requirement, and increase in quantity and quality ofcrop yield/produce have made a breakthrough in many countries around the globe. Use ofsprinkler irrigation for field crops commenced in 1950s and today, variety of sprinkler systemsranging from simple hand move to large self propelled systems are in use worldwide. Dripirrigation was first used about 40 years ago but its wide-scale adoption commenced in 1970swhen it was used on 56,000 ha.

In the present paper, efforts have been made to compile the world-wide area coverage ofboth sprinkler and micro irrigation using ICID, FAO databases and other sources. It is seenthat at present, the global coverage of sprinkler and micro irrigated areas is 33 million hectares(Mha) and 6 Mha, respectively. Region-wise spread of sprinkler irrigated area is: Americas(13.3 Mha), Europe (10.1 Mha), Asia (6.8 Mha), Africa (1.9 Mha), and Oceania (0.9 Mha).The top ten sprinkler irrigated countries are - USA, Russia, China, India, France, Brazil, Italy,Spain, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. These countries together constitute 75% of total sprinklerirrigated area. In case of micro irrigation, the highest coverage is in Americas (1.9 Mha)followed by Europe and Asia (1.8 Mha each), Africa (0.4 Mha), and Oceania (0.2 Mha).Thetop 10 countries in micro irrigated areas are – USA, Spain, India, China, Italy, Brazil, SouthAfrica, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. These countries share 77% of the total microirrigated area of the world. In five countries viz. Austria, Israel, Libya, Slovak Republic andUnited Kingdom, irrigation is accomplished solely through pressurized systems.

Besides the micro Irrigation systems that are of the state-of-the- art, low cost drip irrigationsystems - also called as “Affordable Micro irrigation Technologies” (AMITs) are beingincreasingly used in some developing countries. These systems have same technical advantagesas conventional micro irrigation systems and are available as a packaged kits suitable forsmall fields (0.02 to 0.4 ha). Low cost drip systems are used on some 50,000 ha by over250,000 smallholders mainly in developing countries. Micro irrigation is increasingly usedin greenhouses and irrigation of lawns, parks and golf courses. The Greenhouses cover about0.75 Mha around the world and the growth in acreage is likely to continue in the comingyears.

1 Director I, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 48 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi110021, India, E-mail : [email protected]

2 Chairman, Working Group on On-Farm Irrigation Systems and Vice President, ICID, ARC-Institute for AgriculturalEngineering (ARC-IAE), Private Bag X 519, Silverton 0127, South Africa 141, E-mail: [email protected]

3 Vice President Hon., ICID, Chairman, Hungarian National Committee, ICID (HUCID), Gödöllo, P.o. Box 303, H-2103;Hungary, E-mail : [email protected]

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The present paper provides information on country and region-wise coverage of sprinklerand micro irrigated areas, a brief about the AMITs and micro irrigation in greenhouses. Casestudies highlighting growth and trends of sprinkler and micro irrigation in USA and India arealso given in brief.

INTRODUCTION

On-farm water application systems are normally classified in four basic categories or methods- (1) surface/ gravity, (2) sub-surface, (3) sprinkler, and (3) micro-irrigation. The sprinklerand micro irrigation methods together are generally categorized as ‘Pressurized systems’.Sprinkler method includes hand move, hose pull, side roll/wheel move, stationary big guns,solid state/permanent types, continuous move types such as center pivots, linear move, andtravelers. Water application through drip (also called trickle), micro- sprinklers (spinners androtators), micro-jets (static and vibrating), micro-sprayers, bubblers, drip tapes (both surfaceand subsurface) referred to as micro irrigation. There is no definite distinction betweenconventional sprinklers and emitters used in micro-irrigation, emitters having flow rates upto 200 liters per hour (l/h) can be regarded as micro emitters (ISCID, 2006). Generally,drippers have flow rates from 2 to 8 l/h. Micro-sprayers and static micro jets are non-rotatingtype with flow rates ranging from 20 to 150 l/h. Whereas, micro-sprinklers are rotating typewith flow rates ranging from 100 to 300 l/h.

Although sprinkler irrigation is known to the world since more than 80 years its wide scaleuse for field crops commenced in 1950s due to availability of better sprinklers, aluminiumpipes and more efficient pumps (Keller, 2002). Today, a variety of sprinkler systems comprisingperiodically move systems, fix system and continuous move system are in use worldwide. Bythe end of 1990s the total area under sprinkler irrigation in the world was about 21.6 millionhectares (Mha) (INCID, 1998). Further data of the worldwide coverage of sprinkler irrigationis not available.

The large-scale use of drip irrigation system started in 1970s in Australia, Israel, Mexico,New Zealand, South Africa, and USA to irrigate vegetables, orchards and its coverage wasreported as 56,000 ha. The micro irrigated area grew slowly but steadily and it was 0.41Mha in 1981, 1.1 Mha in 1986, 1.77 Mha in 1991 (Bucks, 1993), and about 3.0 Mha in2000 (Reinders, 2000). In this paper, efforts have been made to compile the latest availabledata about area coverage of both sprinkler micro irrigation. The data is compiled mainlyfrom National Committees of ICID, FAO-AQUASTAT, websites and other published documents.

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COUNTRY-WISE SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREA COVERAGE

In the last worldwide survey of micro irrigation (1991) carried out by International Commissionon Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), data of 35 countries was reported. During the last 15 yearsthe numbers of countries using micro irrigation have more than doubled. In this paper, databoth of sprinkler and micro irrigated areas in 77 countries, arranged by region and subregion, is presented (Table 1). The column (9) shows the year of reporting the data for eachcountry along with the source of information. The data pertains to different years from 1989to 2005 and thus may not represent the current status in case of some countries.

Table 1. Country-wise Sprinkler and Micro Irrigated Area

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1. Irrigation in Africa in Figures, AQUASTAT Survey 2005, FAO Water Report 29.2. Irrigation in the Near East Region in Figure, 1997, FAO, Water Reports 9, Rome3. ICID Data Base (Data provided by ICID National Committees of respective countries)

<www.icid.org>4. National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 2003 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey,

USDA <http://www.nass.usda.gov/census>5. Irrigation in Latin America and the Caribbean in Figures, 2000, FAO, Water Reports 206. Water Resources Information in Yemen (2005), National Resources Authority, Republic

of Yemen <www.nwra-yemen.org>7. Shatanawi M R: Water Conservation Measures in Jordan: Opportunities and Challenges,

Proceedings of the Workshop on Water Saving and Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture inthe Mediterranean Region, 16th Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 1996, Cairo,Egypt

8. Irrigation in the Countries of the Former Soviet Union in Figures, 1997, FAO, WaterReports 15, Rome

9. National Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Horticulture (NCPAH), Departmentof Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India

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NA – Information not available

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10. Irrigation in Asia in Figures, FAO, 1999, Water Reports 1811. Bucks D A: Micro Irrigation – Worldwide Usage Report, Workshop on Micro irrigation

Worldwide, 15th International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 1993, TheHague, The Netherlands

12. Irrigation Sector Reform in Central and Eastern European Countries, European RegionalWorking Group of ICID (ERWG), 2005

13. Department of Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Greece, 2004 (personal communication)14. Italian National Services of Agriculture (ISTAT), Census of Agriculture, 200015. Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – at a Glance, 2005, Department of

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry16. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand <http://www.maf.govt.nz/statistics/

primaryindustries/land-management/irrigation.htm>. (The areas under sprinkler andmicro irrigation are Authors’ estimates)

REGIONAL SPREAD OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREA

Use of pressurized irrigation systems vary considerably from region to region and countryto country. Table 2 shows the region-wise area coverage by pressurized systems. Proportionof micro and sprinkler irrigated areas in each of the five regions is shown in Figure 1.

* Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of countries

Table 2. Region-wise Sprinkler and Micro-irrigated Area (in descending order)(Area in million hectares)

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Major aspects of sprinkler and micro irrigation development in the five world regions arebriefly discussed as follows.

Africa

In African continent area covered under full/partial control irrigation technique is 12.48million ha, which is 6 % of the total cultivated area of the continent (FAO, 2005). Of whichalmost 50% is concentrated in Northern Africa and about 75 % are in five countries viz.,South Africa, Egypt, Madagascar, Morocco, and Sudan. The FAO has categorized the 53African countries into seven regions. However, for the purpose of this paper, these are groupedunder five sub-regions (Table 1).

Most of the data used in this paper is drawn from the latest FAO - AQUASTAT Survey-2005.As can be seen from the Table 2 that, in Africa, pressurized irrigation systems are used on2.3 million hectares or 22% of the total irrigated area reported in this paper and 18% of thetotal area equipped for irrigation of the continent. Within the pressurized systems, sprinklerirrigation covers 1.86 million ha (18%) and micro irrigation 0.43 million ha (4%). Both sprinklerand micro irrigation are concentrated mainly in the Northern and Southern regions.

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Figure 1. Proportion of the Micro and Sprinkler Irrigated Areas in the Five Regions.

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Americas

American region as a whole has the largest area (14.68 million ha) under sprinkler and microirrigation among five regions of the world. More than 85% of the area coverage is in threeNorthern countries viz. Canada, Mexico, and USA. The sprinkler irrigation is the dominantmethod of irrigation and is practiced on 88% of the total reported irrigated area (37.2 millionha), while micro irrigation is used on 12% of the irrigated area. The USA not only has theworld’s largest area under pressurized systems but also has varieties of them.

In Latin America, the pace of adoption of new irrigation technologies is rather slow but steady.In arid and semi-arid zones of countries like Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador the drip systemhas become popular among fruit, vegetable and flower growers. In countries like Mexico andPeru governments are extending liberal technical, financial and training support to farmersin adoption of modern irrigation techniques. Peru is the world’s biggest paprika exporter, the2nd biggest asparagus exporter, and the 3rd biggest onion provider. Argentina is among thetop 10 world’s biggest apple exporters. Colombia is the second largest exporter of flowersin the world and also one of the biggest banana exporters. Ecuador is the world’s largestbanana exporter and second largest flower producer in South America. Chile is a leadingwine exporting country. In all these countries, an increase of sprinkler and drip irrigation islikely to happen in the years to come (New AG International, 2006).

Asia

Although the Asian region shares 70% of the total world irrigated area, its share in the world’ssprinkler and micro irrigated area is about 30%. At present, the proportion of sprinkler andmicro irrigated area to the irrigated area is rather low. It is only 6% of the reported irrigatedarea in this paper (148.6 million ha). China, India, and Pakistan together constitute almosthalf of the world’s irrigated land. About 90% of the world’s rice grown area is in Asia (118million hectares), of which about 70 million ha (60%) are estimated as irrigated. The dominanceof rice area could be one of the reasons for the low share of the pressurized irrigation in theregion.

Both China and India have emerged as the major users of pressurized irrigation technologiesand occupy 3rd and 4th position, respectively in the world as regards the area coverage(Table 1). In China, water withdrawals for irrigation were 310 km3 in the year 2003. Waterconservation and increased water use efficiency have become the driving force of China’sirrigation development. About one-third of the 55.9 million hectares of irrigated area wasequipped with various water-saving irrigation techniques. As a result average volume of waterapplication declined from 9405 m3/ha in1980 to 5,539 m3/ha in 2003 (CNCID, 2005).Dueto increasing water scarcity in many regions of China and India, it is expected that duringforthcoming years the major expansion of pressurized systems will occur in these counties.In other major irrigated Asian countries viz. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan,Vietnam data on area coverage by pressurized systems is not available. In Baluchistan Provinceof Pakistan, drip irrigation is practiced by a few orchard growers as the groundwater is beingmined.

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In Central Asian Countries, sprinkler irrigation was widely used during the former SovietUnion period. However, subsequently due to technological and financial constraints, deteriorationof irrigation infrastructure has taken place (The World Bank, 2006). It is therefore likely thatthe area under pressurized systems reported in this paper might have been declined further.In Azerbaijan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey sprinkler irrigation is by far the mostpredominant, while in Israel and Jordan micro-irrigation is the most widely used technique,being practiced on over 70 % of their irrigated land.

Europe

Amongst all the five regions, Europe has the highest proportion of its irrigated area underpressurized systems. Of the total 25 million ha of irrigated land about 47% (12 million ha)is covered by sprinkler and micro irrigation. Of the 21 countries reported in this paper, 13countries have more than 75 % of their irrigated land under pressurized systems.

At the beginning of the 1990s, in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) theperiod of transition from a central planning economy to the market economy was commenced.Due to privatization of agricultural land and reduction of government support to irrigationsector, deterioration of irrigation and drainage infrastructure took place. As a result there wasa drastic reduction in irrigated areas in most of the CEEC. For example, in Bulgaria, theirrigated area prior to 1991 was 1.25 million ha, which declined to about 40,000 at present.Similarly in Poland, the present irrigated area is 83,000 while it was more than 3.2 millionha prior to 1991. Prior to 1990 in CEEC, large-scale sprinkler irrigated farms under cooperativeand state sectors were in vogue. However, with the establishment of smaller farming units anddiversification of crops, the earlier large-sized mechanized sprinkler systems were replacedby appropriate small-scale systems such as hand move and hose-reel systems (Dirksen andHuppert, 2005). The area under pressurized irrigation in the CEEC has therefore droppedsubstantially as compared to pre-1990s.

Oceania

Australia and New Zealand are the major irrigated countries in Oceania and Pacific regions.In New Zealand almost all irrigation is in private hands. About 80% of the sprinkler and microirrigated area of the region is located in Australia alone.

PRESENT GLOBAL COVERAGE OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATION

Owing to year-to-year fluctuations in the actual irrigated areas and also non-availability ofinformation in some countries, it is difficult to have an accurate worldwide statistics of irrigatedarea and so also of pressurized irrigation. The FAO Production Yearbook (2003) has reportedthe total irrigated area of 174 countries across the world as 276 million ha. In this paperdata pertaining to sprinkler and micro irrigation in 77 countries covering 220 million ha ispresented.

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Worldwide experience during the last 50 years has shown that sprinkler and micro irrigationcan be used for all types of crops excepting rice-paddy. Although there are some experimentalevidences of use of sprinkler irrigation for rice production in Pakistan (Kahlown, 2005), Turkey,USA and Zimbabwe (Cakir et al, 1998), its application is yet to spread on farmers’ fields.Thus while reporting the proportion of pressurized irrigation to the total irrigated area of acountry/region or at global scale, the corresponding irrigated rice area may be excludedand then the percentage is computed. This is further explained as follows.

Rice is grown in 113 countries around the world with a total harvested area of about 150million hectares. About 40% of the total rice area is classified as rainfed (FAO, 2005). Thusit can be estimated that about 90 million hectares is an irrigated rice area worldwide. Of thetotal irrigated area of 276 million ha, about 186 million ha can be considered as non-riceirrigated area, of which presently pressurized systems are practiced on about 39 million ha.Consequently, the proportion of area coverage by pressurized systems with respect to the totalnon-rice irrigated area of the world works out to be 21% (Figure 2).This proportion becomes30% if it is computed with respect to the non-rice irrigated area (132 million ha) worked outon the basis of total irrigated area of 77 countries (220 million ha) reported in this paper.

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Figure 2. World-wide Coverage of Sprinkler and Micro irrigation (in Non-rice Irrigated Area)

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Table 3. The top 20 countries withsprinkler irrigated area

Table 4. The top 20 countries withmicro irrigated area

TOP TWENTY COUNTRIES HAVING SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREAS

The area coverage of pressurized systems varies widely between countries. Table 3 and 4show the top 20 countries having sprinkler and micro irrigation, respectively.

Top 20 countries with major area irrigated by pressurized irrigation are shown in Table 5.The top 10 and top 20 countries share about respectively 75%, and 90% of the total areairrigated by the pressurized systems worldwide.

Today there are 8 countries having more than a million hectare under pressurized irrigationsystems viz. USA, Russia, China, India, Spain, Brazil, France, and Italy. Countries havingmore than 75% of their irrigated land under pressurized irrigation systems are shown in Table6. However, these 20 countries together share about 25% of the total sprinkler and microirrigated area of the world. In five countries viz. Austria, Israel, Libya, Slovak Republic andUnited Kingdom, irrigation is accomplished entirely through pressurized systems. In nine

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Table 5. The top 20 countries havingpressurized irrigation systems

Table 6. Countries having more than 75% oftheir irrigated land under pressurizedirrigation systems

DEVELOPMENT OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATION IN INDIA AND USA

India

India has world’s largest irrigated area and presently 57 million hectares (90 million haharvested) are irrigated. About two-third of the area is irrigated by groundwater and one-third from surface water resources. The ultimate irrigation (harvested area) potential is estimatedas 139 million ha without the ‘River linking project’ and 174 million ha upon its implementation.Present irrigation withdrawals are 534 km3 and are estimated to be 611 km3 in 2025 and807 km3 by the year 2050(MoWR, 1999).

countries viz. Czech Republic, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania Mauritius,and Ukraine pressurized irrigation covers more than 90% of their total irrigated land.

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In India, the sprinkler irrigated area was 0.23 Mha in 1985 which grew to 0.67 Mha by1998 (INCID,1998). As per the 2005 survey carried out by the National Committee onPlasticulture Application in Horticulture (NCPAH), the sprinkler area has dramatically increasedto 1.63 million ha (Kulkarni, 2005). In 1985 only 1000 hectares were under drip/microirrigation which rose to 35,000 hectares in 1990, 152,930 hectares in 1995, 350,850hectares in 2000, and about 500,000 hectares by 2005. With a few exceptions, almost allsprinkler and micro irrigation systems are served by groundwater structures (open dug wellsand tube wells). Although the micro irrigated area has grown 15 times during the last fifteenyears, the rate of adoption is far from its potential. The Ministry of Agriculture has estimatedan ultimate potential area (harvested) for micro and sprinkler irrigation as 27 million ha and42.5 million ha, respectively (GOI, 2004). The Ministry has proposed to bring 17 million haunder pressurized irrigation in the country, comprising 12 million ha under micro irrigationand 5 million ha under sprinkler irrigation by the end of 11th Five Year Plan period (2007-2012). This is expected to result in an annual water savings of 58.6 billion cubic meters.

United States of America

The USA has the third largest irrigated area in the world but ranks first in area coverageunder pressurized systems. In 1992, 23.5 million ha land was irrigated, of which 54.5% wasirrigated by gravity systems, 42.5% by sprinklers and 2.9% by micro irrigation (ICID, 1993).The Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey is conducted every five years by the National AgriculturalStatistics Service (NASS) of the Department of Agriculture. As per the 2003 survey, 21.3million hectares were irrigated in the USA, of which 12.1 million hectares (57%) were coveredby sprinkler and micro irrigation (USDA, 2004). Although overall irrigated land area has notchanged substantially during the past two decades, the area under surface irrigation methodshas declined from the 62% in 1979 to 43 % in 2003. The micro irrigated has doubled duringthe last decade - from 0.56 million hectares in 1990 to 1.2 million hectares in 2003.

In USA, wide range of sprinkler systems–ranging from hand-moved to large scale selfpropelledcenter pivot systems are used by farmers. The self-propelled center pivot, which gainedpopularity in the 1960s, has given a fillip to rapid increase in the area under sprinklerirrigation in the country. Today, about 80% of all sprinkler irrigated lands or about 50% ofthe total irrigated area in the USA utilizes center pivots. There has been rising trend towardsuse of low pressure center pivots known as “Low Energy Precision Application (LEPA)” systems.The LEPA system has drop tubes fixed on the lateral that extend towards soil surface wherea low pressure bubbler is attached in place of a sprinkler. Water is applied directly to thefurrow and not over the crop canopy. Self-propelled sprinkler systems like center pivot andlinear move are particularly amenable to high level of automation and effective precisionirrigated crop management. Table 7 shows area irrigated by different types of sprinkler, microand other irrigation methods in USA in 1998, and 2003.

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NON-CONVENTIONAL USES OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATION

Besides conventional use of sprinkler and micro irrigation for field crops and horticulturalcrops, there are three major non-conventional applications viz. (1) Low cost systems forsmallholders, (2) Greenhouse irrigation, and (3) Landscape and park irrigation. Status ofthese uses is briefly given as follows:

Low Cost Micro and Sprinkler Irrigation Systems

Generally, conventional “state-of-the-art” micro irrigation system is viewed as the technologyfor large commercial farms engaged in high value agriculture and not appropriate andaffordable for small and marginal farm families in many developing countries (Keller, 2002).The prospectus for the expansion of this technology has brightened with the development ofa range of low cost/affordable drip systems fitting to different income level farmers and farmsizes (Keller and Keller, 2005; Postel et.al, 2001).

The so called ‘Affordable Micro Irrigation Technologies’ (AMITs) are low cost and lowpressure systems and have same technical advantages as conventional micro irrigationsystembut the technology is packaged and marketed as kits suitable for small fields (25 m2to 4000 m2). The AMITs were developed by Chapin Watermatics in the USA and Africa,Underhill International, USA, IDE International in the USA and India, Netafim and Ein Tal ofIsrael. The AMITs include bucket-kits, drum-kits, and customized kits. Irrigation is accomplishedthrough short length laterals fitted with micro tubes, micro-sprinklers. Sometimes a singlelateral is used to irrigate several rows of plants by shifting it manually. An Israeli firm NETAFIMhas developed gravity pressurized ‘Family Drip Systems’ which are marketed in China, Indiaand Africa. In West Africa, a ‘Spray-head Irrigation’ technology consisting of a small petrolor pedal pump with a conventional lay-flat hose of about 40 mm diameter and a hand-heldspraying-head is popular among farmers (NWP, 2003). The AMIT has the specific advantageof affordability, easy to understand, rapid pay back, divisibility and expandability.

Table 7. Area Irrigated by Different Irrigation Methods in USA (1998 and 2003)

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Farms under two hectares represent 98 % of the farms in China, 96 % in Bangladesh, 95 %in Vietnam, 90 % in Egypt, 88 % in Indonesia, 87 % in Ethiopia, 80% in India, 75 % inTanzania, and 74 % in Nigeria (Polak,2006). The AMITs are targeted towards small andmarginal farmers in countries of Bangladesh, China Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya,Myanmar, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, Zambia, andZimbabwe.

As per the International Development Enterprise, India (IDEI), worldwide over 250,000smallholders have adopted the low cost drip irrigation system covering about 50,000 hectares(Personal communication). There are about 150 million rural poor families with smallholdingsin India. During the last decade, over 100,000 smallholder farmers have adopted the low-cost drip systems. The IDEI envisages reaching five million farmers by 2020 in India. TheAMITs have unlocked the benefits of pressurized irrigation systems to millions of resource-poor farmers having access to a l imited water supply and small land.

Greenhouse Irrigation

Greenhouses (plastic houses, glasshouses) and high and low tunnels are increasingly usednot only in production of vegetable and ornamental crops, but also in variety of plant seedlingsin many countries world over. Greenhouses are now better understood as a system of ‘ControlledEnvironment Agriculture’ (CEA) with precise control over air and root temperature, water,humidity, plant nutrition, carbon dioxide, and light. In greenhouses water, fertilizers, plantnutrition, insecticides and fumigants are usually applied through drip system.

Countries having major area under greenhouses are USA, China, Spain, Japan, Italy, Greece,Portugal, Hungary, Morocco, Turkey, Algeria, Colombia, and Korea. The largest contiguousarea under greenhouses in the world (popularly known as ‘Plastic Sea’), with an estimatedcoverage of 141,700 hectares, is located in Almeria and Murcia regions of the Spain (Hecht,2006). At the end of the nineties, greenhouses covered about 0.75 million hectares aroundthe world (New AG International, 2003). The growth in area is likely to continue in theforeseeable future.

Landscape and Park Irrigation

The micro irrigation has become popular for irrigating lawns gardens/recreational parks inaround urban areas, golf courses, commercial, industrial, institutional, and public areas inmany countries. Much of the hardware used for landscape irrigation is the same as that usedfor agricultural irrigation systems. However, many special fittings, piping system, valves, timersand controller that are automatically or remotely operated are added to the irrigation system.

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FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The world’s population is projected to increase from the present 6.45 billion to an estimated8 billion by 2030, which will put a tremendous pressure on already stressed water resources.Out of the total world’s irrigated area, the developed countries (81) account for about quarterarea (69 million ha) and the developing countries (93) share the three-fourth area (202 millionha). The focus of future irrigation development is expected to take place in developing countriesdue to high demographic growth. The developing countries are expected to expand theirirrigated area by 20% - that is from 202 million ha in 1997/99 to 242 million ha by 2030.Corresponding irrigation water withdrawal however, is expected to grow by about 14% fromthe current 2,128 km3 to 2,420 km3 by 2030 (FAO, 2003b). In future, due to increasingdemand from the higher valued domestic and industrial sector, and also from environmentalpurposes, there will be gradual decline in the amount of overall water used for irrigation. Thepressurized systems therefore will play a critical role in meeting the expected irrigated areaexpansion with diminishing water availability. The irrigation expansion is projected to be thehighest in South Asia, East Asia, Near East and North Africa. Most of the increase in theSouth Asia is expected to occur in India and China. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and LatinAmerica, irrigated areas are not projected to expand quickly, despite their potential.

In Central and East European Countries (CEEC) the process of water sector restructuring andtransfer is in progress and it is hoped that the pace of use of sprinkler and micro irrigationwill pickup in near future.

Non availability of local technicians, skilled laborers, equipment manufacturers, suppliers andtrained extension personnel; lack of training to farmers are some of the stumbling blocks inrapid expansion of the pressurized irrigation systems in many developing countries. Qualitycontrol and standardization will help improve quality of products. Both, the governmentsupport in providing institutional and financial assistance and active involvement of privateorganizations (manufacturers, system suppliers, and designers) are crucial for the furthergrowth of the pressurized irrigation in developing countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Worldwide, sprinkler and micro irrigation for field crops is practiced in 77 countries on over39 million ha, comprising 33 million ha under sprinkler and 6 million ha under micro irrigation.Among pressurized systems, sprinkler irrigation has much greater coverage compared tomicro irrigation in almost all countries with the exception of Chinese Taipei, Cyprus, Israel,Jordan, and Spain - where the micro irrigated area has out-weighed the sprinkler irrigation.Region-wise spread of sprinkler irrigated area is: Americas (13.3 Mha), Europe (10.1 Mha),Asia (6.8 Mha), Africa (1.9 Mha), and Oceania (0.9 Mha). The sprinkler system will continueto be popular for irrigating cereals, oilseed crops and fodder crops.

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The decade 1990-2000, witnessed a quantum leap in expansion of micro irrigation technology,both in developed and developing countries. In case of micro irrigation, the highest coverageis in Americas (1.9 Mha) followed by Europe and Asia (1.8 Mha each), Africa (0.4 Mha),and Oceania (0.2 Mha).The area under micro irrigation increased almost six fold during last20 years – from1.1 million ha in 1986 to 6.1 million ha at present. Micro irrigation, owingto its many unique agronomic, water and energy conservation benefits, and low laborrequirement, its use is expected to enhance further in the foreseeable future.

Low cost and simple pressurized irrigation systems are becoming popular among the smalland poor farmers in developing countries. These systems not only help improve crop productivitybut also provide other secondary benefits such as income generation, employment opportunities,and food security to large number of smallholders.

There is a need to carryout a comprehensive worldwide survey of sprinkler and micro irrigationto understand the present field level scenario, issues and challenges. Joint efforts of Internationalorganizations like ICID, FAO, and the World Bank would be useful in providing much neededvision and support for the sustainable expansion of the sprinkler and micro irrigationtechnologies worldwide.

REFERENCES

Cakir R, Surek H, Aydin H and H. Karaata (1998): Sprinkler Irrigation – A Water SavingApproach in Rice, Proceedings of the 1st Inter-regional Conference on Environmentand water, Lisbon, Portugal

Chinese National Committee on Irrigation and drainage (CNCID): Irrigation and drainagein china, China Water Power Press, Beijing, 2005

Dirksen W, and W. Huppert (Editors): Irrigation sector Reform in Central and Eastern EuropeanCountries, European Regional Working Group of ICID (EWRG), GTZ GmbH, Germany,2005

FAO, 1997a, Irrigation in the Near East Region in Figures, FAO Water Report 9

FAO, 1997b, Irrigation in the Countries of the Former Soviet Union in Figures, FAO, WaterReport 15

FAO, 2003a, Production Yearbook, Vol.27, FAO Statistics Series No.177

FAO, 2003b, World Agriculture: Towards 2015/2030, An FAO Perspective

FAO, 2005a, Irrigation in Africa in Figures, AQUASTAT Survey 2005, FAO Water Report29.

FAO, 2005b, International Rice Commission Newsletter, 2005, Vol.54

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Government of India, 2004, Salient Findings and Recommendations of Task Force on MicroIrrigation, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, NewDelhi, http://agricoop.nic.in

Hecht Albert, 2006, A View from Above: How Spanish Growers Manage to Stay Afloat inthe Plastic Sea, International Water & Irrigation Magazine, Vol. 26. No .2

Indian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, 1998, Sprinkler Irrigation in India,INCID, Ministry of Water Resources, India

International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, 1993, Proceedings of the Workshopon Micro Irrigation Worldwide, 15th Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, The Hague,The Netherlands

International Development Enterprise, India (IDEI), New Delhi: http://www.ide-india.org

Israel National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, 2006, Guidelines for Planning andDesign of Micro irrigation in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas (Draft), ISCID, Israel

Jensen M.H., 2000, Plasticulture in the Global Community – View of the Past and Future,Proceedings of the 15th International Congress for Plastic in Agriculture, 2000, Arizona,USA;<www.plasticulture.org>

Kahlown M.A and Abdul Raoof, 2005, Growing Rice in the Indus Basin with SprinklerIrrigation, Proceedings of the 19th ICID Congress, Q.52, R 4.04, Beijing, China

Keller Jack, 2002, Evolution of Drip/ Micro Irrigation: Traditional and Non-Traditional Uses,Keynote address at the International Meeting on Advances in Drip/ Micro Irrigation,December 2002, Spain

Keller Jack and Andrew Keller, 2005, Mini-Irrigation Technologies for Smallholders, Proceedingof the World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, 15-19 May 2005, Alaska,USA.

Kulkarni S.A., 2005, Looking Beyond Eight Sprinklers, Proceedings of the National conferenceon Micro Irrigation, June 2005, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology,Pantnagar, Uttaranchal, India

Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, 1999, Report of the National Commissionfor Integrated Water Resources Development Plan (NCIWRDP), Volume-1

Polak, Paul, 2006, From Groundwater to Wealth for One-Acre Farmers, Proceedings of theInternational Symposium on Groundwater Sustainability (ISGWAS), Spain, 24-27January 2006

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Postel Sandra, Paul Polak, Fernando Gonzales, and Jack Keller, 2001, Drip Irrigation forSmall Farmers – A New Initiative to Alleviate Hunger and Poverty, Water International,IWRA, Vol.26, No.1

Reinders F.B., 2000, Micro Irrigation: A World Overview, Proceedings of the 6th InternationalMicro Irrigation Congress, South Africa, October 2000.

The Netherlands Water Partnership, 2003, Smart Water Solutions, The Practica Foundation

The World Bank, 2006, Reengaging in Agricultural Water management – Challenges andOptions

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): http//:www.nass.usda.gov/census

Worldwide Trends in Greenhouse Technology, NEW AG INTERNATIONAL Magazine, France,June 2003

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Grower Experience in Use of Advance andModernized Microirrigation Systems.