Skip to main content

Drip Irrigation in Morocco

Drip irrigation is another strategy that works by applying water directly to the soil surface or the root zone of plants. It is a water efficient technology as it reduces water consumption whilst increasing crop yields (Jobbins et al, 2015). This compares to conventional flood irrigation. Comparatively, drip irrigation reduces water loss by evaporation and distribution. Drip irrigation uses 30-50% less water and achieves up to 95% irrigation efficiency (Narayanmoorthy, 2004). Figures suggest that drip irrigation would particularly be beneficial for Moroccan farmers. 

Two drip irrigation projects were implemented for farmers surrounding the Saïs basin. A farmer on the Bitit pilot project found that water supply was so efficient from the drip irrigation system, that his single owned hectare had to only be irrigated every two and a half days instead of the usual five days. Interviews with farmers showed 83% had a clear preference for drip irrigation as a response to reduced water supplies as water was saved and less time was spent on labour (Kalpakian et al, 2014). Nevertheless, preference does not translate into actual use. 

There were several obstacles that farmers faced in implementing drip irrigation systems, as discovered by knowledge, attitudes and practice surveys of 519 farmers in the Bitit and Ain Chegag communities, which led to only 10% of farmers adopting the drip irrigation system even though many had a preference towards it. 



Figure 1: Table showing the reasons why farmers chose irrigation systems (Kalpakian et al, 2014). 

Figure 1 shows that 48.2% of farmers stated that they could not afford drip irrigation technologies. Additionally, regulations and subsidies require literacy and knowledge of paperwork and procedures, which 13.1% lacked. Regions in Morocco are therefore devoid of drip irrigation systems, showing that high diffusion of knowledge of drip irrigation efficiency do not translate into high diffusion of the technology. This suggests that policymakers should focus on the obstacles that farmers face in acquiring, installing, and using drip irrigation (Kalpakian et al, 2014). 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wrapping Things Up...

Unfortunately, we have reached the end of the blog posts! When starting this blog, I was drawn to understand the complex water and food scarcity issue. My mother, who spent the first nineteen years of her life in Sylhet would tell me stories about the long distances she would travel to bring water back to the home just so the family could cook and wash their dishes. Circumstances in the villages are now changing, with more access to efficient technology so people have a more reliable access to water. Of course, Bangladesh is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change which has led to difficulties.  I was keen to understand more of what was being done in different countries regarding the consequences of population growth and climate change on food security, particularly for a continent that I knew relatively little about. Through these blog posts, I was able to engage with a large variety of sources that have taught me more about the complexities and individua...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is Virtual Water Capable of Becoming Policy?

Previous blog posts have focused on more tangible methods to tackle the water and food scarcity issue, such as desalination, drip irrigation and extracting groundwater. But what if we did not have to employ these more tangible methods, and still work towards achieving food security?  Virtual water is a term coined by Allan (1997) ; it is used to address the water that is used in the production of any commodity. When this commodity is traded, water is also traded as water is embedded in the commodity (Zeitoun et al, 2010) . This applies to agricultural commodities, as the water used in the production of food staples is significant. For instance, 1,000 cubic metres of water is required to produce a ton of grain (Allan, 2003). Therefore, if it is food that is traded, virtual water can globalise the problem of water scarcity and allow countries that are facing this issue to import water intensive crops. The bluewater used for irrigated agriculture is a net drain on water resources and...
1 comment
Read more

Towards Integrated River Basin and Water Management?

As mentioned by the previous blog post, the Bakolori Dam failed to take into consideration the needs of multiple different users of the basin, whether that be the upstream, downstream or irrigation zone users. Integrated river basin and water management (IRBWM), however, seeks to manage water resources in a comprehensive and holistic way, by considering it from several different dimensions. The aims of the IRBWM are really reflected in each of the terms used. It aims to integrate all water resource demands, manage this across time and space using data across the whole basin and considering how changes to the upstream may have an impact downstream (Savenije & Van der Zaag, 2008) .  Admittedly, this does seem to be a very ambitious task, but it is something that should be committed towards resolving difficulties (Van der Zaag, 2005) , as seen in the case of the Bakolori Dam. Africa’s implementation of the IRBWM, however, has been comparatively lower than the global average. ...
Post a Comment
Read more