There is a meaningful gap between irrigation efficiency in Iran and that of other countries struggling with water paucity, the energy minister said.
“Despite efforts to boost efficiency of water use in the key farming sector, ongoing methods, such as pressurized irrigation systems, have failed to yield positive results and alternative approaches including subsurface irrigation systems need to be adopted,” Ali Akbar Mehrabian was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Developed nations have implemented underground watering systems, which delivers water to gardens and lawns through buried hoses or flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and has proven to be more productive than traditional practices, he added.
The official said this technology saves water because it allows soil and plants to completely absorb the water instead of having runoff when delivered all at one time.
“Using subsurface irrigation method will help farmers curb water consumption by half to harvest the same amount of crops they are growing now,” he added.
Subsurface irrigation is used almost on all crops or plants, especially in arid areas.
Polyethylene drip tubes with built-in emitters operate to dribble water and distribute it uniformly.
Subsurface irrigation eliminates surface water evaporation and reduces the frequent occurrence of weeds and disease while saving water and improving the yield. The subsurface irrigation system applies water directly to the root zone of the plants or crops, which saves it from the soil surface where the seeds of weeds germinate.
Global Standards
According to Firouz Qasemzadeh, spokesman of Iran’s Water Industry Association affiliated with the Energy Ministry, water use efficiency in Iran’s agriculture sector is below global standards.
“The rate stands at 2.5 kilograms of crop yields per 1 cubic meter of water consumption in the world, but to grow the same amount in Iran, we consume 2.5 cubic meters of water,” he added.
Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of the limited water resources in Iran and the Energy Ministry’s data indicate that water consumption in Iran’s agro sector is at least 20% higher than the global average, causing serious concern among water officials.
According to a survey conducted by the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad, close to 90% of water withdrawals from dams and groundwater are for agricultural usage, 46 times and 15 times more than the amount of water used in industrial and household sectors respectively.
Drawing a parallel between Iran and other countries, the survey showed water consumption in Iran is 10% more than underdeveloped and developing nations, and 60% above acceptable standards in developed countries.
Of the total annual water consumption in Iran, which has surpassed 100 billion cubic meters, as little as 6 bcm and 2 bcm are used in household and industrial sectors respectively, and a massive 92 bcm are gobbled up in the farming industry.
Nonetheless, statistics are totally different in other parts of the world. For instance, in developing and underdeveloped states, agriculture, industries and households account for 82%, 10% and 8% of total water consumption in the same order.
Most officials and water users fail to invest adequately in the maintenance of irrigation and drainage (I&D) systems.
While inadequate management and operation may play a part in the poor performance of I&D systems, it is especially the failure to sufficiently maintain systems that results in their declining performance and the subsequent need for rehabilitation.
Adequate Funds
The failure to provide adequate funds for maintenance of I&D systems has resulted in the build-neglect-rehabilitate-neglect cycle commonly observed in the sector.
The survey also shows that in developed nations, industries use the lion’s share of water supply (60%) and farmers need close to 30% and household consumption is around 10%.
At present, Iran's per capita water consumption is 190 liters per day, but it is 153 liters, 142 liters, 139 liters, 129 liters and 112 liters in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Belgium respectively.
Roughly, one-third of Iran’s total area is regarded as suitable land for agricultural production. However, because of poor soil and a lack of adequate water distribution in many areas, most of it is not under cultivation.
Only 12% of the total land area are under cultivation and less than one-third of the cultivated area is irrigated, while the rest is devoted to dry farming.
Sometimes through a year, water supply used for farming are cut in order to compensate for the lack of drinking water supplies.
Throughout Iran, landscapes are being transformed as scientists warn that large areas run the risk of becoming a vast desert. Lake Urmia is in its most deplorable condition and Isfahan’s Zayandehroud, a river which once flowed through Iran’s heartland, is mostly a dry bed after it was diverted and dammed to provide irrigation for farms.
