To feed a population that will expand by 1.5 billion in 2050, Asia needs major irrigation reforms or face food security and water management crises, a new study says.
Asia’s population is expected to reach the 5 billion mark by 2050, with an estimated 1.5 billion more people to share its land, water, and food resources. Meeting the region’s future food demands would require more efficient irrigation systems to boost agricultural productivity in Asia’s farmlands. With looming climate change impacts and stretched water resources, the task becomes doubly difficult.
A new publication, “Revitalizing Asia’s Irrigation: To Sustainably Meet Tomorrow’s Food Needs,” recommends the urgent revival of irrigation in the region. Based on a comprehensive new study of irrigation in Asia, the report
presents past and emerging trends in irrigation in Asia, and its drivers
forecasts future food needs and water demands, and
outlines strategies and options for revitalizing irrigation to meet the future food needs of Asia’s population
Commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the research project was carried out by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), along with researchers from partner organizations, through the Asia-Pacific Water Forum’s KnowledgeHubs network. KnowledgeHubs is a regional network of organizations whose mission is to deliver state-of-the-art knowledge-based products and services that meet the practical needs of countries, institutions and society in the Asia-Pacific region. IWMI is the knowledge hub on Irrigation Service Reform. The publication was developed as the hub’s first knowledge product and provides guidelines for revitalizing Asia’s irrigation sector.
The 1960s saw the first blossoming of irrigation in Asia, with the emergence of new technologies, fertilizers, pesticides, high-yielding varieties of seeds and reliable irrigation water supplies. Big investments in irrigation unlocked Asia’s agricultural potential at that time. Irrigated agriculture became a major economic driver for many countries and the key to alleviating poverty. Irrigation enabled farmers to increase yields and cropping intensities, stabilize production by providing a buffer against the vagaries of weather, and create employment in rural areas. In a decade, the region has a food surplus.
Asia’s Green Revolution, as the period was called, is now a forgotten past. Urbanization has lured a lot of farmers into the city leaving irrigation systems to crumble and collapse. Those left behind soon needed smaller and handy systems and found solutions in pumps, drawing water from shallow aquifers whenever they choose, leading to the over-exploitation of groundwater. There were attempts to reform these systems by sharing responsibility for their management with agricultural communities (a process that is often termed Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) or Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT). However, these PIM/IMT interventions failed to live up to their potential.
The pressing problem of how to feed Asia’s growing population, coupled with higher food prices, is prompting renewed interest in irrigation.
Revitalizing Asia’s Irrigation reports that while irrigated agriculture still offers huge opportunities today, only innovative strategies will unlock its potential gains. The study recommends the following strategies for investment and revival of irrigation across Asia:
Strategy 1: Modernize yesteryear’s schemes for tomorrow’s needs
Many irrigation systems in Asia would benefit from being modernized, by being redesigned, operated and managed for a range of uses. Meanwhile, flexible and responsive management that looks beyond the confines of the irrigation system and starts managing operations over entire river basins will be vital for mitigating against, and adapting to, climate change.
Strategy 2: Go with the flow by supporting farmers’ initiatives
There are opportunities for investors to identify successful initiatives and direct funds towards schemes emulating farmers’ methods. New models are needed for managing groundwater in areas where this pump-based ‘atomistic’ irrigation has largely replaced centralized surface irrigation.
Strategy 3: Look beyond conventional PIM/IMT recipes
Efforts to reform large-scale irrigation schemes by transferring management to farmers have had less-than-expected success throughout Asia. Many believe the private sector could help irrigation entities improve water delivery. For example, irrigation departments could outsource irrigation services, create public-private partnerships or provide incentives for irrigation officials to act as entrepreneurs in publicly managed operations.
Strategy 4: Expand capacity and knowledge
If new approaches are to be successful, investors will need to direct funds towards training existing staff, attracting new talent through forward-thinking curricula and realistic remuneration packages. Initiatives might include updating engineering courses in universities, conducting in-depth training workshops for farmers and irrigation officials, or revamping irrigation departments to empower their workforces.
Strategy 5: Invest outside the irrigation sector
The irrigation sector is embedded within Asia’s wider political economy and is, therefore, affected by external forces. Policies and programs that influence agriculture, both directly and indirectly, come to drive developments in irrigation. Framing policies to ensure external influences on the water sector are properly understood and planned is one way to indirectly influence irrigation performance.
Today, Asian irrigation is at a crossroads. The need to produce more food is prompting new interest in investments in the sector, but innovative methods are required to reverse the degradation that has resulted from years of neglect. As this report shows, Asia is a diverse continent and different strategies will be needed to achieve this goal in different places and under varying economic, political and geographic conditions. However, there are great opportunities for irrigation to once more help farmers improve productivity. If Asian irrigation can become better at meeting the needs of farmers, within the uncertainties of rainfall and runoff presented by climate change, it will play a vital role in preventing Asia’s future population from going hungry.
Topics 
Top of page
