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Paper presented by the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) Note: This paper became available only at a late stage and was not covered in the discussions. It therefore did not contribute to the conclusions of the meeting. |
There is no question as to the severity of the water resource problem in most parts of the world, particularly those lying in arid and semi-arid zones. It is envisaged that the current water shortages in the Arab Region could soon reach crisis proportion since the Region, besides being mostly dominated by aridity, has one of the highest population growth rates in the world and many of its countries face water deficits as they currently consume more fresh water than is produced naturally within their boundaries. Hence widespread shortages are anticipated within the coming few years. Furthermore, mismanagement has led to the degradation of water quality and the depletion of water supplies. The inadequate supply of clean water quality contributes to public health problems and places severe limits on economic growth. The serious difficulties of allocating water among competing sectors within a country are overshadowed by the problems of allocating water across national boundaries. Few agreements among riparians exist on any of the major rivers in the Arab Region, and conflicts may arise as some users (especially non-Arab countries) claim greater volumes of water.
It is estimated that about 50% of the surface water resources in the Arab Region are shared with neighbouring countries. Furthermore, there exist several extended groundwater aquifers also shared with neighbouring countries. The fact that groundwater aquifers are subjected to severe overexploitation, from within and outside the Region, will definitely result in very serious negative impacts on the available groundwater resources.
For these reasons, considerable efforts are undertaken by most Arab countries to mobilize their available water resources to narrow the gap in food security and ensure food self-sufficiency. Water shortages are almost always addressed by increasing water supplies, based upon extensive field exploration and massive investments in water resources development.
Over the years, most of the water resources have been developed and the rate of new investments is currently shrinking, to the extent that meeting growing agricultural water demands by developing new supplies is becoming extremely difficult. Hence water resources programmes in the Region are focused on the improvement of water management, particularly in the agricultural sector, whose share accounts for about 90% of the total water resources consumption. National and Regional debates initiated by specialized Arab organizations are increasingly being in the spotlight, with a view to preparing a Regional Arab Water Security Master Plan which aims at defining adequate approaches for water resources management and involving integration of sectoral water plans and programmes.
Since its inception during the early decade of 1970s, The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) has established a rich portfolio of activities which include preparation of technical and economic studies that focus on the use and development of natural and other productive resources, policy analysis and food security. Similar efforts have been directed to the designing of technical surveys and development of statistical databases and other agricultural information system. Vigorous programmes of training and seminars are also pursued in addition to execution of pilot and other developmental agricultural projects that contribute to the transfer, dissemination and adoption of agricultural technologies. Special care is given to Arab countries with economies that are heavily dependent on agriculture or facing pressing problems of development, or both.
Great concern is being given by AOAD to Arab water security since during the last decades the Arab Region has been faced with serious constraints, namely overexploitation in the use of water and deterioration in its quality, as a result of which sustainable irrigated agriculture in the Arab Region is becoming highly threatened.
AOAD managed to successfully crown its activities towards securing Arab waters by holding the First Ministerial Conference on Agriculture and Water.
The idea of the conference arose from the fact that AOAD is fully committed to taking measures which contribute to ensure appropriate Arab water and food security. The conference targeted for discussion, at the top level of Arab states, various issues related to water and agriculture. It was held in two stages, and hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt, under the patronage of His Excellency the President, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.
Stage 1 of the conference was convened in Cairo during the period 29-31 March 1997, and constituted a preparatory meeting of experts and high ranking government officials of the Arab Ministries of Agriculture and Waters.
After thorough discussion, resolutions and recommendations were proposed and passed forward for approval.
Stage 2 of the conference, also held in Cairo, during the period 29-30 April 1997, constituted meetings of their excellencies the Arab Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers of Waters and Irrigation. During this meeting the proposed resolutions and recommendations put forward by the preparatory meeting, Stage 1, were approved. Also, their Excellencies agreed upon a declaration on the principles of Arab cooperation in the area of use, development and conservation of Arab Water Resources, entitled as Cairo Declaration of Arab Cooperation Principles Regarding Use, Development and Protection of Arab Water Resources.
The Conference was held with a view to meeting the following objectives:
a) Exchange of views and ideas on technical, economic and institutional issues related to water and agricultural sectors in the Arab Region.
b) Agreement on water issues of common interest and formulation of the appropriate mechanisms to tackle these issues in order to secure agricultural development sustainability.
c) Accomplishment of a common Arab stance vis-à-vis Arab water rights in accordance with the dispositions of international law.
d) Adoption of a common statement of principles for cooperation in the field of water resources development and protection in order to ensure food security in the Arab Region.
Fifteen scientific papers were presented during the Conference, covering four main themes:
1. International and Regional Relations.
2. Technical Aspects.
3. Economic Aspects.
4. Institutional and Coordination Aspects.
This confirms the fact that AOAD is fully aware of the grave situation of the limited water availability in the Arab Region, coupled with the expected increase in demand for water and imminent water shortages. A situation that may hamper social and economic development in general - and balanced and sustainable rural development in particular. Added to this has been that urged by the resolutions and recommendations put forward by the Ministerial Conference. To put such matters into action, AOAD has already started searching for remedies and they have been given top priorities in its ongoing activities and future work plans.
It may also be worth mentioning that though AOAD is recognized as one of the most experienced consultant organization in the field of agricultural development, it does not operate in isolation from other national and international organizations sharing similar interests. AOAD also warmly welcomes the establishment of institutional and inter-agency links and will exert all possible effort for cooperation and coordination aiming at executing activities concerned with Arab Water Security and to the prospective future of the Arab Region for the coming generations.
Annual renewable water resources in the Arab Region average about 244×109m3/year, of which some 204×109m3/year are surface flows and about 40×109m3/year are renewable groundwater. Major water resources in the Arab Region are shared between countries lying both within and beyond the Region. The most significant river basins in the Region are those of the Nile; Euphrates-Tigris; and the Jordan. Large regional aquifers underline the Maghreb, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. Total annual withdrawals amount to about 157×109m3, of which some 140×109m3 (90%) are utilized for irrigation.
By the year 2000 it is expected that the total irrigation withdrawals may rise to 240×109m3/year. Withdrawals in some of the Arab Countries exceed the actual renewable supplies, while others are at the limit.
Moreover, some countries of the Maghreb are facing severe regional deficits even if in total they appear to be in surplus; though water transfers in this Region are technically feasible, they can be very expensive, and full mobilization of surplus supplies is always difficult. So only very few countries, such as Lebanon and Iraq, appear to have actually enough renewable water supplies.
While continuing to mobilize additional water resources through large-scale water harvesting programmes and groundwater exploration, it is imperative to reconsider the current management of agricultural water demand in order to secure efficient use of the resources made available to this sector.
Adequate water demand management in the agricultural sector necessitates the establishment of a structure of incentives, regulations and restrictions that will help guide, influence and coordinate how farmers use efficiently water in irrigation while encouraging innovations in water saving technologies.
The main options offered to address agricultural demand management include:
a) Improvement of irrigation efficiencies.
b) Adoption of the appropriate water allocation schemes.
c) Improvement of irrigation economic return.
d) Capacity building improvement, which should also be considered to increase the capacity of institutions, and of technical staff and trained professionals in charge of irrigated schemes management.
The introduction of irrigation charges is an important prerequisite to good management of irrigation demand because it is noticed that despite the observed water shortages, misuse of water in agriculture is widespread in the current irrigation management practices. This is due mainly to the failure in the past to recognize the economic value of water and the real cost of providing its services. It is therefore now accepted that managing water as an economic commodity is an important tool in achieving efficient and equitable water use as well as encouraging the conservation and protection of scarce water resources. Yet for many Arab States it is difficult to reconcile the concept of water as an economic commodity with the traditional belief of water as a basic necessity and human right.
Opportunities for improving management of irrigation water demand may be pursued through better systems of on-farm water management, and should focus on reducing irrigation water distribution losses; changing cropping patterns; improving irrigation scheduling; and adopting irrigation-efficient technologies.
The major causes of the current low irrigation efficiencies are due to several factors, including seepage, leakage, deep percolation and evaporation. Very often, these factors are linked with the deterioration of the irrigation network systems as a result of lack of adequate maintenance; in such cases, rehabilitation may be the most feasible alternative, technically and economically. Implementation of irrigation projects should give sufficient attention to adequate operation and maintenance (O&M) of the facilities.
Water losses in irrigation in most of the Arab Region are very substantial and irrigation efficiency can be improved from its current low level of 30-45% by implementing well operated lined or piped conveyance systems and the application of modern irrigation technologies and improving the conventional surface irrigation methods. It is quite evident that using systems such as sprinkler and drip in some Arab Countries has reduced water losses considerably, for example in Morocco and Jordan, where the rise in irrigation efficiencies levels to about 70% is attributed mainly to the adoption of these two techniques.
The application of drip irrigation in most parts of the Arab Region has proved to reduce water losses and increase agricultural productivity; for instance, its application in the Jordan Valley to irrigate 60% of the area, has increased average yields of vegetables and doubled fruit yields.
In Syria, drip irrigation techniques are applied on less than 1% of the total irrigated area, but they have a potential for reducing water losses by 45%, while sprinkler techniques could reduce it by 20%.
In Egypt, sprinkler irrigation does not exceed 27% of the total irrigated area; in Morocco it covers some 16%; and 11% in Tunisia.
In addition to their potential for increasing water use efficiency, drip and sprinkler irrigation technologies can also provide opportunities to cultivate low quality lands, sandy and rocky soils, and enable some countries with limited water resources to change cropping patterns by shifting from high-water-consuming, low-value crops to low-water-consuming, high-value crops.
The introduction of modern irrigation techniques in the Arab Region is still very limited, despite their proven high water use efficiencies and increased crop yields.
The major constraints to the expansion of such technologies in the Region are mainly their high initial and O&M costs. The cost of energy has been the major constraint for non-oil-producing countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Sudan and Tunisia.
Another major constraint is the lack of appropriate supply and maintenance services for modern irrigation equipment, coupled with lack of skilled manpower. So far, few Arab states have reached a reasonable level of self-sufficiency in modern irrigation equipment. Locally made irrigation components are sometimes of poor quality, due to lack of expertise, low quality raw material and lack of coordination between research institutions and industries. Most irrigation equipment manufacturers in some Arab states are too weak to provide adequate and reliable supplies and services for the systems.
To cope with these constraints, AOAD provides its full support to the Arab states to establish an adequate framework for the development of a modern irrigation equipment industry by focusing on the following issues:
Identification of Arab states’ needs and market demands.
Investigation of clearly defined problems facing the local industry in Arab states.
Promoting cooperation between Arab manufacturers and research institutions, targeting industrial integration among Arab states.
Securing adequate effective technical training and development of the available training facilities.
In many parts of the world application of appropriate irrigation scheduling in response to soil moisture monitoring, in association with the adoption of modern irrigation systems has resulted in reducing significantly the irrigation rates, while at the same time, crop productivity has increased.
If applied properly irrigation scheduling may allow for optimization of crop water requirements with minimum water losses while avoiding soil salinization and waterlogging.
Irrigation scheduling has been improved remarkably during the last two decades by the introduction of remote sensing and telemetry techniques. The system is based on continuous sensing of the soil moisture, using transducer-tensiometers located at various locations and depths throughout the irrigated field area, thus allowing irrigation managers to obtain quick periodic soil water data for analysis and verification of soil water content thresholds to decide when to start and stop irrigation according to water requirements of the irrigated crops.
Such systems have the potential for significant irrigation water savings at relatively reasonable cost. Their introduction in the Arab Region is still very limited except in a few cases in the Gulf States, where they are combined with centre pivots for wheat production and have proved successful.
Economic incentives based upon cost recovery of irrigation water supply may play a major role in improving irrigation water demand by persuading farmers to go for optimum demands.
In the Arab Region, irrigation water supply is provided either free or for less than the full cost of providing services. Most irrigation projects are being subsidized in order to support agricultural production. However, due to recent budgetary constraints, increasing water scarcity and increasing water demand, some Arab countries are moving towards reducing such subsidies in order to generate enough revenues for O&M of the irrigated schemes, reduce the burden of the government budget, and at the same time create direct or indirect incentives for farmers to invest in irrigation-saving technologies and to cultivate low-water-demand crops.
Some Arab countries, particularly Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, are moving towards recovering the maximum possible proportion of the costs of providing irrigation water supply. For instance, in Morocco, irrigation water charges in the large irrigated schemes cover actually the full costs of O&M and up to 40% of the capital costs of irrigation. Under these increasing irrigation charges, some Regional Agricultural Development Authorities (ORMVAs), in charge of the management of regional, large, irrigated schemes in Morocco, have achieved financial autonomy.
Jordan applies a fixed charge rate for irrigation water, while in Syria irrigation water charges are based on the irrigated area and not the amount of water consumed in irrigation. These charges do not include the capital costs of irrigation but cover only a small portion of the actual costs of irrigation water supply.
In Egypt, irrigation is not charged, but parts of the irrigation water supply costs are recovered through land taxes, though serious initiatives have been undertaken recently for the application of appropriate irrigation water cost recovery, taking into account the concerns of farmers on this issue.
In Sudan, joint charges are applied on water and land and are collected from farmers by deducting them from their product sales. These charges cover apparently only part of the irrigation O&M costs.
The selection of a cost recovery mechanism suitable for the different individual Arab states is influenced by a number of factors, such as sectoral use, level of subsidies, irrigation water conservation, ability to pay, and rural social welfare. The dual objective of generating income and encouraging irrigation water efficiency through a cost recovery policy would inevitably require designing innovative approaches with the strong participation of farmers.
Another effective instrument for encouraging changes in irrigation water demand patterns includes fiscal incentives such as rebates and tax reductions for acquiring irrigation water saving technologies. These fiscal incentives should be associated with realistic water cost recovery policies.
In most of the Arab states, irrigation water allocations are heavily influenced by national policies seeking to achieve food self-sufficiency.
The current cropping patterns contribute to the consumption of large amounts of water; for instance cereals, especially rice, and sugar cane dominate agricultural production in Egypt and are allocated 25% to 30% of the irrigation water. Free water supplies to farmers in Egypt make the crops profitable to them. Wheat alone accounts for 35% of the total agricultural production in Morocco. Wheat is also a major crop in the Sudan, where cropping patterns lead to the use of more expensive irrigation water, measured in terms of the economic cost of water allocated to crop production. In fact it is estimated that the cost of cotton to earn one unit of foreign exchange is about 70% of that of wheat.
A strategy for changing cropping patterns will be important for future water allocation. Also it should be pointed out that some Arab states, such as Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia, have embarked on economic reforms and structural adjustment, including private sector development, privatization, and trade and price liberalization. These countries are moving towards lifting controls on agricultural crop patterns in the large irrigated schemes, which should result in shifting towards more profitable crops. Morocco has recently freed part of non-industrial crops from previously mandatory cropping patterns.
When farmers are provided with options, they will be encouraged to adjust towards more profitable crops, in which they have a comparative advantage.
However, mandated cropping patterns constrain farmers’ ability to respond to market signals and thus have perverse effects on agricultural value added.
Regulation and restrictions can also be used as an instrument to manage irrigation water demand. For instance, rationing and rotational deliveries can achieve good control of irrigation demand and should be used during droughts and where irrigation demand exceeds the physical capacity of the irrigation systems. The application of such restrictions would result in considerable irrigation water savings, especially during drought periods.
The improvement of irrigation management in the Arab Region requires the implementation of a set of technical actions that include the introduction of modern irrigation technologies; irrigation scheduling techniques; and the introduction of economic and fiscal incentives. These options are indeed necessary but cannot achieve the expected goals without strengthening capacity building in the irrigation sector to improve the efficiency of Arab national institutions in charge of irrigation, and upgrade the scientific and technical know-how of the staff in charge of the irrigation sector.
The overall management of large irrigated scheme in all Arab countries is still under the responsibility of public institutions which take control of irrigation water deliveries and distribution as well as the O&M of irrigation networks. These public institutions are also responsible in several Arab countries for defining cropping patterns and collecting irrigation charges. Of course this institutional organization has a lot of rigidities in running properly the daily management of irrigation.
Participation of farmers in managing these irrigated schemes has proven very beneficial in improving irrigation efficiencies in many parts of the world.
Some Arab countries are actually moving towards transferring O&M services to farmers in order to help improve irrigated schemes management.
In many large irrigated schemes in the Arab Region, Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) are being promoted, particularly in Morocco and Tunisia. Their responsibilities have so far been limited to the O&M of irrigation networks, but there are actually some attempts to widen their role in the management of the overall system. The current trends envisage transfer of each individual irrigated scheme to local WUAs, including the responsibilities for provision of agricultural inputs, marketing of products, as well as authority to seek funds and finance for various operations within the irrigated scheme.
Technical training in irrigation in the Arab Countries is provided by numerous institutions, but it is acknowledged that training needs at all levels in this field are immense. In order to help overcome these constraints, AOAD collaborates closely with the national irrigation training institutions in designing and implementing their training programmes in this field.
Within this framework, AOAD has been providing support for designing and organizing regional and national training courses and seminars for senior government officials and managers of irrigation institutions in the Arab Region.
In addition, AOAD undertakes many other actions aiming at:
Facilitating the creation of networks among institutions in charge of irrigation in the Arab Region.
Designing and producing training materials (e.g., audiovisual aids and printed materials).
Providing assistance to national Arab institutions in developing their training programmes.
Conducting surveys and investigations in the Arab Region for the assessment of existing training programmes and identification of future training policies to improve water management training capabilities of national irrigation institutions.
Water shortages in the Arab Region have traditionally been addressed by increasing the supply of water based upon extensive field exploration and massive investment in water resources development. Over the years, most of the available water resources have been mobilized, so the rate of new investments are currently shrinking. Therefore, an essential part of any resources programme for the Region must focus on the improvement of water demand management, particularly in the agricultural sector.
Improvement of agricultural water demand management includes modernization of irrigation networks; improved irrigation scheduling; modification in cropping patterns through the use of crops with lower water requirements; and application of extensive supplementary irrigation in rainfed farming to alleviate the need for continuous expansion of permanently irrigated schemes.
Improved irrigation scheduling both at the system and the farm levels needs to be given high priority to ensure that, within the constraints of system design and management capabilities, optimum crop water requirements are met with minimum water losses while avoiding soil salinization and waterlogging. Such programmes have the potential for significant water savings at relatively reasonable costs.
In many parts of the world, application of irrigation scheduling in response to soil moisture measurements in association with the adoption of modern irrigation systems has resulted in reducing irrigation rates while at the same time productivity has increased. Though this system is not very expensive, its introduction in the Arab Region is still very limited.
Modern irrigation techniques need to be carefully selected and adapted to the local physical, agronomic and socio-economic environment, as well as to the technical and managerial skills of local farmers. Upgrading existing irrigation schemes should in most cases be preceded by pilot trials for alternative design concepts. Costly improved technologies can only be justified if their agronomic and economic potential is fully exploited
It is apparent that in most of the Arab Region there is still a lack of economic and fiscal incentives for irrigation improvement. Hence high priority should be given to improved management of irrigation water demand by encouraging farmers to invest in water-saving technologies and to cultivate crops with low water demand.
Such measures need to be supported by appropriate irrigation and agricultural research programmes for identifying better irrigation practices and more appropriate crops. Moreover, nationwide irrigation extension programmes should be promoted in parallel with the introduction of irrigation-saving techniques and the upgrading of O&M of the existing irrigation systems.
Arab water resources are being faced with crisis threats, and increasingly becoming the focus of national and regional debates. AOAD is greatly concerned with this issue and has taken positive steps towards defining adequate approaches and measures to help formulate a Regional Water Security Master Plan. The Plan will include water reform policies that aim at achieving the required Arab Water and Food Securities.
These measures have been agreed upon by Their Excellencies the Arab Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers of Water and Irrigation during the First Arab Ministerial Conference for Agriculture and Waters, initiated by AOAD and held in Cairo in March-April 1997. Their agreement is summed up in what is known as the Cairo Declaration of Arab Cooperation Principles Regarding use, Development and Protection of Arab Water Resources. Such measures that reflect AOAD’s strategy for Water Policy Reform in the Arab Region can be summarized as:
1. To use every endeavour for the purpose of supporting Arab negotiation defending all issues related to water in the region based on treaties, laws, official documents and international jurisprudence which govern common water resources use.
2. To consider water (factor of production) as a free natural resource, hence nonmarketable; to stress formulating policies and approaches determining cost of water use in agriculture based on the principle of cost recovery (partial or full), which is a function of making water available to farmers to meet the social and economic development demand for each country, a situation that guarantees competitiveness of agricultural products.
3. To take a common stand that rejects all initiatives meant to create banks for the purpose of buying and selling water in the Arab Region since such endeavours constitute risks to Arab economies and attempt to limit Arab rights over their regional water resources which is in conflict with social and traditional Arab Community.
4. To emphasize links between Arab Water and Food Securities that guarantee sustainable development and to lay stress on preparing strategies, formulating policies and providing national development tools embodying such links and national capacities which make it amenable for regional and international activities.
5. To consider Arab Food and Water Securities as important and strategic issues during meetings and debates concerned with Arab Water Security.
6. To plan coordinated Arab strategies for the purpose of improving investment methods for common waterways with the aim of protecting Arab water resources from foreign and illegal aspirations.
7. To use every endeavour and to focus attention on reaching a high degree of coordination among Arab countries in a legal and organizational framework in order to benefit from Arab water resources.
8. To strengthen The Arab Centre for Waters, initiated by the League of Arab States and to be located in Damascus. The centre will be supplied with all necessary means to carry out its functions in order to coordinate Arab views and activities related to water resources development and use at the regional and international levels.
9. To make available to Arab organizations all technical and financial supports for the purpose of implementing Arab programmes aiming at improving the quality of research and study regarding the use of modern agricultural technologies appropriate to local conditions, to maintain modern irrigation systems, to identify crop water requirements and cropping patterns for the purpose of benefiting from available water resources, and attaining Arab Food and Water Securities.
10. To strengthen Arab organizations that specialize in both agriculture and irrigation sectors in order to play an important role in planning developmental use of water resources, and to coordinate efforts amongst themselves to fully take advantage of their scientific capacity.
11. To intensify water extension services and increase their efficiency, especially in irrigated agriculture, which is considered a key element in efficient water use in Arab agriculture, and make use of all necessary means to build and improve national capacity regarding this issue.
12. To search for methods and tools that encourage cooperation among all government agencies and the private sector for the purpose of preparing and implementing development programmes and plans in the agricultural and water sectors; and to supply the necessary support for Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) which will help in realizing efficient water use at the field level.
13. Providing tools for the purpose of finding and strengthening links among institutions, extension services and research infrastructures on the one hand, and farmers’ organizations on the other hand, and all that might contribute to attain public and common goals related to policies of best use of water and land resources.
14. Devoting more efforts for the purpose of building national capacities, training and improving Arab human resources employed in the area of extension services appropriate to management and use of Arab land and water resources; stressing the need for disseminating research activities, exchanging acquired experiences in the area of improvement and transfer of technology relevant to land and water resources use among all Arab institutions.
15. Strengthening Arab cooperation for the purpose of protecting water quality; stressing environmental issues in agricultural and water policies, taking all measures in order to protect and to conserve land and water resources from environmental degradation within a framework of balanced agricultural policies that help attain goals for a sustainable agriculture and rural development that meets present and future generation’s needs.
16. Stressing the role played by Arab organizations specialized in agriculture and water resources, for the purpose of supporting and strengthening national efforts that enhance efficient utilization of land, water and human resources which allow for the attainment of Food and Water Security objectives.
17. Intensifying efforts in order to encourage regional and international developmental and funding institutions for the purpose of increasing financial allocation, developing and improving national water resources mobilizing Arab organizations and institutional efforts concerned with water issues in implementing joint Arab programmes in applied fields and research and in strengthening institutional links in order to facilitate adoption and transfer of technology and to efficiently promote public cooperation in the implementation of various development programmes.
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