The shortage of water in arid zones represents the most serious obstacle to poverty reduction because it limits the extent to which poor producers of crops and livestock can take advantage of opportunities arising from emerging markets, trade, and globalization. Water shortage in arid zones limits the variety and quantity of crop and livestock products a smallholder can produce, thus narrowing their range of options.
This report summarizes results from a large multi-partner project, Integrated watershed development
for food security and sustainable improvement of livelihood in Barani, Pakistan. The project (2007
to 2010) aimed to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate cost-effective technologies for monitoring
and use of water and land resources at watershed scale. It used an integrated approach combining
applied research, capacity building, and watershed improvement/rehabilitation through community
This report is a documentation of data gathered during the project for the Badia Benchmark, organized in a way to facilitate the on of various disciplines. The purpose is, to facilitate the use of this data for better management of resources during the project and to provide accessible and user friendly database that is suitable for use beyond the project lifetime. It is anticipated that future research and development projects, will build upon this database and continue the documentation to enhance the use of data for the Badia and similar areas.
With annual renewable water resources of less than 150 m3 per capita, Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries of the world. The demand for freshwater resources has been on the increase in the urban sector due to the economic development and population growth. The limited amount of water available for agriculture necessitates the use of non-conventional water resources, such as gray water, as an alternate option.
The rangelands of West Asia and North Africa are the grazing grounds for the Bedouin with their flocks of sheep, goats and camels and are known as al Badia in the Middle East region. Average annual rainfall in the Badia ranges between 50 and 250 mm (Haddad 2006). Despite its scarcity, rainwater is generally poorly managed and much of it is lost through runoff and evaporation. To improve production in hese areas, there is a need for the sustainable management of natural resources – land and water (FAO 1983).
In this study, an economic evaluation of water-use efficiency technologies proposed and tested by the agronomic team in the Tadla Irrigated Perimeter was carried out. To capture climatic variability, the analysis was conducted during two contrasting years (dry and wet). Total annual rainfall was 357 mm in 2005/06 (wet year) and 296 mm in 2006/07 (dry year). During the first year, precipitation was well distributed throughout the season. However, the second year was wet at the beginning, dry in the middle and very wet at the end of the season.
CropSyst is the crop growth model chosen as a decision tool for the Tadla Benchmark project. CropSyst is a daily time step simulation model. The model was developed to serve as an analytic tool to study the effect of cropping systems management on productivity and the environment. The model simulates the soil water budget, soil– plant nitrogen budget, crop canopy and root growth, dry matter production, yield, residue production, and decomposition. Management options include cultivar selection, crop rotation, irrigation, nitrogen fertilization, tillage operations, and residue management.
Global food production has increased by 20% in the past decade – but food insecurity and poverty remain widespread , while the natural resource base continues to decline. International research centers, which have helped drive previous improvements, must continue to deliver new technologies to support sustainable growth in agriculture; and to work with other partners to accelerate the dissemination of these technologies.
Research Report no. 4 of the CPWF project: Improving on-farm agricultural water productivity in the Karkheh river basin (PN8).
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