ICARDA Annual Report 2001

Water is a vital natural resource, and its efficient management is particularly important in the dry areas. In Syria, groundwater is likely to be tapped more and more if agriculture is to meet the demands of growing populations and expanding markets. Between 1999 and 2001, ICARDA scientists conducted a detailed study of groundwater exploitation, bringing together major stakeholders to discuss the problem of groundwater depletion. In addition, a small pilot project was begun to revive the ancient Persian qanat system of groundwater utilization.

Groundwater resources are facing a serious threat in the dry areas of WANA. Wells are drying up, aquifers are being polluted, and extraction costs are rising. More sustainable use of water is required to safeguard the future of agriculture and the communities who depend on it. The most pressing challenge is to implement sustainable and efficient management of groundwater in order to deal with the growing problem of water scarcity. In an effort to identify major areas of concern, researchers at ICARDA investigated several aspects of water use:

• Allocation of water between different crops and seasons
• Reasons for groundwater exploitation and how these relate to crop profitability and water productivity
• Institutions concerned with groundwater
• Needs of stakeholders

The researchers conducted their fieldwork in four different stability zones near Aleppo (Fig. 20; Table 16). Rainfall at the five sites exceeds potential evapotranspiration only during December, January, and February and groundwater levels are higher in winter than in summer. The groundwater-bearing formations are predominantly limestone, yielding good quality water but giving rise to poor soils and low agricultural productivity. Many farmers have insufficient water to irrigate their crops in summer and are drilling wells, but the pattern of water flow through fractures in the limestone means the supply to these wells is erratic and they may compete with each other. A simple computer simulation model was used to illustrate the effects of different crops, well interference, and competition for water. Researchers created a forum for stakeholders (farmers, researchers, government regulators, and people with indigenous knowledge, such as well drillers) through workshops, where they discussed problems and generated ideas for more sustainable agricultural production in areas of water scarcity.

Researchers discovered that groundwater has been depleted as a result of increased support for agricultural activity, unrestricted access to water, and introduction of improved drilling and pumping technologies. As it has become more profitable, irrigated agriculture has expanded and farmers have pumped more and more water from aquifers (Fig. 21). Unfortunately, as more farmers have turned to irrigation, wells have dried up and water tables have fallen. If these trends continue, farm incomes and rural employment will be badly affected and migration from rural to urban areas will accelerate. However, the farmers’ response to depleted groundwater has been to search further by drilling more and deeper wells. The farmers have been slow to adopt water-saving technologies and introduce water-efficient crops.

Despite the overall problem of water scarcity, farmers who had sufficient water consistently over-irrigated their winter and summer crops, applying up to 62% more water than was needed. However, during the critical growth stages (April for wheat and July for cotton), they were not applying enough water. Lack of water in the drier villages (zone 4) meant that summer crops were not irrigated and the farmers incurred substantial financial losses. The gross profit margins of wheat and cotton fell as rainfall decreased and the worsening groundwater situation led to higher irrigation costs (Table 17). Farmers who tried to grow cotton in zones of unreliable water either abandoned the crop completely or achieved only a low gross margin.

Farmers do not account for the value of water, basing their allocation on total gross return rather than on productivity per unit of water. For example, because cotton has a relatively high gross profit margin, it was cultivated in zones 3 and 4, despite having low water productivity and being banned by the government (because of groundwater shortage). Both cotton and wheat crops ceased to be viable when the diesel subsidy was reduced by 75% and fuel for the irrigation pumps became too expensive. Vegetables had the highest gross profit margin as well as the highest productivity per unit of water, but were grown only on small plots.

The workshops, attended by researchers, farmers, well drillers, and officials concerned with groundwater, were a major success as stakeholders were able to meet for the first time on common ground. The officials tried to discourage the drilling of new wells, but the farmers, while showing their awareness of the problem, asked for alternative solutions. They wanted to learn more about modern irrigation systems and improve their water-use efficiency, but were unaware of existing government programs offering credit facilities to enhance adoption of new technologies.

Although public awareness of the groundwater problem is growing and several policy measures (more stringent control of drilling, restricting crops with high water requirements in water-scarce areas, and registration of wells) have been taken, further research is needed to determine the full range of possible options and their potential impacts.