1.

5 DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION

DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION IN THE WORLD

The irrigation of arable land and pastures has been practiced around the world for thousands of
years. With the aid of irrigation it was and still is possible to grow crops with reliably high yields in
all arid regions of the earth. At the same time, irrigation has guaranteed an adequate and
continuous supply of foodstuffs without which it would not have been possible for sophisticated
civilizations to develop along the Nile (Egypt), the Tigris and Euphrates (Turkey, Syria and Iraq),
the Indus (Pakistan and India), the Ganges (India and Bangladesh) and also along the Hwang Ho
(Yellow River) in China. It is estimated that by the year 1800 about 8 million hectares of land were
irrigated around the world, but 100 years later this figure had increased to about 40 million
hectares, partly as a result of modern sprinkler irrigation systems that had become available to
gardeners and farmers.

By the year 1950, the irrigated area had risen still further to a total of about 94 million
hectares on a world-wide basis. Irrigation farming continued to grow at a considerable rate in
subsequent years especially during the so called Green Revolution". Nowadays, about 250 million
hectares, or 17 % of the world's agricultural area, are irrigated, producing about 36 % of the
world's food supplies. On a regional basis, it is estimated that around 60 % of the value of crop
production in Asia is grown on irrigated land. This includes about 80 % of Pakistan's food, 70 % of
China's food and over 50 % of the food in India and Indonesia. In the Middle East and North
Africa, more than one third of the region's crop production by value is irrigated, including all the
food grown in Egypt and more than half of that grown in Iraq and Iran. A relatively small
proportion of agricultural production in Latin America, around 10 %, is grown under irrigation, but
half of the crops grown for export in Chile and Peru are irrigated. Madagascar produces more than
20 % of its agricultural output and food on irrigated land. Sub-Saharan Africa has the smallest
regional area under irrigation. and produces an estimated 9 % of its total food production on
irrigated land.

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 Figure 18. Sprinkler and drip technologies

MODERN IRRIGATION

Modern irrigation systems use reservoirs, tanks, and wells to supply water for crops.
Reservoirs include aquifers, basins that collect snowmelt, lakes, and basins created by dams.
Canals or pipelines carry the water from reservoirs to fields. Canals and pipelines, just like the
ancient Roman aqueducts, often rely on the force of gravity. Pumps may also move water from
reservoirs to fields. Crops are irrigated by several methods: flooding an entire field, channeling
water between rows of plants, spraying water through large sprinklers, or letting water drop onto
plants through holes in pipes.

In developing countries. especially in Asia where farms and, often, irrigation schemes are far
smaller than Australian or U.S. farms. there has been little adoption of the sprinkler and drip
technologies which are the principal targets of research attention.

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 Development of Irrigation in the Philippines

Irrigation development in the country dates back to the pre-Spanish period as evidenced by the
centuries-old Banaue terraces, covering 25 thousand hectares that were built by the local
community. The dramatic terrace systems, which have become a tourist attraction in the Ifugao
region of the Philippines, are only the tip of what we can call the irrigation "iceberg".
In 2010, a further problem was drought, with the terraces drying up completely in March of that
year. Indigenous systems of irrigated agriculture represent sustainable solutions to the demands of
intensive crop production.

Figure 19.Banaue rice terraces

During the Spanish period, many small run-of-the-river irrigation schemes along coastal plains
totaling about 200 thousand hectares were constructed largely in friar lands close to Manila and
Ilocos region. These irrigation schemes were built either through cooperative societies
(“Zanjaras”) or by mobilizing labor for construction and operation in large haciendas and friar
lands. Public investments in irrigation development began under the American regime with the
establishment of an Irrigation Division in the Bureau of Public Works in 1908. This division
directly constructed and managed 12 irrigation systems in Central Luzon, Ilocos, and the Panay
Island in Western Visayas by the late 1920’s. Although some public support for communally built
and managed small-scale irrigation were provided in the 1930’s and 1940’s, it was not until the

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postwar period that major pubic support for irrigation was resumed. This renewed expansion of
irrigation in the 1950’s included communal irrigation and the first irrigation projects in Mindanao
and other new areas.

Figure 20. National Irrigation Administration

In the effort to further strengthen institutional support for irrigation development, the
National Irrigation Administration (NIA) was established in 1964 as a public corporation in
place of the former Irrigation Division and provided greater financial resources and financial
flexibility. Although NIA continued to be attached to the Department of Public Works and
Higways, the board included the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure the coordination of irrigation
with other agricultural programs. There were other government agencies (Irrigation Service Unit
and the Farming Systems Development Corporation) involved in irrigation development mainly in
promoting private pump irrigation. These have been abolished and the task of developing both
pump and communal irrigation was eventually integrated into the functions of NIA. With the
recent transfer of the NIA to the Department of Agriculture (DA), the irrigation-related (Small
Water Impounding Projects) projects of the DA’s Bureau of Soils and Water Management as well
as other agricultural programs are expected to be better coordinated with irrigation concerns.

TYPES OF SYSTEMS

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There are three categories of irrigation systems: national, communal, and private.

1. National irrigation systems (NIS) are large and medium schemes. These are basically
operated and maintained by NIA where beneficiaries are charged irrigation service fee for
the services rendered in the delivery of water. In the 1980s, joint management of portions
of national systems with irrigators associations (IA) was effected.

2. Communal irrigation systems (CIS) are small-scale schemes and constructed with the
participation of farmer-beneficiaries thru their IAs. The operation and maintenance
(O&M) of CIS is turned over to IAs upon project completion subject to a cost recovery
arrangement. Farmers amortize the chargeable cost for a period not exceeding 50 years at 0
percent interest. The repayment scheme is pre-arranged and acceptable to both NIA and the
IA.

3. Private irrigation systems are those constructed, operated and maintained by private
individuals or groups with or without technical assistance by NIA or other government
agencies.

Table 2. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE NATIONAL AND COMMUNAL

IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

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For Comparison
Area (ha)
Implementation/constructio
n participation
Operation and maintenance
Water charges
Purpose of water charges
Communal Irrigation
National Irrigation System
System
> 1,000 < 1,000
NIA with farmers'
NIA
NIA and Irrigators Associations Irrigators Associations
Farmers pay irrigation service fee
per Farmers pay amortization
hectare/season/crop
Purpose of water charges Capital cost recovery

TYPES OF SCHEME OF DEVELOPMENT

The three schemes of development of irrigation systems are run-of-the river diversion, storage or
reservoir, and pump irrigation.

a.) Diversion projects entail the drawing of water under controlled conditions directly from
the flow of rivers or streams.

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 Figure 21. Dinauyan River Diversion Channel

b.) Storage or reservoir projects involve the construction of storage dams to impound water
and released as needed to be drawn from a diversion dam downstream. Reservoir projects
are usually multi-purpose to include other functions like power generation, flood control,
fishery and recreation.

Figure 22. Magat Dam

Figure 23. Ambuklao Dam

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 c.) In pump projects, water is lifted from underground or from rivers and streams. Pump
systems are also common in some storage or diversion schemes to lift water to irrigate
areas on higher elevation or pump groundwater to supplement available supply from the
river. Environmental protection and conservation is a key consideration in the design of
various schemes.

Figure 24.Pump irrigation system in a remote village in Mlang, North Cotabato

NIS schemes have been constructed, operated and maintained by the NIA. The construction cost is
borne entirely by the NIA, while farmers pay for operation and maintenance (O&M). In 1992,
there were about 150 NIS schemes throughout the country. There are three main subtypes
depending on water origin:

 Three large schemes: Magat with 80 977 ha; Upper Pampanga with 94 300 ha;
and Angat Maasim with 31 485 ha are backed by multipurpose reservoirs. Although
classified as single entities, they are actually conglomerates served by multiple diversion
structures, which also utilize supplies from uncontrolled rivers crossing the irrigated area.
Parts of the service area may be too high to be commanded by the reservoir and are
commanded by pump schemes.

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 Figure 25. Magat Dam

Figure 26. Upper Pampangga Irrigation System

Figure 27. Angat Dam

 Run-of-the-river diversion schemes: Most are relatively small. These diversion schemes
can be fairly complicated, with several intakes and reuse systems that are often developed
over time in response to observed drainage flows. The largest schemes are located in the
alluvial plains. In 1989, the cropping intensity on these schemes was about 72 percent during
the wet season and 54 percent during the dry season.

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 Pump schemes: In 1992, there were around seven schemes irrigated only by pumps, and five
large NIS schemes served mainly by gravity flow but which use pumps for a part of their
equipped area.

 Private schemes are generally supplied by pumps. They originated in publicly assisted river
lift and groundwater development projects.

 Surface water development for irrigation is in the form of dams or reservoirs while
groundwater development is through pumping from deep and shallow aquifers. Groundwater
irrigation development, particularly from deep aquifers, is relatively expensive including
O&M. This is one of the reasons why less groundwater is used for irrigation, aside from the
fact that groundwater withdrawal is being reserved for municipal/drinking purposes owing to
its inherent good quality.

Figure 28. Surface water development (Ambuklao Dam, Benguet )

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 Figure 29.Groundwater Irrigation Development

Surface irrigation is the major technique practiced in the Philippines owing to rice, which
accounts for 1 863 664 ha or over 99 percent. Lowland paddy fields are flooded to prevent weeds
and ensure yields. Sprinkler and localized irrigation systems, 4 500 ha and 10 920 ha
respectively, are used on privately-owned large plantation areas such as for banana, pineapple
and sugarcane. Their use is constrained by their relatively high investment cost and the skills
required to operate and maintain them. Currently, the use of sprinkler and drip is being
promoted, even for small-scale production systems, particularly in water-scarce areas. These
include greenhouses producing high-value commercial crops, such as vegetables, where
investment costs could be recovered over a shorter period.

Figure 30. Surface Irrigation in Mlang, North Cotabato from Philippine Rural Development
Project

Figure 31. Sprinkler Irrigation (Philippines)

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 Figure 32. Greenhouse and drip irrigation system in the Philippines

STATUS OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT

 The Philippines has about 10.3 million ha agricultural lands. Out of this, around 3.1 million ha
are considered irrigable, with up to 3 percent slope, and primarily devoted to rice and corn. A
study by the World Bank, however, identified more than 6.1 M ha as irrigable, including areas
that are relatively more difficult to irrigate and up to 8 percent slope.

 As of December 2015, about 1.731 million ha or 57.33 percent of the 3.1 million ha have been
developed for irrigation. Of the total area under irrigation, about 754,665 ha are under NIS;
615,797 ha under CIS that are farmer-managed; and 187,766 ha under privately owned
systems that are constructed through private initiatives.

 Table 3. Status of Irrigation Development in the Philippines as of 2016

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

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol on Tuesday February 13, 2019 ,said President Duterte
has given him the imprimatur to pursue talks with an Israeli agro-industrial firm for the possible
funding of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) flagship program for the acquisition and
installation of solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS). Once completed, the irrigation systems
project, which has been aggressively pushed by the DA since Piñol’s leadership, would cover
500,000 hectares of rice and high-value crops farms over the next three years, Piñol said. This, he
added, would be able to plug the shortfall in local output and could potentially wipe out the
country’s rice imports.“The offer to fund and construct 6,200 units of SPIS is a major
breakthrough in the productivity program of the DA, especially in rice, where only 1.2 million
hectares, out of 3.9 million, are irrigated,” Piñol said. Israel’s proposal would still undergo review
by the National Economic and Development Authority, which would later on endorse the project
to the President, according to Piñol.

Sources: https://www.nia.gov.ph/sites/default/files/pdf_reader/2019_irrigation-program.pdf

.http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/didyouknow/index3.stm
http://www.eptisa.com/en/news/news/eptisa-will-formulate-the-10-year-irrigation-developme
nt-master-plan-and-the-national-irrigation-administration-corporate-plan-2016-2025n-philip
pines/
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/irrigation/
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