ADB study stresses need for improving irrigation management.

ISLAMABAD -- An independent study of irrigation performance monitoring beyond water releases at outlet level has emphasised the need for improving irrigation management and inequity within the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC) and possibly across the Indus Basin Irrigation System.

The study released by the Asian Development Bank and titled Optimisation of canal management using satellite measurements recommended that consideration must be given to operate the canals as close as possible to the design in both Kharif and Rabi seasons during high crop demand and save during less demand.

Gini co-efficient of water delivered in 2017 and 2018 showed that water delivery to gross command of distributaries in Kharif was more equitable than water delivered in Rabi and one of its possible reasons was that flow in Rabi season was well below the design, it says.

The Gini coefficient, named after its developer Italian statistician Corrado Gini, measures inequality among values of a frequency distribution, for example among levels of income.

The inequity in delivery may be minimised by reallocating water between divisions and the inequity within a division can be minimised by modifying rotation plan of the division.

Rabi and Kharif cover about 180 days and the 15 irrigation performance indicators posed were computed for every irrigation cycle and every distributary.

Modification of the rotational plan to maintain water surface level as close as possible to the design may improve equity. Better estimates of indents and revision of rotation plans based on historical performance may improve canal water supply equity across the distributaries, says the study.

A remote sensing-based decision support system (DSS) was developed for an irrigation system covering 756,000 hectares in Punjab. The DSS provides insight into irrigation requirements based on actual...

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