Doc. No.: FAO/TD/PPT10-EN
Roundtable Meeting on
Programme for the 2010 Round of Censuses of Agriculture
Budapest, Hungary, 23-27 November, 2009
Data items related to
Irrigation in WCA 2010
Mukesh K. Srivastava,
Team Leader
Agricultural Census and Surveys Group
FAO Statistics Division, Rome
What is irrigation?
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Irrigation refers to purposely providing land with water,
other than rain, for improving productivity
Irrigation usually implies the existence of infrastructure
and equipment for applying water to crops, such as
irrigation canals, pumps, sprinklers or localized watering
systems.
It t also includes manual watering of plants using buckets,
watering cans or other devices.
Uncontrolled land flooding by overflowing of rivers or
streams is not considered irrigation.
Irrigation includes any process under which water is
moved from a water source to apply to an agricultural crop.
Availability of irrigation data at International Level from Agricultural Censuses
Table 5.2 - Holdings reporting irrigation and area irrigated (ha)
Countries by continent
Number of reporting
countries is given in
parenthesis
Irrigation
Census Year
Total number of
holdings
Total area of
holdings
Holdings
reporting
irrigation
(percentage)
Holdings
reporting
irrigation
Holding area
receive
irrigation
WORLD TOTAL (14)
1996-2005
Egypt
1999-2000
4 541 884
3 750 699
3 494 641
76.9
2 879 566
Tanzania
2002-2003
4 901 837
11 997 071
385 213
7.9
168 430
Guadeloupe
2000
12 160
41 700
...
...
5 500
United States
2002
2 128 982
379 712 151
299 583
14.1
22 383 904
Martinique
2000
8 039
32 041
...
...
6 730
Virgin Isl. (US)
2002
191
3 710
...
...
185
119 894 000
159 394 000
52 562 000
43.8
51 610 000
India
2000-2001
Myanmar
2003
3 464 769
8 721 115
762 085
22.0
1 460 415
Nepal
2002
3 364 139
2 654 037
1 997 629
59.4
1 168 345
Philippines
2002
4 822 739
9 670 793
1 984 045
41.1
2 930 029
Saudi Arabia K. of
1999
242 267
4 046 446
...
...
1 191 351
Turkey
2001
3 076 649
18 434 822
1 295 676
42.1
3 505 749
Malta
2001
11 959
11 620
...
...
1 509
Guam
2002
153
667
...
...
312
Northern Mariana Isl.
2002
214
952
135
63.1
125 3
Theme 02:
Irrigation and water management
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(Reference groups: Items 0201–0205 – holdings with irrigation in Item 0010;
Item 0206 – holdings with temporary crops or permanent crops in Items 0011
and 0012; Item 0207 – holdings with land in Item 0008).
For the holding
0201+Area of land irrigated according to land use type (see paragraphs 11.73–
11.75).
0202+Area irrigated according to method of irrigation (see paragraphs 11.76–
11.79).
0203+Area irrigated for each crop type (see paragraphs 11.80–11.81).
0204+Sources of irrigation water (see paragraphs 11.82–11.83).
0205+Payment terms for irrigation water (see paragraph 11.84).
0206+Other types of water management practices (see paragraphs 11.85–
11.88).
0207 Presence of drainage equipment (see paragraphs 11.89–11.90).
Source of Irrigation:
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River/lake/pond (by gravity)
River/lake/pond (pumping)
Dam/reservoir
Deepwell/tubewell
Shallow well
Municipal water supply
Treated waste water
Desalinated water
Other
Method of Irrigation
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Surface irrigation refers to a system for partially or completely covering land with
water for the purpose of irrigation. There are various types including furrow, borderstrip and basin irrigation. Basin irrigation includes submersion irrigation for rice.
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Sprinkler irrigation refers to pipe networks through which water moves under
pressure before being delivered to the crop via sprinkler nozzles. The system
basically simulates rainfall in that water is applied through overhead spraying.
Sprinkler irrigation systems are sometimes known as overhead irrigation systems.
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Localized irrigation is a system where the water is distributed under low pressure
through a piped network, in a pre-determined pattern, and applied as a small
discharge to each plant. There are several types: drip irrigation (where drip
emitters apply water slowly to the soil surface), spray or micro-sprinkler
irrigation (where water is sprayed to the soil near individual plants or trees), and
bubbler irrigation (where a small stream is applied to flood small basins or the soil
adjacent to individual trees). Other terms commonly used to refer to localized
irrigation are micro-irrigation, trickle irrigation, daily flow irrigation, drop-irrigation, sip
irrigation, and diurnal irrigation.
PAYMENT TERMS FOR
IRRIGATION WATER
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Did not pay for water
Paid for water
Fee per area
Fee per volume
Other
OTHER TYPES OF
WATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
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Wetland and inland valley bottoms are lowland areas
subject to seasonal flooding, that are used for cropping when
covered with water. Water control structures, such as canals, may be
constructed to help in the crop cultivation.
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Flood recession cultivation refers to areas along the edge
of rivers or other water bodies where cultivation occurs, making use
of water from receding floods
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Spate irrigation is a method of random irrigation using the
floodwaters of a normally dry water course or riverbed (wadi). Spate
irrigation is also referred to as floodwater harvesting
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Other
Thank You!
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