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Drip irrigation is a water-efficient irrigation system. It essentially entails dripping water to individual plant root zones at low rates (2.25l/hr) from emitters embedded in small-diameter plastic pipes. This technology has not only saved the time and cost for irrigation and for applying fertilizers, but has also increased the income of farmers because it ensures early harvesting, among other benefits. Furthermore, drip irrigation also increases soil moisture and reduces water and soil loss.
The issue
Irrigation is the main problem for many farmers during dry seasons, owing to the lack of adequate amount of water. Farmers in the Jhikhu Khola Watershed, Nepal, suffer from a shortage of water for irrigation between the end of one monsoon (June to September) and the next pre-monsoon period (May). This severely limits agricultural production and leads to much land being left fallow after the monsoon crops have been harvested. And only small areas are planted with winter crops. The sources of irrigation water (such as rivers and streams) are limited, and the amount of water they provide is inadequate for cropping. Most sources remain dry outside the monsoon. Insufficient water limits agricultural production during the winter and pre-monsoon seasons (November-May), leading to low farm incomes from the small landholdings. All this means farmers expend considerable time and labour collecting water to irrigate their crops.
The solution
The People and Resource Dynamics Project, with the collaboration of the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, initiated the drip experiment on cauliflowers in Hokse (Kubinde) in November 1999. In 2000 and 2001, the drip experiments were conducted on bitter gourd at the Horticultural Centre in Panchkhal. From 2001 onwards, the technology was introduced in the farmers’ fields. Low-cost drip irrigation was introduced in the watershed as a cost-effective way of making the best use of limited available water. The low-cost drip irrigation sets are installed while the fields are being prepared, which entails ploughing, levelling, and ridging. Lateral pipes (12m long) are laid along ridges that lie 1.5m apart. A wooden platform with a storage tank is installed and connected to the lateral pipes. After the lateral pipes are laid out, planting holes are dug along the ridges, which are spaced to overlap with the drip holes. These holes are usually set every 0.6 or 1.2m along the pipes, depending on the crop. Farmyard manure and chemical fertilizers are placed in pits and mixed well with the soil. Next, vegetable seedlings (usually bitter gourd or cauliflower) are planted in each hole, and the daily drip-watering begins. Irrigation water is generally applied either in the morning or in the evening. If needed, stakes are placed next to each plant a week later to allow the plants to climb. Climber crops like bitter gourd are netted one month after plantation to provide more space for fruiting. Harvesting starts in mid-May and continues until September. Maintaining the system requires repairing leaks in the pipe joints and unblocking of blocked drip holes.
Local farmers started to adopt the technology after the 1999 to mid-2001 testing and demonstration period. The technology was promoted by the Nepal government, and community-based, and non-government organizations. About 50 farmers associated with the People and Resource Dynamics Project (PARDYP) accepted and adopted the technology. Among them, about 58 percent adopted the technology with the cost of the kit subsidized, whilst 42 percent adopted it without any subsidy. Fifty-five other households in the watershed adopted the technology as part of promotions by a local NGO with technical support from PARDYP.
In 2006, ICIMOD estimated the establishment and maintenance cost of drip irrigation based on a 150 sq m area, and extrapolated that to a hectare of land. The total establishment cost was USD 28.6 and the annual maintenance cost was USD 304.
Impact and uptake
Farm income increased to US $ 700/ha due to early fruiting of bitter gourd (22 days early) owing to drip irrigation, thus allowing farmers to sell the produce as an off-season vegetable at a higher price. Furthermore, farmers saw reduction of cost and time for irrigation and in applying fertilizers. In addition, once users became familiar with the new technology, they shared their knowledge with others, which in turn strengthened community institutions, owing to the increased number of drip users. Because drip irrigation allows farmers to apply water directly to plant root zones, soil moisture was also improved. And the practice also led to reduction in water loss through evaporation, percolation, and distribution. The slow and precise delivery of water also reduced soil loss. Finally, because less water is used to irrigate crops, farmers had more water available for other uses/crops.
With farmers showing growing interest in drip irrigation, the number of drip farmers is increasing year by year, and more than 50 farmers in the watershed have adopted the technology. Another 55 farmers are also using the technology, with support from a local NGO (Ranipani Gram Sewa Samitee) District Soil Conservation Office, (DISCO), Kavre, and the District Irrigation Office (DIO), Kavre. PARDYP is continuously providing technical support for all (about 105) drip users, and the number of drip users will increase drastically in the future if the technology is made easily accessible and if sufficient technical knowledge is provided to users.
Contributor
Kabita Nhemhafuki, ICIMOD
Further reading/ information
