The Action Plan on water use efficiency in agriculture is a national policy with a sectoral approach. The timeframe of this Action Plan is 5 years between 2014 and 2018. The overall purpose of the Action Plan is to ensure efficient use and management of water resources for sustainable development and food security. The objectives of this Action Plan are (i) expansion of irrigation facilities using modern irrigation techniques for water conservation, (ii) increase the ratio of irrigation, (iii) increase the number of modern irrigation systems, and (iv) reduce the use of groundwater resources. The use of modern pressure irrigation systems will be encouraged in order to ensure sustainable use of natural resources, increase in quality and quantity of agricultural production, water saving used for irrigation, and employment. Irrigation networks will be rehabilitated in accordance with the priorities specified in the planning process for water use efficiency in agriculture. Furthermore, the groundwater irrigation cooperatives will be rehabilitated and transformed into closed system. The use of drop irrigation and sprinkler system will be promoted in the modern irrigation systems and the areas using those systems will be expanded. Research and development studies will be carried out to introduce new models. The use of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system will be promoted in gradual irrigation systems. The monitoring and measuring systems will be developed to assess soil moisture, precipitation forecasting for the areas planned to irrigate, soil structure, and crop varieties. Strategies will be developed for the use of high-technology in irrigation. Irrigation techniques that enable water saving will be used for traditional crops. The capacity of water users will be enhanced on management strategies for planning of the timing of irrigation in accordance with the using procedures of modern technology and water saving methods. Efficient soil processing techniques will be used in soil improvement studies to increase soil permeability. Studies will be carried out regarding the use of low-quality and treated water for agricultural purposes. Land consolidation will be accelerated for irrigation areas, giving priority to irrigation and rehabilitation projects of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works. In addition to that, land consolidation of irrigation area will be carried out associated with on-farm development services. Attractive and low-lift pump irrigation systems will be preferential in the field of investment. The awareness of agricultural producers on conscious use of water will be raised through training and extension services. Water policies will be developed in accordance with the limited irrigation approach. To this end, programs will be developed to increase water use efficiency in case of inadequate water resources for irrigation. The guidebooks will be prepared regarding water consumption and irrigation techniques of plants. Drought-tolerant crop varieties will be developed and their use will be promoted. Measures will be taken to prevent, reduce and monitor water pollution through agricultural activities. Incentives will be provided to farmers on condition of reduction and prevention of water pollution through agricultural activities in order to encourage them for pollution prevention. The water saving policies regarding water use in agriculture will be linked to watershed management. Observation stations will be established to monitor water reservoirs, water quality and forecasting. The use of groundwater for irrigation will be limited, controlled and registered. Institutional capacity building will be enhanced and the institutional coordination will be strengthened in the fields of agricultural production and water use efficiency in agriculture. Water users’ organizations and agricultural irrigation cooperatives will be controlled systematically.
تركيا · 2015-01-01