State of Knowledge of Irrigation Techniques and Practicalities within Given Socio-Economic Settings

Abstract

This paper is based on the General Report of Question 61 of the 23rd Congress of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). The Question was entitled ‘State of Knowledge of Irrigation Techniques and Practicalities within Given Socio-Economic Settings’, covering three sub-questions: adopting precision irrigation and improving surface irrigation to combat water scarcity; using ICT, remote sensing, control systems and modelling for improved performance of irrigation systems; and adaptability and affordability of new technologies under different socio-economic scenarios. Under the Question, 64 accepted papers covering a wide range of topics of irrigation techniques and practicalities were summarized and reviewed with valuable views and state-of-the-art information/knowledge on the topics concerned. It was concluded that improving surface irrigation and precision irrigation are still the major areas in which to achieve objectives of higher agricultural water use efficiency and productivity; that new technologies and their applications in the irrigation sector can help to achieve the objectives; and that to address ‘adaptability and affordability’ would ensure the real value achieved in practice. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.