UNCCD

Sustainable water resources management for irrigation   [Italy]

  • Creation:
  • Update:
  • Compiler:
  • Editor:
  • Reviewer:

Reporting Entity: Italy

Clarify if the technology described in the template, or a part of it, is covered by property rights: Nee

Completeness: 86%

General Information

General Information

Title of best practice:

Sustainable water resources management for irrigation  

Country:

Italy

Reporting Entity:

Italy

Property Rights

Clarify if the technology described in the template, or a part of it, is covered by property rights:

Nee

Classification

Prevailing land use in the specified location

  • Other (please specify)
Specify:

irrigated fruit trees, vineyards, olive groves; artichokes, greenhouse.

Contribution to Desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) measures

  • Prevention
  • Mitigation
  • Adaptation

Linkages with the other best practice themes

  • Knowledge management and decision support
  • Funding and resource mobilization
  • Participation, collaboration and networking

Specifications

Section 1. Context of the best practice: frame conditions (natural and human environment)

Short description of the best practice

The Agrigento province area is affected by aridity and water scarcity. The availabe surface and underground waters are polluted or saline and therefore not suitable for irrigation purposes.
Dam and artificial reservoires have been costructed in the past decades to meet the growing water demand of agriculture and civil uses.
Public consortium manage and distribute to 10.161 farms (19305 ha) the water collected and stored in the artificial reservoires during the winter months.  The water made availble by the consortium are of good quality and at an affordable cost. Consortia in Sicily are no profit organization . The SLM practice is based on the recent innovation of pressurized water distribution and control based on effective volumes used. The new system is improved in respect to the traditional system based on the amount of surface to be irrigated.
The contabilization of water used allows water savings and better management of the infrastructures.
This area is actually the only in the regional territory to apply this methodology.

Location

Sicily, Agrigento province|

If the location has well defined boundaries, specify its extension in hectares:

19305.0

Estimated population living in the location:

450000.0

Brief description of the natural environment within the specified location.

The most widespread soil associations are represented by eutric regosols eutric / vertic cambiosols with eutric fluviosols developed on clay hills, and lithosols and eutric cambiosols orthica luviosols eutric regosols / lithosols in mountain areas. The substrate consists mainly of sand, clay and limestone|
The topography is flat in the land strip along the coast and a hilly inland up to the embossments of the mountains Sicani.
The climate of the southern area of Sicily is classified, according to the WMO-UNEP Aridity Index, semi-arid and dry sub-humid. The nearest climatological station ( Agrigento, 313 msl) annual maximum temperatures ranges between 14 and 30°C, minimum temperatures 7,7 and 21,4 °C At regional level temperature increased by 1,5 °C from 1921 to 2002.  Average annual precipotation is 497 mm. At regional level precipitation declined by 158 mm in the period 1921-2003.

Prevailing socio-economic conditions of those living in the location and/or nearby

According to the National Institute of Statistics data (2006) the main economic activities and their share of the regional GDP is:
Agriculture, fishing 3,52 %
Industry 9,30%
Construction 5,52%
Commerce, tourism 18,28%
Services 28,28%
Finance, real estate 21,29%|
Land tenure and associated irrigation plants are private;  Water infrastructures ( reservoires, distribution network) and their maintainance works are managed by public consortium (Consorzio di Bonifica) at regional administrative level.|
The average per capita GDP in the province of Agrigento  (14.790 Euro) is below both the average country value ( 30.680 Euro)  and the Sicily average ( 17.533 Euro) (year 2008).

On the basis of which criteria and/or indicator(s) (not related to The Strategy) the proposed practice and corresponding technology has been considered as 'best'?

The criteria are based on a stakeholder analisyst of efficacy, efficiency, effectiveness of the practice. The stakeholders consulted for the assessment have been:
Farmers members of the consortium,
Local enterprises in the sector of water distribution infrastructures
Regional civil servants involved in the consortium activity
Techcnicians and managers of the reclamation consortium
Regional and national agencies working in the area
The benefit of the practice in term of the three criteria can be syntetized:
1) The water allocated but not used by farmers can be used in the successive irrigation cycle,
2) The contabilization and payment of the  water effectively used allows consistent water savings,
3) Reduction of pollution due to leaching,
4) Improved planning of crop production.|

Section 2. Problems addressed (direct and indirect causes) and objectives of the best practice

Main problems addressed by the best practice

Water scarcity and drought impacts.
|Overexploitation of underground water,
Lowering of water table in coastal areas and intusion of saline waters into freshwater acquifers. |Low farmers income,  land abandonment and emigration.

Outline specific land degradation problems addressed by the best practice

Land abandonment due to water scarcity and drought,
Soil pollution and salinization,

Specify the objectives of the best practice

Improve the efficency of water use, reduction of water losses|Improve the income of farmers trough production of irrigated crops

Section 3. Activities

Brief description of main activities, by objective

Financial and technical assistence to farmers in order to adopt improved irrigation methods and consequentely access to agricultural good markets. |Supporting production costs: the water cost payed by farmers covers only  10% of the consortium yearly budget.
Installation and maintainance of a remote controlled water distribution system.|Allocation of irrigation water and its In advance payment.

Short description and technical specifications of the technology

The technology applied consists in the commercial pressurized water distribution systems  available on the market.  The contabilization of the used water is made by remote controlled water counters.

Section 4. Institutions/actors involved (collaboration, participation, role of stakeholders)

Name and address of the institution developing the technology


Consorzio di Bonifica n°3 Agrigento
|Sede ctr. S. Michele z. ind.
92100 AGRIGENTO AG

Was the technology developed in partnership?

Ja

Specify the framework within which the technology was promoted

  • Other (please specify)
Specify:

Local initiative supported by Regional administration and technical units.

Was the participation of local stakeholders, including CSOs, fostered in the development of the technology?

Ja

List local stakeholders involved:

Farmers

For the stakeholders listed above, specify their role in the design, introduction, use and maintenance of the technology, if any.

Farmers are requested to plan in advance every year their water needs. Before ste start of the irrigation the farmers have to prove the payment made on the basis of the requested amount.
The cost of the irrigation piplelines in the farm is payed by the farmers.

Was the population living in the location and/or nearby involved in the development of the technology?

Nee

Analysis

Section 5. Contribution to impact

Describe on-site impacts (the major two impacts by category)

Intesification of agriculture production is based on intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides. The environmental cost of supporting farmers income is often causing on site environmental negative processes and offsite biodiversity loss. Alternative productions and biological cultivation, with lowe|
Vegetables

Impact on biodiversity and climate change

Explain the reasons:

increased use of energy and fertilizers
Increased resilence of production activities to drought
There is no positive onsite impact on biodiversity.

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

Has a cost-benefit analysis been carried out?

Nee

Section 6. Adoption and replicability

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Was the technology disseminated/introduced to other locations?

Nee

Were incentives to facilitate the take up of the technology provided?

Were incentives to facilitate the take up of the technology provided?

Ja

Specify which type of incentives:
  • Financial incentives (for example, preferential rates, State aid, subsidies, cash grants, loan guarantees, etc)

Can you identify the three main conditions that led to the success of the presented best practice/technology?

Participation of farmers open to innovation and their awarenes of water saving needs.
Availability of funds for all necessary investments and institutional support of regional institutions.

Replicability

In your opinion, the best practice/technology you have proposed can be replicated, although with some level of adaptation, elsewhere?

Ja

Section 7. Lessons learned

Related to financial aspects

Public investments are needed to maintain the infrastructures.

Related to technical aspects

Technology innovation is necessary to improve efficiency and to improve production.

Links and modules

Expand all Collapse all

Modules