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Managing Water in Rainfed Agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion

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Managing Water in Rainfed Agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion Managing Water in Rainfed Agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion Final report prepared by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) for Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) CREDITS Authors Robyn Johnston, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka Chu Thai Hoanh, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Vientiane, Lao PDR Guillaume Lacombe, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Vientiane, Lao PDR Rod Lefroy, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Hanoi, Vietnam Paul Pavelic, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Hyderabad, India Carolyn Fry, Consultant to International Water Management Institute (IWMI), London, UK Contributors Laure Collet, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia Andrew Noble, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Canberra, Australia (formerly International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Vientiane, Lao PDR) Deborah Bossio, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Nairobi, Kenya (formerly International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) Corentin Clement, Intern at International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka Somphasith Douangsavanh, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Vientiane, Lao PDR Oloth Sengtaheuanghoung, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Vientiane, Lao PDR Nguyen Duy Phuong, Soils and Fertilizers Research Institute (SFRI), Hanoi, Vietnam Tran Duc Toan, Soils and Fertilizers Research Institute (SFRI), Hanoi, Vietnam Teoh Shwu Jiau, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)/WorldFish Center, Penang, Malaysia Thuon Try – Consultant to International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Phnom Penh, Cambodia Lu Caizhen – World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Yunnan, China Johnston, R.; Hoanh, C. T.; Lacombe, G.; Lefroy, R.; Pavelic, P.; Fry, C. 2012. Managing water in rainfed agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Final report prepared by IWMI for Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). 100p. doi: 10.5337/2012.201 / water management / agroecology / environment / rainfed farming / irrigated farming / farming systems / crop production / agricultural production / yields / poverty / climate change / drought / floodplains / rain / mapping / case studies / reservoirs / deltas / groundwater / farm ponds / water storage / rivers / lowland / highlands / plains / landscape / coastal area / urban areas / aquifers / Southeast Asia / Cambodia / Laos / Myanmar / Thailand / Vietnam / ISBN 978-92-9090-749-7 Copyright © 2012, by IWMI and Sida. All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Project This research study was initiated as part of the project titled ‘Scoping and Project Development Study on Managing Water in Rainfed Agriculture: The Key to Food Security in the GMS’. Collaborators This study is a collaboration of the following organizations: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Donors This work was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The opinions and interpretations expressed within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) or the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). iii CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Part 1: Rainfed Agriculture in the Greater Mekong Subregion ..................................................4 Agro-ecozones of the GMS .................................................................................................. 4 Rainfed versus irrigated agriculture ......................................................................................6 Farming systems of the GMS by agro-ecozone ...................................................................7 Part 2: Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture in the GMS ..............................................22 Key climate variables affecting crop growth ......................................................................22 Agro-climate analysis for the GMS ....................................................................................24 Drought in the GMS ........................................................................................................... 28 Long-term climate variability ............................................................................................. 28 Climate change .................................................................................................................... 30 Part 3: Assessing Crop Suitability .............................................................................................31 Background and methodologies ..........................................................................................31 Crop suitability maps .......................................................................................................... 33 Part 4: Yield Gap Analysis ........................................................................................................ 46 Potential yields and yield gap .............................................................................................46 Long-term trends at country level ...................................................................................... 47 Part 5: Agricultural Water Management Interventions ............................................................. 54 Demand management measures ..........................................................................................55 Supply measures .................................................................................................................. 57 Supporting/enabling measures ............................................................................................60 Identifying the right AWM interventions ........................................................................... 61 AWM case studies ............................................................................................................... 62 Part 6: Groundwater in GMS .................................................................................................... 72 Current situation .................................................................................................................. 72 The expanding role of groundwater ....................................................................................73 Current problems ................................................................................................................. 73 Pathways forward ................................................................................................................ 74 Part 7: Synthesis and Recommendations .................................................................................. 75 Priority areas for regional interventions in rainfed agriculture ..........................................78 References ............................................................................................................................ 85 v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To keep pace with growing populations and dietary changes, food production in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will need to increase by an estimated 25% over the next 15 years. The majority of agricultural production systems in the GMS are rainfed; upgrading these systems promises large social, economic and environmental paybacks in terms of reducing poverty and boosting economic development. This study was commissioned by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to investigate opportunities for improving production in rainfed agriculture in the GMS through small-scale water management interventions. Agroecosystems of the GMS can be described using six zones with broadly similar biophysical conditions and farming systems. Farming systems in the GMS fall into two distinct groups: ‘lowland’ systems, where inundated rice production predominates, and ‘upland’ systems, where rice and a mix of other crops are grown under non-flooded (aerobic) conditions. Both systems exist in all Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs), distributed according to local topography. Generally, inundated rice systems predominate in the deltas and lowland plains, while upland systems dominate in the sloping uplands and highlands. Annual rainfall is more than adequate to support rainfed cropping throughout the GMS, but its highly seasonal distribution, driven by the southwest monsoon, means the growing season is restricted to six to eight months of the year. Producing crops during the dry season requires some degree of water management. The distinction between irrigated and rainfed cropping in lowland systems is often blurred. Growing lowland rice intrinsically involves water management to maintain inundated conditions, but most of the wet-season crop is rainfed in the sense that the water used mainly comes from rainfall, or from the recession of seasonal floods. On average, more than half of crop water requirements for irrigated crops come from rainfall. Because of the importance of flood-recession agriculture, water
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