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Water Allocation Rules in Afghanistan for Improved Food Security Frank A Water allocation rules in Afghanistan for improved food security Frank A. Ward, Saud A. Amer & Fahimullah Ziaee Food Security The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food ISSN 1876-4517 Food Sec. DOI 10.1007/s12571-012-0224-x 1 23 Author's personal copy Food Sec. DOI 10.1007/s12571-012-0224-x ORIGINAL PAPER Water allocation rules in Afghanistan for improved food security Frank A. Ward & Saud A. Amer & Fahimullah Ziaee Received: 17 February 2012 /Accepted: 28 October 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and International Society for Plant Pathology 2012 Abstract In many arid countries, rules for the allocation of flexibility of irrigated agriculture in dealing with water irrigation water when shortages occur are poorly defined. shortages are analyzed for their impacts on farm profit- These weaknesses present a critical constraint to food secu- ability and food security. Findings show that a propor- rity and can be a major cause of poverty and hunger. The tional sharing of water shortages, in which each canal search for flexible rules for the allocation of irrigation water bears an equal proportion of overall shortages, is the is especially important in dry regions of the developing most flexible rule among those analyzed for limiting world where drought and climate change compound the threats to food security and farm income. This water challenges faced by farmers, extension advisers, water man- sharing arrangement is also seen as fair in many cultures agers and governments. Afghanistan is one country in which and is simple to administer. In the developing world, the inflexible arrangements for allocating irrigation water when design and practical implementation of flexible rules for drought occurs continue to undermine its food security. This adapting to periodic water supply changes are important paper develops and applies an empirical framework to eval- as water shortages become more pronounced in the face uate several arrangements for the allocation of irrigation of droughts and climate variability. The results provide a water when shortages occur. The intent of the analysis is framework for identifying, designing, and implementing to identify a water allocation system for sharing shortages water allocation rules for food security in the developing that minimizes the loss in economic benefits and food secu- world’s irrigated areas. rity by efficiently sharing water supplies when the inevitable drought occurs. An integrated decision framework for water Keywords Food security . Irrigation . Water rights . River resources is developed that unifies crop, water, and farm basins . Afghanistan data. Several water allocation rules that could increase the Support by these organizations is gratefully acknowledged: • New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station Introduction • US Geological Survey • UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands Recent years have witnessed growing interest in the use of F. A. Ward (*) integrated water resources management (IWRM) as an ap- Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business, proach to guide policies that promote food security in the New Mexico State University, developing world’s dry areas (e.g., Gupta and van der Zaag Las Cruces, NM, USA e-mail: [email protected] 2008). Interest has been stimulated by growing evidence of climate change accompanied by increased variability in water S. A. Amer supply around the world. A related challenge is the need to US Geological Survey, ensure food security, meet water demands for multiple uses 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston, VA 20192, USA and sustain key ecological assets for growing populations. e-mail: [email protected] Despite the widely recognized potential offered by integrating hydrology, economics and institutions, only recently has re- F. Ziaee search started to address some of the challenges faced by Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Kabul, Afghanistan practical application of IWRM to guide the design of food e-mail: [email protected] policies. IWRM plays an important role in informing policy Author's personal copy F.A. Ward et al. tradeoffs by keeping track of all sources and uses of water as The journal Food Security has published a series of water supplies move from the headwaters to downstream recent papers describing the kinds of irrigation management areas where the water is used for irrigation. IWRM is recog- improvements needed to support growing food security nized as the best practice method to account for the interde- needs in several parts of the world. Mu and Khan (2009) pendence of water use and food production in large systems of developed a decision support tool to conduct stochastic irrigated regions in a watershed (Batchelor 1999). analysis on future water availability and water demand to Several studies have examined IWRM approaches for better address food security challenges in China. Waddington addressing flexibility in water management. Jewitt (2002) et al. (2010) identified poor management of irrigation water described how IWRM principles could be applied to im- as an important production constraint for six major food prove ecosystem functions in South Africa and Scott et al. crops in 13 farming systems where there are high pov- (2003) showed how use of the IWRM framework could erty rates in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and East better sustain aquifer dependent lives in Jordan. Several Asia.Lietal(2011) identified the importance of drought and challenges were described by Biswas (2004) for implement- water-related shortages compared with other constraints that ing IWRM to inform the development of more flexible rules limit production of wheat, rice, sorghum, and chickpea in five for water allocation for a number of developing countries. South Asian farming systems. The impact of climate change Mulwafu and Msosa (2005) documented uses of IWRM to on rice production in the lower Mekong Basin was examined comprehensively tackle poverty in Malawi by rehabilitating by Mainuddin et al (2011), who evaluated some widely used water facilities, improving water supply capacity and pro- adaptation options, including better irrigation management, moting community-based management. Van der Zaag and analyzed their implications for overall food security by (2005) showed how the IWRM framework could help water 2050. Better management of irrigation water was shown to be managers in South Africa. Another application of IWRM an important target area for adapting to shortages in the future was described by Yates et al. (2005) who demonstrated its water supply. use through optimization modeling to support the design of Huangetal(2009, 2010) examined the potential for programs for dealing with climate change. Castelletti and water institutional reform in China through better under- Soncini-Sessa (2006) described the use of IWRM to address standing of emerging water institutions. Using survey data management and institutional challenges for a water system from northern China, they found that water managers need- shared by Italy and Switzerland, and Lamberts (2006) pre- ed increased incentives to manage their villages efficiently sented an IWRM framework for improving the performance in order to raise the productivity of regional irrigated agri- of key ecological assets in the Mekong River Basin. Gov- culture. The question of how to match water programs and ernance structures for watersheds in California and France policies to the needs of the world’s poor irrigation farmers could be improved by IWRM, according to Davis (2007) was identified by Namara et al (2010) as a difficult chal- and Fang et al. (2007) who showed how IWRM could lenge and one that required policy reforms. Their research enhance water management in northwest China by the dis- examined an array of promising pathways through which covery of cost effective ways to conserve water and promote management of agricultural water and policies could sustain sustainable development. Murad et al. (2007)usedthe reductions in poverty. Turral et al. (2010) examined the IWRM framework in the United Arab Emirates to address implications of climate change on irrigation through impacts problems of salinity, evaporation and groundwater overdraft on hydrology and water supply. The authors concluded that to promote the economic development of a country heavily emerging programs will require constant adaptation to cul- constrained by scarcity of freshwater supplies. Harou et al. ture, climate, and economic forces. Despite the significant (2009) presented a state-of-the art review of the development achievements described above, many of these articles rec- and use of hydroeconomic models to support implementation ognized the need to develop more flexible rules for the of IWRM through better use of existing water supplies. allocation of irrigation water. Allocation rules that allow for Batchelor (1999) discussed the extent to which IWRM flexibility in times of drought will be needed to allow for principlescouldbeusedtofindirrigationprogramsfor adaption to climate variability and to sustain food security raising water productivity at both farm and catchment and rural livelihoods in the developing world’s dry regions. scales. Yang et al. (2003) found that clearly defined and legally enforceable water rights and responsibilities for wa- Irrigation in Afghanistan ter managers and farmers can contribute to a more produc- tive irrigated agriculture. In an analysis of the Ruaha River Since the late 1970s, few countries
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