Welcome to WaterTrade

The overall objective of the water conservation strategy for the agricultural water users sector is to ensure that the agriculture sector uses water more efficiently so that the surplus can be allocated to other water user sectors. The strategy will be implemented nationwide by the year 2004.

There are many opportunities to improve water use efficiency and there is still sufficient time to get prepared for the forthcoming changes. There are no real reasons for concern as long as appropriate steps are taken to ensure that water use efficiency is at the acceptable level for the current system.

There are no "of the shelf solutions" that work in all situations for all farms but there are some really good "common sense" practices which can increase water use efficiency in the agricultural sector. These can be divided into the following three groups of practices: 1. Irrigation water management; 2. Physical improvements; 3. Organisational improvements. In more details these common sense practices include but are not limited to the following:

Practices which can increase water use efficiency in the agricultural sector
Irrigation water management	- improve water measurements and record keeping - find out the irrigation efficiency on the farm (by measuring - not guessing) - obtain information on crop evapotranspiration in your area - understand the difference between "average annual" and "real time" water use - monitor and record on regular basis soil moisture and soil salinity - monitor and record on regular basis quantity and quality of return flows - keep all irrigation equipment in perfect condition - find out how your business benefits from improved water use efficiency
Physical improvements	- improve flow and water level measurement techniques and equipment - automate canal structures - line or pipe canal sections (where needed) - modify delivery systems to increase flexibility of water delivery - build facilities to reuse return flows (where possible) - improve on farm systems and equipment - justify expenses by added value or lowered costs but also by saved water
Organisational improvements	- improve communication channels between farmers and relevant institutions - increase flexibility in water ordering and delivery - establish/improve financial arrangements related to better water use efficiency - establish interest group and be proactive

has know-how to assist in all aspects and at all levels of water conservation in the agricultural sector. Our solutions are always adjusted to match specifics of scheme and/or system.

Our solutions range from optimisation of the on-farm water application to real time control systems for open channel networks including real time control of raw water infrastructure at the catchment level.

WaterTrade help line for water conservation in the agricultural sector is available here.

Copyright © 2000-2002 WaterTrade. All Rights Reserved.
If you have any queries related to the site please email WaterTrade Webmaster
Disclamer: While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, neither WaterTrade nor its employees accept responsibility or liability for the validity of any information obtained from this site.