Water resources limitations and national priorities for use in agriculture

1. Water Livelihood Initiative Water resources limitations and national priorities for use in agriculture Dr. Adel Al-Washali Sana’a University

2. Yemen Water Resources & consumptions A Glance on Water Balance of Yemen

3. State of groundwater basins of Yemen Sa’adah wt decline= 5-6 m W/R= 12 W/R= Withdrawals/Recharge Amran wt decline= 3 m Sa’ana wt decline= 6-8 m W/R= 5.3 WadiHadramout W/R= 2.6 Tuban-Abyan wt decline=0.2-1 m Tihama wt decline= 1-3 m Rada’a wt decline= 5 m Taiz wt decline=1.5-2 m W/R= 3

4. Random well drilling Anatomy of Yemen’s Wells Total wells in Yemen: 70,000 Number of drilling companies: 381 Number of drilling rigs: 656 Wells distributions within WadiAs’sir catchment area (Dark spots designate dug wells) : WadiAs’ssir has the highest well density in Sana’a Basin Distribution of bore holes in Wadi Surdud (NWRA,2008) Abstraction is estimated to exceed recharge by 400 percent” John Briscoe

5. Enforcement implementation of water law Top 20 groundwater-abstracting countries. Source: IWMI, 2007

6. The irrigated lands depending upon groundwater pumping in Yemen science 1960.its areas doubled from 1970 to nowadays. Over 40% of cultivated lands depending on groundwater pumping. In 1990 the irrigated agriculture alone was consuming 130% of renewable water resources,this reached 150% by 2005, and would reach 200% by 2025. As consequence the crop pattern had been changed,and more cash crops of high irrigation water requirement has been adoptedcausing excessive depletion in ground water level Overview of Yemen’s agriculture sector Agricultural crops area for the year 2009 Data Source: General Division of Agriculture Statistics, MAI

7. Overview of irrigation in agriculture sector Water consumption within agriculture Comparison of well irrigated area by Governorates Source: MOPIC, 2010, National Food Security Strategy Paper (NFSSP)- PART II, Policies, Investments, and Program Options for Achieving Yemen’s Food Security Goals

8. Source of irrigation in agriculture sector Moreabstraction of groundwater for irrigationmoredepending on diesel as an energy source for pumping. Reports indicates that 22.1Million Liters of Diesel were consumed monthly for irrigation water pumping of what 30% goes to qat trees. Agro-ecological zones Source: MOPIC, 2010, National Food Security Strategy Paper (NFSSP)- PART II, Policies, Investments, and Program Options for Achieving Yemen’s Food Security Goals

9. DIESEL USE FOR PUMPING WATER IN SOME BASINS Basic equation for energy, in MJ, required to lift a given quantity of water Specific energy content of diesel, Esd =36.4 MJ/l Average diesel engine efficiency 75% Quantity of diesel, q (liter) required for pumping unit cubic meter of water: q= E/Esd

10. DIESEL SUBSIDIES Calculated on the basis of total abstractions and average well depth About one-third of the Government’s budget (US $3.8 billion or $172 per capita) is spent on fuel subsidies

11. DIESEL SUBSIDIES Comparison of diesel consumption by Governorates for 2010 and until third quarter of 2011 Source: Breisinger et al., 2011

12. WHO IS BENEFITING FROM DIESEL SUBSIDIES? CASE I: Diesel Smugglers During Diesel Shortage Farmers Used Other Sources of Power To Pump Groundwater Diesel use per irrigated area (ha) by Governorates for 2010

13. WHO IS BENEFITING FROM DIESEL SUBSIDIES? CASE II: Qat Big Farmers Qat annual producer value: 254.472 Billion YR (10% GDP, one third of agricultural GDP) Average yearly income of qat /farmer: 375,000 YR (more than twice per capita income) Qat profitability: 5 times as profitable as grapes and 20 times as profitable as potatoes

14. ROLE OF IRRIGATION SECTOR IN YEMEN WATER SECURITY Water Security Levels • Threat Level:Abstracting exceed Recharging (Declining GW) • Balance level:Recharging = Abstracting (Stable GW) • Secure level:Recharging exceed Abstracting (Increasing GW) Yemen is at the Threat Level National Irrigation Program NIP Implementation of the irrigation improvements component Improve farmers’ livelihood Ensure resource sustainability Transmitting from Threat to Secure Level required passing through the Balance Level NWRAplay the most important role of controlling and regulating

15. IMPORTANCE OF NIP MISSION Implementation of the irrigation improvements component Distribution of targeted areas to be covered in three critical basins (ha) Distribution of areas realized in three critical basins (ha), 2012 There is a problem appear on introducing modern irrigation systems

16. Upstream Recover water right Equity Against climate changes Decreases in precipitation rate and changes in intensity and pattern Wide increasing in cultivated area covered by banana fields High consumption of seasonal floods water at upstream area Excessive groundwater abstraction causing rapid GW depletion Midstream Floods water doesn’t reach downstream areas any more since 1980s Five windy seasons carry sands dunes to cover coastal palm fields Increasing desertification Downstream Rapid nature degradation at downstream Farmers abandon their land Increasing poverty and migration Threaten of accruing conflicts around water resources

17. IRRIGATION PRIORITIES • Enforcing the implementation of water law • Modifying cropping pattern of each climate zone from water conservation vision • Setting up an strong irrigation strategy that realize a significant reduction in abstraction • Encouraging agricultural communities towards local water resources management • Expanding area under modern irrigation system

18. IRRIGATION PRIORITIES • Increasing efficiency of traditional irrigation system • Realizing water right distribution equity at spate irrigation areas especially at coastal zones • Introducing novel sustainable agricultural technologies such as greenhouse and mulching • Supporting the replacing of diesel fuel by solar energy in groundwater pumping • Augmenting awareness regarding crop water productivity and crop yield quality and quantity • Improving agricultural marketing to meet locally food needs and satisfy international parameters

19. Thank You