No SDES-2022-3
Title Does the reorganization of large agricultural farms decrease irrigation water availability? A case study of Tajikistan
Author Sharofiddinov Husniddin, Moinul Islam and Koji Kotani
Abstract Irrigation water unavailability has become one of the long term problems in Tajikistan. In the post-Soviet period, Tajikistan government started reforming agricultural land for the efficient management. The reallocation was initiated by administrative boundary changes to facilitate the growing number of farmers and ensure crop diversity. However, the modernization of the irrigation water infrastructure did not take place simultaneously. This study identifies agricultural land reform’s impact on the irrigation water demand and supply of Sugd province of Tajikistan. We conduct the panel regression analysis by utilizing the data from 1996 to 2020 of the 13 states in Sugd province. We identify the impact of the number of water users, irrigation area type and water payment system on the irrigation water demand. Our results show that to deal with the changing demand of water in Tajikistan, irrigation systems need to modernize for gravity and pump irrigated areas. The payment system for irrigation water also deserves attention for the compatibility with the increasing irrigation water demand of Tajikistan. We also identify that irrigation water supply is impacted by the number of increasing water users. The possible solution to deal with the water supply shortage in Tajikistan is to eradicate system loss, introduce irrigation water rationing, improve water supply networks and update the Soviet period water pumps.
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