The government of NWFP, Pakistan, established an autonomous body, the Frontier Irrigation and Drainage Authority (FIDA), in 1997 to effectively cope with the emerging challenges in irrigation management. Six distributaries were recently transferred to farmers' organizations under the irrigation management transfer (IMT) for their operation and management. Results of the study revealed that the irrigation supplies are adequate to meet the crop water requirements. The relative water supply (RWS) index varies from 1.66 to 2.02 during summer, whereas in winter it varies from 2.22 to 2.55. The delivery performance ratio (DPR) during summer varies from 0.78 to 0.83 and in winter from 0.73 to 0.63. Irrigation supplies were reliable during both summer and winter seasons. Due to improved irrigation supply, annual irrigation intensity has increased by 25%. There is a prominent increase in yield of maize (40%), sugarcane (55%) and wheat (43%). The irrigation service fee collected was approximately 60% of the fee assessed. Hydraulic committees at each distributary should be established to operate the distributary according to crop demand. Awareness of the farmers should be created regarding the farm irrigation application methods to avoid over-irrigation and wastage of water.
Operation of a secondary canal was recently transferred to the farmers' organization (FO) under irrigation management transfer (IMT) programme. After modernization of Upper Swat Canal (USC) irrigation system, the water allowance was increased to operate the irrigation system more in demand responsive mode. The study of the existing operation of the canal revealed that most of the time the irrigation supplies exceed the demand and the farmers either over irrigate their fields or waste precious irrigation water. Operation and management aspect of the irrigation system play a pivotal role in overall water management practices. SIC hydrodynamic model was employed to evaluate the operational performance of the distributary. Different operational scenarios were investigated and quantified based on fixed frequency operation. Based on these results it is suggested to operate the distributary at 80-90% of the design discharge during May to July, and 75-90% of the design discharge from August to April to reduce water losses due to high water allowance.
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