7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

GLOBAL SCENARIO OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREAS

S.A. Kulkarni1, F.B. Reinders2, and F. Ligetvari3

ABSTRACT

During the last three decades, sprinkler and micro irrigation systems owing to their capability
to apply water efficiently, low labour requirement, and increase in quantity and quality of
crop yield/produce have made a breakthrough in many countries around the globe. Use of
sprinkler irrigation for field crops commenced in 1950s and today, variety of sprinkler systems
ranging from simple hand move to large self propelled systems are in use worldwide. Drip
irrigation was first used about 40 years ago but its wide-scale adoption commenced in 1970s
when it was used on 56,000 ha.

In the present paper, efforts have been made to compile the world-wide area coverage of
both sprinkler and micro irrigation using ICID, FAO databases and other sources. It is seen
that at present, the global coverage of sprinkler and micro irrigated areas is 33 million hectares
(Mha) and 6 Mha, respectively. Region-wise spread of sprinkler irrigated area is: Americas
(13.3 Mha), Europe (10.1 Mha), Asia (6.8 Mha), Africa (1.9 Mha), and Oceania (0.9 Mha).
The top ten sprinkler irrigated countries are - USA, Russia, China, India, France, Brazil, Italy,
Spain, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. These countries together constitute 75% of total sprinkler
irrigated area. In case of micro irrigation, the highest coverage is in Americas (1.9 Mha)
followed by Europe and Asia (1.8 Mha each), Africa (0.4 Mha), and Oceania (0.2 Mha).The
top 10 countries in micro irrigated areas are – USA, Spain, India, China, Italy, Brazil, South
Africa, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. These countries share 77% of the total micro
irrigated area of the world. In five countries viz. Austria, Israel, Libya, Slovak Republic and
United Kingdom, irrigation is accomplished solely through pressurized systems.

Besides the micro Irrigation systems that are of the state-of-the-art, low cost drip irrigation
systems - also called as “Affordable Micro irrigation Technologies” (AMITs) are being
increasingly used in some developing countries. These systems have same technical advantages
as conventional micro irrigation systems and are available as a packaged kits suitable for
small fields (0.02 to 0.4 ha). Low cost drip systems are used on some 50,000 ha by over
250,000 smallholders mainly in developing countries. Micro irrigation is increasingly used
in greenhouses and irrigation of lawns, parks and golf courses. The Greenhouses cover about
0.75 Mha around the world and the growth in acreage is likely to continue in the coming
years.

B-23
Sept 10 – 16 2006, PWTC, Kuala Lumpur

The present paper provides information on country and region-wise coverage of sprinkler
and micro irrigated areas, a brief about the AMITs and micro irrigation in greenhouses. Case
studies highlighting growth and trends of sprinkler and micro irrigation in USA and India are
also given in brief.

1
Director I, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 48 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
110021, India, E-mail : icid@icid.org
2
Chairman, Working Group on On-Farm Irrigation Systems and Vice President, ICID, ARC-Institute for Agricultural
Engineering (ARC-IAE), Private Bag X 519, Silverton 0127, South Africa 141, E-mail: ReindersF@arc.agric.za
3
Vice President Hon., ICID, Chairman, Hungarian National Committee, ICID (HUCID), Gödöllo, P.o.Box 303, H-2103;
Hungary, E-mail : ligetvari.ferenc@mkk.szie.hu

B-24
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

GLOBAL SCENARIO OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREAS

S.A. Kulkarni1, F.B. Reinders2, and F. Ligetvari3

ABSTRACT

During the last three decades, sprinkler and micro irrigation systems owing to their capability
to apply water efficiently, low labour requirement, and increase in quantity and quality of
crop yield/produce have made a breakthrough in many countries around the globe. Use of
sprinkler irrigation for field crops commenced in 1950s and today, variety of sprinkler systems
ranging from simple hand move to large self propelled systems are in use worldwide. Drip
irrigation was first used about 40 years ago but its wide-scale adoption commenced in 1970s
when it was used on 56,000 ha.

In the present paper, efforts have been made to compile the world-wide area coverage of
both sprinkler and micro irrigation using ICID, FAO databases and other sources. It is seen
that at present, the global coverage of sprinkler and micro irrigated areas is 33 million hectares
(Mha) and 6 Mha, respectively. Region-wise spread of sprinkler irrigated area is: Americas
(13.3 Mha), Europe (10.1 Mha), Asia (6.8 Mha), Africa (1.9 Mha), and Oceania (0.9 Mha).
The top ten sprinkler irrigated countries are - USA, Russia, China, India, France, Brazil, Italy,
Spain, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. These countries together constitute 75% of total sprinkler
irrigated area. In case of micro irrigation, the highest coverage is in Americas (1.9 Mha)
followed by Europe and Asia (1.8 Mha each), Africa (0.4 Mha), and Oceania (0.2 Mha).The
top 10 countries in micro irrigated areas are – USA, Spain, India, China, Italy, Brazil, South
Africa, Russia, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. These countries share 77% of the total micro
irrigated area of the world. In five countries viz. Austria, Israel, Libya, Slovak Republic and
United Kingdom, irrigation is accomplished solely through pressurized systems.

Besides the micro Irrigation systems that are of the state-of-the- art, low cost drip irrigation
systems - also called as “Affordable Micro irrigation Technologies” (AMITs) are being
increasingly used in some developing countries. These systems have same technical advantages
as conventional micro irrigation systems and are available as a packaged kits suitable for
small fields (0.02 to 0.4 ha). Low cost drip systems are used on some 50,000 ha by over
250,000 smallholders mainly in developing countries. Micro irrigation is increasingly used
in greenhouses and irrigation of lawns, parks and golf courses. The Greenhouses cover about
0.75 Mha around the world and the growth in acreage is likely to continue in the coming
years.

1
Director I, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 48 Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
110021, India, E-mail : icid@icid.org
2
Chairman, Working Group on On-Farm Irrigation Systems and Vice President, ICID, ARC-Institute for Agricultural
Engineering (ARC-IAE), Private Bag X 519, Silverton 0127, South Africa 141, E-mail: ReindersF@arc.agric.za
3
Vice President Hon., ICID, Chairman, Hungarian National Committee, ICID (HUCID), Gödöllo, P.o. Box 303, H-2103;
Hungary, E-mail : ligetvari.ferenc@mkk.szie.hu

1
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

The present paper provides information on country and region-wise coverage of sprinkler
and micro irrigated areas, a brief about the AMITs and micro irrigation in greenhouses. Case
studies highlighting growth and trends of sprinkler and micro irrigation in USA and India are
also given in brief.

INTRODUCTION

On-farm water application systems are normally classified in four basic categories or methods
- (1) surface/ gravity, (2) sub-surface, (3) sprinkler, and (3) micro-irrigation. The sprinkler
and micro irrigation methods together are generally categorized as ‘Pressurized systems’.
Sprinkler method includes hand move, hose pull, side roll/wheel move, stationary big guns,
solid state/permanent types, continuous move types such as center pivots, linear move, and
travelers. Water application through drip (also called trickle), micro- sprinklers (spinners and
rotators), micro-jets (static and vibrating), micro-sprayers, bubblers, drip tapes (both surface
and subsurface) referred to as micro irrigation. There is no definite distinction between
conventional sprinklers and emitters used in micro-irrigation, emitters having flow rates up
to 200 liters per hour (l/h) can be regarded as micro emitters (ISCID, 2006). Generally,
drippers have flow rates from 2 to 8 l/h. Micro-sprayers and static micro jets are non-rotating
type with flow rates ranging from 20 to 150 l/h. Whereas, micro-sprinklers are rotating type
with flow rates ranging from 100 to 300 l/h.

Although sprinkler irrigation is known to the world since more than 80 years its wide scale
use for field crops commenced in 1950s due to availability of better sprinklers, aluminium
pipes and more efficient pumps (Keller, 2002). Today, a variety of sprinkler systems comprising
periodically move systems, fix system and continuous move system are in use worldwide. By
the end of 1990s the total area under sprinkler irrigation in the world was about 21.6 million
hectares (Mha) (INCID, 1998). Further data of the worldwide coverage of sprinkler irrigation
is not available.

The large-scale use of drip irrigation system started in 1970s in Australia, Israel, Mexico,
New Zealand, South Africa, and USA to irrigate vegetables, orchards and its coverage was
reported as 56,000 ha. The micro irrigated area grew slowly but steadily and it was 0.41
Mha in 1981, 1.1 Mha in 1986, 1.77 Mha in 1991 (Bucks, 1993), and about 3.0 Mha in
2000 (Reinders, 2000). In this paper, efforts have been made to compile the latest available
data about area coverage of both sprinkler micro irrigation. The data is compiled mainly
from National Committees of ICID, FAO-AQUASTAT, websites and other published documents.

2
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

COUNTRY-WISE SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREA COVERAGE

In the last worldwide survey of micro irrigation (1991) carried out by International Commission
on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), data of 35 countries was reported. During the last 15 years
the numbers of countries using micro irrigation have more than doubled. In this paper, data
both of sprinkler and micro irrigated areas in 77 countries, arranged by region and sub
region, is presented (Table 1). The column (9) shows the year of reporting the data for each
country along with the source of information. The data pertains to different years from 1989
to 2005 and thus may not represent the current status in case of some countries.

Table 1. Country-wise Sprinkler and Micro Irrigated Area

3
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

4
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

NA – Information not available

1. Irrigation in Africa in Figures, AQUASTAT Survey 2005, FAO Water Report 29.
2. Irrigation in the Near East Region in Figure, 1997, FAO, Water Reports 9, Rome
3. ICID Data Base (Data provided by ICID National Committees of respective countries)
<www.icid.org>
4. National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 2003 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey,
USDA <http://www.nass.usda.gov/census>
5. Irrigation in Latin America and the Caribbean in Figures, 2000, FAO, Water Reports 20
6. Water Resources Information in Yemen (2005), National Resources Authority, Republic
of Yemen <www.nwra-yemen.org>
7. Shatanawi M R: Water Conservation Measures in Jordan: Opportunities and Challenges,
Proceedings of the Workshop on Water Saving and Sustainable Irrigated Agriculture in
the Mediterranean Region, 16th Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 1996, Cairo,
Egypt
8. Irrigation in the Countries of the Former Soviet Union in Figures, 1997, FAO, Water
Reports 15, Rome
9. National Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Horticulture (NCPAH), Department
of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministr y of Agriculture, Govt. of India

5
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

10. Irrigation in Asia in Figures, FAO, 1999, Water Reports 18

11. Bucks D A: Micro Irrigation – Worldwide Usage Report, Workshop on Micro irrigation
Worldwide, 15th International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, ICID, 1993, The
Hague, The Netherlands
12. Irrigation Sector Reform in Central and Eastern European Countries, European Regional
Working Group of ICID (ERWG), 2005
13. Department of Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Greece, 2004 (personal communication)
14. Italian National Services of Agriculture (ISTAT), Census of Agriculture, 2000
15. Australian Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – at a Glance, 2005, Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
16. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand <http://www.maf.govt.nz/statistics/
primaryindustries/land-management/irrigation.htm>. (The areas under sprinkler and
micro irrigation are Authors’ estimates)

REGIONAL SPREAD OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREA

Use of pressurized irrigation systems vary considerably from region to region and country
to country. Table 2 shows the region-wise area coverage by pressurized systems. Proportion
of micro and sprinkler irrigated areas in each of the five regions is shown in Figure 1.

Table 2. Region-wise Sprinkler and Micro-irrigated Area (in descending order)

(Area in million hectares)

* Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of countries

6
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

Figure 1. Proportion of the Micro and Sprinkler Irrigated Areas in the Five Regions.

Major aspects of sprinkler and micro irrigation development in the five world regions are
briefly discussed as follows.

Africa

In African continent area covered under full/partial control irrigation technique is 12.48
million ha, which is 6 % of the total cultivated area of the continent (FAO, 2005). Of which
almost 50% is concentrated in Northern Africa and about 75 % are in five countries viz.,
South Africa, Egypt, Madagascar, Morocco, and Sudan. The FAO has categorized the 53
African countries into seven regions. However, for the purpose of this paper, these are grouped
under five sub-regions (Table 1).

Most of the data used in this paper is drawn from the latest FAO - AQUASTAT Survey-2005.
As can be seen from the Table 2 that, in Africa, pressurized irrigation systems are used on
2.3 million hectares or 22% of the total irrigated area reported in this paper and 18% of the
total area equipped for irrigation of the continent. Within the pressurized systems, sprinkler
irrigation covers 1.86 million ha (18%) and micro irrigation 0.43 million ha (4%). Both sprinkler
and micro irrigation are concentrated mainly in the Northern and Southern regions.

7
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

Americas

American region as a whole has the largest area (14.68 million ha) under sprinkler and micro
irrigation among five regions of the world. More than 85% of the area coverage is in three
Northern countries viz. Canada, Mexico, and USA. The sprinkler irrigation is the dominant
method of irrigation and is practiced on 88% of the total reported irrigated area (37.2 million
ha), while micro irrigation is used on 12% of the irrigated area. The USA not only has the
world’s largest area under pressurized systems but also has varieties of them.

In Latin America, the pace of adoption of new irrigation technologies is rather slow but steady.
In arid and semi-arid zones of countries like Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador the drip system
has become popular among fruit, vegetable and flower growers. In countries like Mexico and
Peru governments are extending liberal technical, financial and training support to farmers
in adoption of modern irrigation techniques. Peru is the world’s biggest paprika exporter, the
2nd biggest asparagus exporter, and the 3rd biggest onion provider. Argentina is among the
top 10 world’s biggest apple exporters. Colombia is the second largest exporter of flowers
in the world and also one of the biggest banana exporters. Ecuador is the world’s largest
banana exporter and second largest flower producer in South America. Chile is a leading
wine exporting country. In all these countries, an increase of sprinkler and drip irrigation is
likely to happen in the years to come (New AG International, 2006).

Asia

Although the Asian region shares 70% of the total world irrigated area, its share in the world’s
sprinkler and micro irrigated area is about 30%. At present, the proportion of sprinkler and
micro irrigated area to the irrigated area is rather low. It is only 6% of the reported irrigated
area in this paper (148.6 million ha). China, India, and Pakistan together constitute almost
half of the world’s irrigated land. About 90% of the world’s rice grown area is in Asia (118
million hectares), of which about 70 million ha (60%) are estimated as irrigated. The dominance
of rice area could be one of the reasons for the low share of the pressurized irrigation in the
region.

Both China and India have emerged as the major users of pressurized irrigation technologies
and occupy 3rd and 4th position, respectively in the world as regards the area coverage
(Table 1). In China, water withdrawals for irrigation were 310 km3 in the year 2003. Water
conservation and increased water use efficiency have become the driving force of China’s
irrigation development. About one-third of the 55.9 million hectares of irrigated area was
equipped with various water-saving irrigation techniques. As a result average volume of water
application declined from 9405 m3/ha in1980 to 5,539 m3/ha in 2003 (CNCID, 2005).Due
to increasing water scarcity in many regions of China and India, it is expected that during
forthcoming years the major expansion of pressurized systems will occur in these counties.
In other major irrigated Asian countries viz. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan,
Vietnam data on area coverage by pressurized systems is not available. In Baluchistan Province
of Pakistan, drip irrigation is practiced by a few orchard growers as the groundwater is being
mined.

8
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

In Central Asian Countries, sprinkler irrigation was widely used during the former Soviet
Union period. However, subsequently due to technological and financial constraints, deterioration
of irrigation infrastructure has taken place (The World Bank, 2006). It is therefore likely that
the area under pressurized systems reported in this paper might have been declined further.
In Azerbaijan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey sprinkler irrigation is by far the most
predominant, while in Israel and Jordan micro-irrigation is the most widely used technique,
being practiced on over 70 % of their irrigated land.

Europe

Amongst all the five regions, Europe has the highest proportion of its irrigated area under
pressurized systems. Of the total 25 million ha of irrigated land about 47% (12 million ha)
is covered by sprinkler and micro irrigation. Of the 21 countries reported in this paper, 13
countries have more than 75 % of their irrigated land under pressurized systems.

At the beginning of the 1990s, in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) the
period of transition from a central planning economy to the market economy was commenced.
Due to privatization of agricultural land and reduction of government support to irrigation
sector, deterioration of irrigation and drainage infrastructure took place. As a result there was
a drastic reduction in irrigated areas in most of the CEEC. For example, in Bulgaria, the
irrigated area prior to 1991 was 1.25 million ha, which declined to about 40,000 at present.
Similarly in Poland, the present irrigated area is 83,000 while it was more than 3.2 million
ha prior to 1991. Prior to 1990 in CEEC, large-scale sprinkler irrigated farms under cooperative
and state sectors were in vogue. However, with the establishment of smaller farming units and
diversification of crops, the earlier large-sized mechanized sprinkler systems were replaced
by appropriate small-scale systems such as hand move and hose-reel systems (Dirksen and
Huppert, 2005). The area under pressurized irrigation in the CEEC has therefore dropped
substantially as compared to pre-1990s.

Oceania

Australia and New Zealand are the major irrigated countries in Oceania and Pacific regions.
In New Zealand almost all irrigation is in private hands. About 80% of the sprinkler and micro
irrigated area of the region is located in Australia alone.

PRESENT GLOBAL COVERAGE OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATION

Owing to year-to-year fluctuations in the actual irrigated areas and also non-availability of
information in some countries, it is difficult to have an accurate worldwide statistics of irrigated
area and so also of pressurized irrigation. The FAO Production Yearbook (2003) has reported
the total irrigated area of 174 countries across the world as 276 million ha. In this paper
data pertaining to sprinkler and micro irrigation in 77 countries covering 220 million ha is
presented.

9
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

Worldwide experience during the last 50 years has shown that sprinkler and micro irrigation
can be used for all types of crops excepting rice-paddy. Although there are some experimental
evidences of use of sprinkler irrigation for rice production in Pakistan (Kahlown, 2005), Turkey,
USA and Zimbabwe (Cakir et al, 1998), its application is yet to spread on farmers’ fields.
Thus while reporting the proportion of pressurized irrigation to the total irrigated area of a
country/region or at global scale, the corresponding irrigated rice area may be excluded
and then the percentage is computed. This is further explained as follows.

Rice is grown in 113 countries around the world with a total harvested area of about 150
million hectares. About 40% of the total rice area is classified as rainfed (FAO, 2005). Thus
it can be estimated that about 90 million hectares is an irrigated rice area worldwide. Of the
total irrigated area of 276 million ha, about 186 million ha can be considered as non-rice
irrigated area, of which presently pressurized systems are practiced on about 39 million ha.
Consequently, the proportion of area coverage by pressurized systems with respect to the total
non-rice irrigated area of the world works out to be 21% (Figure 2).This proportion becomes
30% if it is computed with respect to the non-rice irrigated area (132 million ha) worked out
on the basis of total irrigated area of 77 countries (220 million ha) reported in this paper.

Figure 2. World-wide Coverage of Sprinkler and Micro irrigation (in Non-rice Irrigated Area)

10
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

TOP TWENTY COUNTRIES HAVING SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATED AREAS

The area coverage of pressurized systems varies widely between countries. Table 3 and 4
show the top 20 countries having sprinkler and micro irrigation, respectively.

Table 3. The top 20 countries with Table 4. The top 20 countries with
sprinkler irrigated area micro irrigated area

Top 20 countries with major area irrigated by pressurized irrigation are shown in Table 5.
The top 10 and top 20 countries share about respectively 75%, and 90% of the total area
irrigated by the pressurized systems worldwide.

Today there are 8 countries having more than a million hectare under pressurized irrigation
systems viz. USA, Russia, China, India, Spain, Brazil, France, and Italy. Countries having
more than 75% of their irrigated land under pressurized irrigation systems are shown in Table
6. However, these 20 countries together share about 25% of the total sprinkler and micro
irrigated area of the world. In five countries viz. Austria, Israel, Libya, Slovak Republic and
United Kingdom, irrigation is accomplished entirely through pressurized systems. In nine

11
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

countries viz. Czech Republic, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania Mauritius,
and Ukraine pressurized irrigation covers more than 90% of their total irrigated land.

Table 5. The top 20 countries having Table 6. Countries having more than 75% of
pressurized irrigation systems their irrigated land under pressurized
irrigation systems

DEVELOPMENT OF SPRINKLER AND MICRO IRRIGATION IN INDIA AND USA

India

India has world’s largest irrigated area and presently 57 million hectares (90 million ha
harvested) are irrigated. About two-third of the area is irrigated by groundwater and one-
third from surface water resources. The ultimate irrigation (harvested area) potential is estimated
as 139 million ha without the ‘River linking project’ and 174 million ha upon its implementation.
Present irrigation withdrawals are 534 km3 and are estimated to be 611 km3 in 2025 and
807 km3 by the year 2050(MoWR, 1999).

12
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

In India, the sprinkler irrigated area was 0.23 Mha in 1985 which grew to 0.67 Mha by
1998 (INCID,1998). As per the 2005 survey carried out by the National Committee on
Plasticulture Application in Horticulture (NCPAH), the sprinkler area has dramatically increased
to 1.63 million ha (Kulkarni, 2005). In 1985 only 1000 hectares were under drip/micro
irrigation which rose to 35,000 hectares in 1990, 152,930 hectares in 1995, 350,850
hectares in 2000, and about 500,000 hectares by 2005. With a few exceptions, almost all
sprinkler and micro irrigation systems are served by groundwater structures (open dug wells
and tube wells). Although the micro irrigated area has grown 15 times during the last fifteen
years, the rate of adoption is far from its potential. The Ministry of Agriculture has estimated
an ultimate potential area (harvested) for micro and sprinkler irrigation as 27 million ha and
42.5 million ha, respectively (GOI, 2004). The Ministry has proposed to bring 17 million ha
under pressurized irrigation in the country, comprising 12 million ha under micro irrigation
and 5 million ha under sprinkler irrigation by the end of 11th Five Year Plan period (2007-
2012). This is expected to result in an annual water savings of 58.6 billion cubic meters.

United States of America

The USA has the third largest irrigated area in the world but ranks first in area coverage
under pressurized systems. In 1992, 23.5 million ha land was irrigated, of which 54.5% was
irrigated by gravity systems, 42.5% by sprinklers and 2.9% by micro irrigation (ICID, 1993).
The Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey is conducted every five years by the National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) of the Department of Agriculture. As per the 2003 survey, 21.3
million hectares were irrigated in the USA, of which 12.1 million hectares (57%) were covered
by sprinkler and micro irrigation (USDA, 2004). Although overall irrigated land area has not
changed substantially during the past two decades, the area under surface irrigation methods
has declined from the 62% in 1979 to 43 % in 2003. The micro irrigated has doubled during
the last decade - from 0.56 million hectares in 1990 to 1.2 million hectares in 2003.

In USA, wide range of sprinkler systems–ranging from hand-moved to large scale selfpropelled
center pivot systems are used by farmers. The self-propelled center pivot, which gained
popularity in the 1960s, has given a fillip to rapid increase in the area under sprinkler
irrigation in the country. Today, about 80% of all sprinkler irrigated lands or about 50% of
the total irrigated area in the USA utilizes center pivots. There has been rising trend towards
use of low pressure center pivots known as “Low Energy Precision Application (LEPA)” systems.
The LEPA system has drop tubes fixed on the lateral that extend towards soil surface where
a low pressure bubbler is attached in place of a sprinkler. Water is applied directly to the
furrow and not over the crop canopy. Self-propelled sprinkler systems like center pivot and
linear move are particularly amenable to high level of automation and effective precision
irrigated crop management. Table 7 shows area irrigated by different types of sprinkler, micro
and other irrigation methods in USA in 1998, and 2003.

13
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

Table 7. Area Irrigated by Different Irrigation Methods in USA (1998 and 2003)

N O N - C O N V E N T I O N A L U S E S O F S P R I N K L E R A N D M I C R O I R R I G AT I O N

Besides conventional use of sprinkler and micro irrigation for field crops and horticultural
crops, there are three major non-conventional applications viz. (1) Low cost systems for
smallholders, (2) Greenhouse irrigation, and (3) Landscape and park irrigation. Status of
these uses is briefly given as follows:

Low Cost Micro and Sprinkler Irrigation Systems

Generally, conventional “state-of-the-art” micro irrigation system is viewed as the technology

for large commercial farms engaged in high value agriculture and not appropriate and
affordable for small and marginal farm families in many developing countries (Keller, 2002).
The prospectus for the expansion of this technology has brightened with the development of
a range of low cost/affordable drip systems fitting to different income level farmers and farm
sizes (Keller and Keller, 2005; Postel et.al, 2001).

The so called ‘Affordable Micro Irrigation Technologies’ (AMITs) are low cost and low
pressure systems and have same technical advantages as conventional micro irrigation
systembut the technology is packaged and marketed as kits suitable for small fields (25 m2
to 4000 m2). The AMITs were developed by Chapin Watermatics in the USA and Africa,
Underhill International, USA, IDE International in the USA and India, Netafim and Ein Tal of
Israel. The AMITs include bucket-kits, drum-kits, and customized kits. Irrigation is accomplished
through short length laterals fitted with micro tubes, micro-sprinklers. Sometimes a single
lateral is used to irrigate several rows of plants by shifting it manually. An Israeli firm NETAFIM
has developed gravity pressurized ‘Family Drip Systems’ which are marketed in China, India
and Africa. In West Africa, a ‘Spray-head Irrigation’ technology consisting of a small petrol
or pedal pump with a conventional lay-flat hose of about 40 mm diameter and a hand-held
spraying-head is popular among farmers (NWP, 2003). The AMIT has the specific advantage
of affordability, easy to understand, rapid pay back, divisibility and expandability.

14
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

Farms under two hectares represent 98 % of the farms in China, 96 % in Bangladesh, 95 %

in Vietnam, 90 % in Egypt, 88 % in Indonesia, 87 % in Ethiopia, 80% in India, 75 % in
Tanzania, and 74 % in Nigeria (Polak,2006). The AMITs are targeted towards small and
marginal farmers in countries of Bangladesh, China Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya,
Myanmar, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe.

As per the International Development Enterprise, India (IDEI), worldwide over 250,000
smallholders have adopted the low cost drip irrigation system covering about 50,000 hectares
(Personal communication). There are about 150 million rural poor families with smallholdings
in India. During the last decade, over 100,000 smallholder farmers have adopted the low-
cost drip systems. The IDEI envisages reaching five million farmers by 2020 in India. The
AMITs have unlocked the benefits of pressurized irrigation systems to millions of resource-
poor farmers having access to a limited water supply and small land.

Greenhouse Irrigation

Greenhouses (plastic houses, glasshouses) and high and low tunnels are increasingly used
not only in production of vegetable and ornamental crops, but also in variety of plant seedlings
in many countries world over. Greenhouses are now better understood as a system of ‘Controlled
Environment Agriculture’ (CEA) with precise control over air and root temperature, water,
humidity, plant nutrition, carbon dioxide, and light. In greenhouses water, fertilizers, plant
nutrition, insecticides and fumigants are usually applied through drip system.

Countries having major area under greenhouses are USA, China, Spain, Japan, Italy, Greece,
Portugal, Hungary, Morocco, Turkey, Algeria, Colombia, and Korea. The largest contiguous
area under greenhouses in the world (popularly known as ‘Plastic Sea’), with an estimated
coverage of 141,700 hectares, is located in Almeria and Murcia regions of the Spain (Hecht,
2006). At the end of the nineties, greenhouses covered about 0.75 million hectares around
the world (New AG International, 2003). The growth in area is likely to continue in the
foreseeable future.

Landscape and Park Irrigation

The micro irrigation has become popular for irrigating lawns gardens/recreational parks in
around urban areas, golf courses, commercial, industrial, institutional, and public areas in
many countries. Much of the hardware used for landscape irrigation is the same as that used
for agricultural irrigation systems. However, many special fittings, piping system, valves, timers
and controller that are automatically or remotely operated are added to the irrigation system.

15
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The world’s population is projected to increase from the present 6.45 billion to an estimated
8 billion by 2030, which will put a tremendous pressure on already stressed water resources.
Out of the total world’s irrigated area, the developed countries (81) account for about quarter
area (69 million ha) and the developing countries (93) share the three-fourth area (202 million
ha). The focus of future irrigation development is expected to take place in developing countries
due to high demographic growth. The developing countries are expected to expand their
irrigated area by 20% - that is from 202 million ha in 1997/99 to 242 million ha by 2030.
Corresponding irrigation water withdrawal however, is expected to grow by about 14% from
the current 2,128 km3 to 2,420 km3 by 2030 (FAO, 2003b). In future, due to increasing
demand from the higher valued domestic and industrial sector, and also from environmental
purposes, there will be gradual decline in the amount of overall water used for irrigation. The
pressurized systems therefore will play a critical role in meeting the expected irrigated area
expansion with diminishing water availability. The irrigation expansion is projected to be the
highest in South Asia, East Asia, Near East and North Africa. Most of the increase in the
South Asia is expected to occur in India and China. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Latin
America, irrigated areas are not projected to expand quickly, despite their potential.

In Central and East European Countries (CEEC) the process of water sector restructuring and
transfer is in progress and it is hoped that the pace of use of sprinkler and micro irrigation
will pickup in near future.

Non availability of local technicians, skilled laborers, equipment manufacturers, suppliers and
trained extension personnel; lack of training to farmers are some of the stumbling blocks in
rapid expansion of the pressurized irrigation systems in many developing countries. Quality
control and standardization will help improve quality of products. Both, the government
support in providing institutional and financial assistance and active involvement of private
organizations (manufacturers, system suppliers, and designers) are crucial for the further
growth of the pressurized irrigation in developing countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Worldwide, sprinkler and micro irrigation for field crops is practiced in 77 countries on over
39 million ha, comprising 33 million ha under sprinkler and 6 million ha under micro irrigation.
Among pressurized systems, sprinkler irrigation has much greater coverage compared to
micro irrigation in almost all countries with the exception of Chinese Taipei, Cyprus, Israel,
Jordan, and Spain - where the micro irrigated area has out-weighed the sprinkler irrigation.
Region-wise spread of sprinkler irrigated area is: Americas (13.3 Mha), Europe (10.1 Mha),
Asia (6.8 Mha), Africa (1.9 Mha), and Oceania (0.9 Mha). The sprinkler system will continue
to be popular for irrigating cereals, oilseed crops and fodder crops.

16
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

The decade 1990-2000, witnessed a quantum leap in expansion of micro irrigation technology,
both in developed and developing countries. In case of micro irrigation, the highest coverage
is in Americas (1.9 Mha) followed by Europe and Asia (1.8 Mha each), Africa (0.4 Mha),
and Oceania (0.2 Mha).The area under micro irrigation increased almost six fold during last
20 years – from1.1 million ha in 1986 to 6.1 million ha at present. Micro irrigation, owing
to its many unique agronomic, water and energy conservation benefits, and low labor
requirement, its use is expected to enhance further in the foreseeable future.

Low cost and simple pressurized irrigation systems are becoming popular among the small
and poor farmers in developing countries. These systems not only help improve crop productivity
but also provide other secondary benefits such as income generation, employment opportunities,
and food security to large number of smallholders.

There is a need to carryout a comprehensive worldwide survey of sprinkler and micro irrigation
to understand the present field level scenario, issues and challenges. Joint efforts of International
organizations like ICID, FAO, and the World Bank would be useful in providing much needed
vision and support for the sustainable expansion of the sprinkler and micro irrigation
technologies worldwide.

REFERENCES

Cakir R, Surek H, Aydin H and H. Karaata (1998): Sprinkler Irrigation – A Water Saving
Approach in Rice, Proceedings of the 1st Inter-regional Conference on Environment
and water, Lisbon, Portugal

Chinese National Committee on Irrigation and drainage (CNCID): Irrigation and drainage
in china, China Water Power Press, Beijing, 2005

Dirksen W, and W. Huppert (Editors): Irrigation sector Reform in Central and Eastern European
Countries, European Regional Working Group of ICID (EWRG), GTZ GmbH, Germany,
2005

FAO, 1997a, Irrigation in the Near East Region in Figures, FAO Water Report 9

FAO, 1997b, Irrigation in the Countries of the Former Soviet Union in Figures, FAO, Water
Report 15

FAO, 2003a, Production Yearbook, Vol.27, FAO Statistics Series No.177

FAO, 2003b, World Agriculture: Towards 2015/2030, An FAO Perspective

FAO, 2005a, Irrigation in Africa in Figures, AQUASTAT Survey 2005, FAO Water Report
29.

FAO, 2005b, International Rice Commission Newsletter, 2005, Vol.54

17
7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

Government of India, 2004, Salient Findings and Recommendations of Task Force on Micro
Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, New
Delhi, http://agricoop.nic.in

Hecht Albert, 2006, A View from Above: How Spanish Growers Manage to Stay Afloat in
the Plastic Sea, International Water & Irrigation Magazine, Vol. 26. No .2

Indian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, 1998, Sprinkler Irrigation in India,
INCID, Ministry of Water Resources, India

International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, 1993, Proceedings of the Workshop

on Micro Irrigation Worldwide, 15th Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, The Hague,
The Netherlands

International Development Enterprise, India (IDEI), New Delhi: http://www.ide-india.org

Israel National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, 2006, Guidelines for Planning and
Design of Micro irrigation in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas (Draft), ISCID, Israel

Jensen M.H., 2000, Plasticulture in the Global Community – View of the Past and Future,
Proceedings of the 15th International Congress for Plastic in Agriculture, 2000, Arizona,
USA;<www.plasticulture.org>

Kahlown M.A and Abdul Raoof, 2005, Growing Rice in the Indus Basin with Sprinkler
Irrigation, Proceedings of the 19th ICID Congress, Q.52, R 4.04, Beijing, China

Keller Jack, 2002, Evolution of Drip/ Micro Irrigation: Traditional and Non-Traditional Uses,
Keynote address at the International Meeting on Advances in Drip/ Micro Irrigation,
December 2002, Spain

Keller Jack and Andrew Keller, 2005, Mini-Irrigation Technologies for Smallholders, Proceeding
of the World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, 15-19 May 2005, Alaska,
USA.

Kulkarni S.A., 2005, Looking Beyond Eight Sprinklers, Proceedings of the National conference
on Micro Irrigation, June 2005, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology,
Pantnagar, Uttaranchal, India

Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, 1999, Report of the National Commission
for Integrated Water Resources Development Plan (NCIWRDP), Volume-1

Polak, Paul, 2006, From Groundwater to Wealth for One-Acre Farmers, Proceedings of the
International Symposium on Groundwater Sustainability (ISGWAS), Spain, 24-27
January 2006

18
 7th International Micro Irrigation Congress

Postel Sandra, Paul Polak, Fernando Gonzales, and Jack Keller, 2001, Drip Irrigation for
Small Farmers – A New Initiative to Alleviate Hunger and Poverty, Water International,
IWRA, Vol.26, No.1

Reinders F.B., 2000, Micro Irrigation: A World Overview, Proceedings of the 6th International
Micro Irrigation Congress, South Africa, October 2000.

The Netherlands Water Partnership, 2003, Smart Water Solutions, The Practica Foundation

The World Bank, 2006, Reengaging in Agricultural Water management – Challenges and
Options

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): http//:www.nass.usda.gov/census

Worldwide Trends in Greenhouse Technology, NEW AG INTERNATIONAL Magazine, France,

June 2003

19
Grower Experience in Use of Advance and
Modernized Microirrigation Systems.