ICT-Based Strategy of Irrigation Development in Russian Federation

Anatoly M. ZEILIGUER, RERMOLAEVA Olga Moscow State University of Environmental Engineering 19, Prjanishnikov Street, Moscow, 127550 Russia E-mail: azeiliguer@hotmail.com

Russian Federation, having in store about 20% of worlds supply of fresh surface water, is one of the most well-fixed countries provided with water resources. At the same time, a number of the most economically developed and inhabited regions in central and southern regions of European part of Russia suffer from water deficit and shortage that is caused by unequal geographic distribution and the high consummation of water resources by agriculture, industry and municipalities. From them irrigation is by far the largest water consumer of renewable water resources. Nowadays, the usage of water resources for irrigation in Russian Federation is highly expensive and is shown through: (1) low effectiveness of water usage for growing farm production on irrigated lands, that leads to its more expensiveness; (2) negative impact on land and water resource, that leads to the water logging, bogging up, secondary salinization and water erosion. Water and energy savings in irrigation and increasing water efficiency for yield growing up are therefore logical objectives of policy makers. A paradigm shift is, however, required in the irrigation community to move from land to water productivity on ICT-based water management.

To deal with ICT-based renewal of Irrigation, it is necessary to create and use interdependent elements of informational-technological development, that are brought into 4 blocks and named:

TECHNOLOGIES

INFRASTRUCTURE

STAFF

TOOLS

Geo-Information Technology

Information System of Irrigation

Innovational Education Space

Regional Pilot Projects

Remote Sensing

Professional Software

Life Long Learning in Irrigation

Operational Management of Irrigation Systems

Geo-Physical Survey

Sensors, Gauges and Devices

Technological Platform

State Monitoring of Irrigated Land and Water Resources

It is necessary to form administrative, scientific and technological policies of the current decade to shift irrigation agriculture in RF to the more highly effective level of development by the organization of an open discussion of the requirements in scientific-technical provision and ICT-based support for the program of irrigation development. This should help not only in creating a program of ICT development, but also move irrigation community to creative rethinking of recent experience of investigation, engineering, building and exploitation of irrigation systems. It also should give an opportunity to form new knowledge from practical experience, supported by scientific facts and information, as well as help to create new scientifically applied ways of development of innovation technologies. The choice of the methodology for irrigation based on operational management requires the creation of new platform for professional environment. This ICT-based platform must allow adaptation of processes in real time in the presence of their partly predictability on the signals of direct and feedback coupling, under variability of taken decisions, under high resolving power and high extent of sensors and devices controlling system parameters, quick adequate reaction on the changes in behavior of managing system, and all this on the strong basis of professional approach of the staff to it duties.

Precision Irrigational Agriculture

Robotical Executive Machine and Units

Center of Collective Use of research equipment

Private - State Partnership and Outsourcing

Water & Energy Efficiency in Irrigation

Information & Technological Services

Training Resources

Innovational Research & Production Clusters

Water supply from water source

Water transportation

Inter- and intra irrigation infrastructure

Water supply from water source

Water transportation

Inter- and intra irrigation infrastructure

Evaporation & Transpiration Evaporation from canals Seepage

Evaporation & Transpiration Evaporation from canals Seepage

100%

Soil root zone

100%
Runoff and water seepage

Soil root zone

Runoff and water seepage

Percolation from irrigation canals Ground water rising

Percolation from irrigated fields

Ground water flow into ecosystem

Percolation from irrigation canals

Percolation from irrigated fields

Ground water rising

Ground water flow into ecosystem

Water Reuse

Water Reuse

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. This study was financially supported by FP6 DESIRE project 037046