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Project properties |
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| Title | Benefits of drought for irrigated farmers |
| Group | Water Resources Management group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Sarra Kchouk, Pieter van Oel |
| Examiner(s) | |
| Contact info | sarra.kchouk@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2022/01/01 |
| End date | 2023/01/01 |
| Description | Start date flexible but some field work of 2-3 months in Brazil should take place between February and June 2022.
Problem context: Drought is one of the main hazards affecting humans. Agriculture is one of the first activities affected by reduced yields and sometimes even total harvest loss. Irrigated farming systems are more resistant than rainfed ones, by not depending entirely on rainfall. Besides lower risk of harvest loss, irrigated farmers may also benefit from increased market prices due to drought and the reduction of crop yields. Rainfed agriculture farmers are the most vulnerable to lose their production while the irrigating ones can secure a part or the totality of their production, benefit from the lack of competitivity and sell them at a highest value. However, irrigation has its limitations. First, an unsustainable use of the water resources in a period of reduced water availability, like droughts, can generate conflicts with other domestic or ecological needs and uses. Second, relying too much on irrigation without drought adaptation strategies further exposes irrigating farmers to a failure of the irrigating systems and increase their vulnerability of losing their production, also known as the reservoir effect. These two aspects can have a different magnitude depending on the considered spatial and time scale of the drought. Time wise, droughts can have durations from days to years. Indeed, “dry-spellsâ€, in critical periods of the crops growth can ravage an entire production without an alternative water access. On the other hand, cumulative years of drought can lead to the drying up of reservoirs and the impossibility to irrigate. Likewise, in smaller areas, the food outlet happens in local market, putting local rainfed or irrigating farmers in competition. But in larger areas, like urban areas, more reliable solutions like food imports can be privileged to ensure food security and put local or national farmers in competition with countries. Therefore it is relevant to evaluate under which circumstances and until when irrigated agriculture benefits from drought. This thesis topic focuses on the BanabuÃu Basin, located in the state of Ceará in Northeast Brazil. It involves scalar thinking about drought, irrigation, and food governance. Country: The Netherlands - Brazil Host institutes: Wageningen University, Funceme, Embrapa Research Objective/Question The objective of this MSc thesis research is to gain insights about whether or not irrigating is beneficial during drought events, based on a case study. What is expected from the student (type of research) The student is expected to select a case study in the Banabuiu River Basin, involving rainfed and irrigating farmers for different drought events. From this case study, the student is expected to compare crop production values with tools of their choice, e.g.: agricultural production and irrigation indices, welfare and quality of life, economic indices. |
| Used skills | Water accounting; drought indicators; interviews; scalar thinking and analysis |
| Requirements | Knowledge in Excel, R or any other scripting language. Experiences in conducting interviews. Fluency in Portuguese would be appreciated; Knowledge in Spanish would already be useful. |