Rational Use of Water Resources in Agriculture (In the Case of Uzbekistan)

Abstract

Efficient water resource management is critical for continued agricultural development, especially in regions like Uzbekistan where lack of water has been a major challenge. Sticking with Central Asia, Uzbekistan is another country that relies heavily on its agricultural sector and uses more than 90% of its freshwater assets. This research wants to assess the current water management practices in Uzbekistan agriculture, examine their efficiency and identify potential improvements. This is a mixed-methods study, including field surveys, irrigation performance data analysis and case studies from multiple sites in Uzbekistan. The findings suggest that traditional methods of irrigation, especially furrow irrigation, dominate agriculture resulting in considerable amounts of evaporation and infiltration losses within the irrigated farms. Drip and sprinkle systems fall under future irrigation alongside modern irrigation technology to maximize water consumption efficiency by gaining around 40%. Furthermore, water governance reforms and policy changes aimed at freeing up 'water for money'/stimulating demand for water-saving technology are viewed as critical steps to long-term water sustainability. This insight suggests that we can, and must do the right thing by improving agricultural water resource management, so that food demand is met without depleting finite quantities of critical water supplies. These findings should improve understanding of water resource management in arid areas and offer tangible solutions for policy makers and farmers in Uzbekistan. Development of better irrigation methods and effective governance approaches will be critical to sustaining agricultural production coupled with environmental protection.