Warabandi system

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Irrigation in Pakistan

The Warabandi system is a rotating water allocation system in Pakistan that shares irrigation water equally. Farmers can be allocated the same volume of water again after the regular rotation of water, as the operation has three distribution methods for delivering piped water to canals flows. The warabandi system has two primary purposes: highly efficient use of the water supply and equity in water usage.

Definition[]

Warabandi system is a rotational water allocation system which can fulfil the requirement of equality. Warabandi is an Urdu word that combines wahr ("turn") and bandi (“fixed)”^[1] So “warabandi” means “rotation of water supply according to a fixed schedule".^[2] Warabandi system helping farmer can be allocated the same volume of water after the systematic rotation of water as the system will equalize the water allocation according to the regular and approved time schedule including the day supply will start, and for how long.

Usage[]

The water is delivered by a rotated watercourse and the warabandi system acts as an integrated management system from water sources to the farmer, called nakka. The farmer will receive their water after seven days since the delivery of the water started.

Warabandi has three distribution systems. First, the structure of the delivery system formed by the central canal and two or more rotational branch canals, but the branch canals can't carry the total amount of water supply on the first delivery. This step is the basic and primary distribution system of Warabandi. Second, the secondary system formed by a large number of rotational tributaries carrying a full amount of water supply for ensuring every farmer gets enough water supply, and is equitable since the branch canals deliver water to watercourses after bringing it into the tributaries. The streams form tertiary distribution with the full amount of the supplied water from the tributaries.

The water delivery system can't fulfill the demand, since the volume of the watercourses is limited, so the delivery procedure will continue about seven days to ensure that every farmer receives water. After seven days, which finishes a period of delivery, the next conveyance will start, to ensure the farmers can get enough water resources to use.^[3]

There are two types of warabandi in Pakistan. The most common is called KACHCHA Warabandi, which is the system with no government intervention, where the farmers make the decisions and plan the schedule by themselves. The time planning for the farmer can be changed if any situation happens, although the table is predetermined through the farmer's agreement. It can ensure every farmer's water is supplied and the farmer group can manage and distribute the process amicably and collectively with flexible methods. Without government intervention, the decisions will not be affected by any outside parties, and the group can focus on who needs water at that time and plan out the entire schedule, which is more comfortable and more flexible.

Another system is PUCCA Warabandi, the government program with a field investigation and public inquiry if any situation occurs. However, PUCCA Warabandi systems are not the majority, and their number is decreasing. Some people still adopt it because, if any situation occurs, disputes are registered with the canal authorities, and the government will deal with the problem. This method is commonly used by large landowners to ensure the owner's benefit, and if any situation occurs, the government can help them solve the problem. After the prescribed adjudication processes, the system will change to official schedules as a result and become easier to manage as a large landowner.

Impact[]

Advantages[]

Warabandi system helps people get rid of the old irrigation system. In the past, people used the irrigation system from the British. But the system was leaky and outdated, which wasted about 95 percent of water. Although the irrigation system from the British was not suitable for others country,^[4] Warabandi system helps the farmer get enough water supply on time which planned, and they can get the water according to the pre-decided schedule. As the improving on irrigation efficiency, the farmer did not need to get trouble with the leakage. The farm water requirement can reduce by 50 percent to 70 percent. Since the replacing on gravity-based canal flows with piped water supply, it can avoid more than 50 MAF of losses on water from the delivery. As the delivery leakage decreased, the farmer gets more water supply for irrigation. The farmer can improve better irrigation efficiency since the decreasing on-farm water requirements; the better irrigation system can help farmers grow more crops since Warabandi system can sure every farmer gets enough water supply. Also, the irrigation system will not have any limitation as the system also can feeding in higher elevation fields as some farmer cannot carry out irrigation because the water supply from gravity-based was not enough to feed. As the higher irrigation efficiency, although the water leakage reduced, the production increased due to higher per acre yields and extra area brought under irrigation, the farmer not only can minimize farm water requirement but also increase their crops as a result.

Warabandi system got better irrigation discipline and more equitable water allocation. The water supply planned by those farmers and they decided the time schedule included amount will start in which day, duration and how long will the water supply, it will not be affected by other stakeholders who will have benefit-conflicting. Also, the structure of the delivery system ensures every farmer's benefit because the system got three procedures, and the regular timing of the whole process takes seven days to finish. The procedures ensure every farmer get sufficient and proportional water supply for irrigation. Besides, the irrigation system will auto-feeding when the crop's need as a stable water supply. The time schedule decided by farmer and the regular water supply system ensure every farmer gets equitable water supply, the time that takes to transport the water, duration and how long will the water supply both will mark on the time schedule, the farmer can check and supervise the procedure from the time schedule. So, they can have better irrigation discipline.

Warabandi system also provides a higher contribution to the country's economy. For those farmers, as the system raises the plantation intensity, the amount of crop increased, the farmer can earn more profit, it will increase their working incentive., they will work harder for more plants and obtain more income. The gross national product and the gross domestic product gets a higher result as a higher cropping intensity, which means the farmer can contribute more to the country's economy. Besides, for the government, better irrigation discipline and more equitable water motivate farmer's working incentive because the water supply will not be affected by benefit-related factors and they can decide everything about the water supply by themselves. If the farmer decided to use "KACHCHA Warabandi," the time schedule will determine by the farmer, the government does not need to do anything during the procedure. As the system can avoid the leakage on water from the delivery as canal flows with piped water replaced gravity-based, the capital losses of government will reduce. As a result, the government will reduce the payment for the leakage during delivery through canal flows with piped water. The system can provide a higher contribution to the country's economy.

Also, Warabandi system is environmentally-friendly. Sufficient water supply recovery hydroecology. Due to the reducing on water leakage on the delivery, the country gets additional water sources, for example, Pakistan got additional about 75 MAF flowing rivers. At the same time, the proper riverine fields keep getting the requisite aquifer recharge, and the riparian ecology and biodiversity recovered since enough water supply. The availability of water in riparian zones helps the plantation of trees near the river, which is sustainable for the environment.

Problems[]

Warabandi system needs a certain amount of capital to fix and maintain after deteriorating. The system has been in use for a long time in every country; for example, Pakistan started Warabandi since independence, the system has already deteriorated. So, the government ought to make an appropriation for fixing and maintaining the system to ensure the follow-up of Warabandi. However, the government may not have enough capital to solve it. Also, some government did not provide human resources for maintenance and management. Besides, due to the local severe corruption problem, relevant departments and the government do not have enough capital to carry out maintenance, those impoverished country are difficult to maintain the system's follow-up development. Besides, there may not be local staff to understand the relevant skills for maintaining system running. Facing those problems, the underprivileged country's farmer can get the sufficient and equitable water supply at the beginning, but because of the government's insufficient management for the system, farmers always struggle with the system. If the government does not fix it, the efficiency of Warabandi will decline sharply.

Also, setting up the system and maintaining the system needs a massive amount of capital. Most of the budget amount for system management is allocated to the significant administrative structure to deal with the bureaucratic problems in the operation of the system, while the follow-up maintenance and maintenance cannot get enough budget, only a small part of the budget allocated. Although the government got enough capital to build up the system, due to the corruption problem, the project cannot finish and maintain finally. When the system deteriorates, water delivery becomes less efficient, making it challenging to ensure equitable distribution for all farmers. But the government may not have enough money to deal with the situation because they need to pay a certain amount of fixing payment. Not only insufficient on setting up a budget, but the government also cannot use every capital to deal with the system.

As the population soared, so made the demand for food, but Warabandi can't fulfill the demand. Especially in deprived areas, where there is not enough awareness of birth control, the proportion of the population is rising much faster than in developed countries. Despite having adequate irrigation systems, the number of operations has always been limited to meet the rapidly increasing demand for food, and the government may not have the money to build more systems to meet the demand. At the same time, even if the government makes more systems, as the system deteriorates, the government will be unable to maintain the deteriorating system due to corruption, understaffing, mismanagement, and other reasons. In doing so, it will not only fail to meet the food demand but also waste money.^[5]

Characteristics[]

1) Usually, the farm size matters as the system is small. The area of the farm can't be too large, and is limited to around 2 to 5 hectares.

2) The water should be delivered to farms on time because of the planned schedule, and the amount of the delivered water and the water duty should be counted volumetrically.

3) To ensure the delivery procedure can run smoothly, the main canals will separate as upstream or downstream control or a combination of the two methods. There will also be a central controlling system, as the farm will set up distributors, flow dividers, or on-off gates.

4) The system as the main watercourse will operate at no less than 75 percent of the full supply level to ensure every farmer can get the same proportion of the water.

5) The regular and unauthorized outfalls can't get the right to be allocated the water from the water sources.

6) The outfalls should not install any gate to ensure the near the outfall can get enough proportion volume of water.^[6]

References[]