Research Reports
A Study on the Efficient Management of Agricultural Irrigation Facilities
-
AuthorKim, Hongsang
-
Publication Date2013.12.30
-
Original
There are various agricultural irrigation facilities—reservoir, pumping station, weir, and tube well. It can be said, however, that the nation’s irrigation system centers on reservoirs because they supply 58.2% of water to irrigated paddy fields, while pumping stations (both pumping and drainage stations) account for 25.5% of the supply, weirs represent 9.2%, and tube wells (using underground water) make up 5.1%. However, 26.4% of the existing agricultural irrigation facilities were built more than fifty years ago. As for reservoirs, the nation’s major irrigation facility, 68.3% were made more than fifty years ago, so their deterioration has become a serious problem. As rainfall is often greater than facilities’ capacity because of climate change and regional torrential rain, reports on facility damage have recently been increasing. Almost half of irrigated paddies in Korea are safe from the 10-year return period of drought or heavy rain. This is pretty insufficient compared to Japan, where almost every rice paddy is managed in the form of a well-irrigated paddy. To effectively respond to climate change and increasing natural disasters, irrigated facilities should urgently be modernized and reorganized. Furthermore, water supply facilities, including reservoirs, require reinforcement work, as there recently have been frequent local torrential downfalls. Reorganization of irrigation/drainage canals and the creation of pipe channels are needed. Significantly long irrigation/drainage canals are necessary for supplying water from facilities, such as reservoirs or weirs, to farmland. Most of them are earth canals now, so water loss is great. Temporary downpours also cause water to overflow the bank, flooding farmland and waterways.
The management mechanism for agricultural water and irrigation facility is divided into two sectors: the KRC(Korea Rural Community Corporation) and local governments. The KRC-controlled areas have relatively better facilities, and farmers use agricultural water free of charge thanks to the central government’s support. However, other areas under local governments’ control have problems of mismanagement and low quality of water supply service. This is because local governments avoid shouldering such burdens and leave managerial work to farmers’ discretion, although they cover maintenance costs of irrigation facilities. Farmers in the KRC-controlled areas are exempt from the charge for agricultural water use, which becomes a burden to other farmers under local governments’ control, generating asymmetry in water management levels. Moreover, along with situational changes, including climate change, demands are growing for agricultural water’s professional management, efficiencies, and scale improvement. Requirements for reforming the management system of agricultural water and irrigation facilities are continuously raised. As local governments begin to take on more responsibilities and problems, such as bank loss and the growing concerns among residents, some local governments require the MAFRA(Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) to unify the maintenance process and leave it to the KRC. To attain national food security, improve the water service quality provided by farmers, and cope with climate change, measures for the integrated management are necessary. Moreover, every relevant party—the government, the KRC, local governments, and farmers—must appropriately share responsibility. Besides, many other problems, such as local governments’ lack of expertise, labor force shortages, KRC’s insufficient ability to react on-site, and the inflexibility of the organization and budget, should be solved. In cities and counties, professional manpower is not enough to consistently and fully maintain irrigation facilities, but cities and counties are crucial, and civil servants should cooperate with officials of those districts in case of emergency, including a torrential rain. It is difficult to handle various situations on site with only the professional manpower of the KRC. In order to find problems of irrigation facilities and solve them in a timely manner, farmers need to actively take part in maintenance work for agricultural irrigation facilities.
Researchers: Hong-Sang Kim, Yoon-Hyung Kim, Jeong-Seung Kim
Research Period: 2013. 6～2013. 12
E-mail address: hskim@krei.re.kr
- Next
- Impacts and Countermeasures of Climate Change on Food Supply in Korea
- Prev
- Improving the Farm Manager Registration Program for its Efficient Application