Research priorities for agricultural drainage in developing countries
The report draws upon worldwide experience of drainage related projects to identify six priority areas for research, considered to be of primary importance to improving long term agricultural output in the developing world. These priority areas are reviewed and research topics are identified in each area.summary
Background
The World Bank identified inadequate or inappropriate drainage as the most severe long-term problem facing agricultural production. Without
effective drainage, the benefits of irrigation are forfeit. Affected lands are characterised by one or more of the following constraints: reduced cultivated area, reduced yield, curtailed cropping seasons, limited choice of crops.

Many of the problems constraining drainage are social, economic or institutional in nature. Nonetheless, there are substantial technical issues directly affecting irrigation scheme performance and output, for which practical solutions remain to be developed. Some technologies have been successfully transferred from the developed to the developing world, but there is an urgent need to produce appropriate solutions, particularly for humid areas.

The Report
The report draws upon worldwide experience of drainage related projects to identify generic research needs.

The report aims to:

  • identify mportant technical issues in drainage for which solutions are needed.
  • direct available research resources to areas of priority need.
  • promote the application of research output in the developing world through training and the development of appropriate management tools.
    		•    What it covers
    Six priority areas for research, considered to be of primary importance to improving longterm agricultural output in the developing world, are identified. They are:

    1 Integration of irrigation and drainage to improve   productivity with reduced water use.
    2 Quantification of drainage benefits and identification of optimum investment strategies.
    3 Preventative and remedial measures to improve drainage performance.
    4 Drainage and reclamation of problem soils.
    5 Drainwater disposal, reuse and related issues.
    6 Tools for planning and design of drainage.

    The six research areas are discussed with particular attention to the nature and scale of the problem in each case, and a brief review of existing work. Priority research topics are highlighted in each area. The case is made that research must be capable of integrating the findings from individual projects and that drainage must be considered as part of a wider integrated water management system within a basin.

    Contributors
    HR Wallingford Ltd, UK; Cranfield University, Institute of Water and Environment, UK.

    Intended users
    The report is intended for use by researchers and donors in the irrigation and drainage sector.

    Abbott, CL and Leeds-Harrison, PB, 1998. Research priorities for agricultural drainage in developing countries. HR Wallingford, UK. Report no. OD/TN92.

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