IMPORTANCE OF WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE ASPECT OF AGRICULTURAL

SECTOR

A Research Proposal

Eastern Visayas State University – Main Campus

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

in Environmental Analysis

By

Castil, Alliah Mae

Juntila, Glaiza Mae

Morales, Jenelyn

Soniedo, Clyde Margie

Tabada, Rommel
 Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Water has unique characteristics that determine both its allocation and use as a

resource by agriculture. According to the United States Geological Survey (1987), water

is used for irrigation accounts for nearly 65 percent of the world’s freshwater

withdrawals excluding thermoelectric power. There are 330 million acres of land used

for agricultural purposes in the United States that produce an abundance of food and

other products. According to U.S. Geology Survey (2000), water quality can be affected

by poor planning of industrial sites, animal farms, and barnyards and feedlots. Until

recently, the type of water source has been indicative of the potential risks of

contamination. Poor water quality can affect the quality of food crops and lead to illness

in those who consume them (CDC,2016). For example, the water may contain germs

that cause human disease. Irrigating crops with contaminated water can then lead to

contaminated food products which lead to illness when eaten. Groundwater, for

example, has been considered one of the safest sources of water. However, depending

on field location and field size, it may not be possible to use water from these sources

for irrigation. The agricultural use of water for irrigation is itself contingent on land

resources (Merrit,1989).

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019), agricultural

water is a water that is used to grow fresh produce and sustain livestock. The use of

agricultural water makes it possible to grow fruits and vegetables and raise livestock,
which is a main part of our diet. Agricultural water is used for irrigation, crop cooling (for

example, light irrigation), and frost control. When agricultural water is used effectively

and safely, production and crop yield are positively affected (Kevin,1991). A decrease in

applied water can cause production and yield to decrease.

According to PEMSEA (2022), water play a vital role in life sustenance on earth,

and will become increasingly critical in the future given the continuing population growth

and economic development. There is growing and conflicting demand for water for

domestic, agriculture and industrial purposes in the face or water scarcity, inadequate

infrastructure and limited access to water quality and quantity. The availability of and

access to water has become one of the most important challenges that countries face

today, and water resource management has become a major priority in most countries

where water supply shortage is threatening their development. The most crucial method

for enhancing agricultural water use and preserving optimal production and yield is

through management strategies. The secret is to put management techniques in place

that increase water use effectiveness without lowering yield. Improved irrigation

planning and crop-specific irrigation management are a couple such examples. These

methods reduce growers while allowing for the conservation of energy and water

(Elsevier, 2016).

Moreover, the irrigation management is essential for gardeners or farmers in

order to promote plant growth (Godley,2019). In turn, stock farmers can use them in

order to make sure their animals have available food sources for healthier systems.

Since crops and plants need routine moisture the use of irrigation systems has risen in

their essential need. Monitoring the application of water to lawns or crops is part of

system to help manage the volume, rate, and time of water application in order to match

with soil absorption and water holding capacity. It is particularly crucial to monitor soil

moisture without runoff or substantial percolation losses in order to achieve optimum

crop yields. With your irrigation management, you’ll be able to properly adjust your

water with tools that can, later on, be adjusted to ensure properly yielded results.

According to Ayres (2015), flow meters are great at recording instantaneous flow rates

as well as the total volume of water used. With soil moisture sensors and meters soil

water deficit may be monitored. A checkbook method, in turn, may be able to balance

soil moisture through its monitoring of leveling an irrigated cropland. Finally, with data

loggers, you can record soil moisture history through the growing season of a field or

area.

Additionally, agriculture has, arguably, been very successful at capturing the

major share of the world’s exploitable water resources. However, the environmental and

socio-economic rationale for this capture by the sector is now being questioned. A new

and more suitable approach to water resources allocation is necessary if the world’s

population is to be adequately fed, without further degradation and destruction of the

planet’s critical ecosystem services. Water productivity needs to be enhanced

considerably, and economic cost-benefit analysis and pricing regimes can play a

significant role in such a process. However, these economic measures will not be

sufficient on their own. They will need to be buttressed by technological innovation and

institutional changes in order to encourage a more equitable distribution of resources

and to mitigate potential international conflicts across 'shared' water basins.

(household and industrial) use of water, reassessment of sectoral allocations of water

are inevitable. In developing countries, irrigated agriculture plays a vital role in

contributing towards domestic food security and poverty alleviation. Therefore,

achievement of these objectives is dependent on adequate allocations of water to

agriculture. Justification of such allocations requires that irrigated agriculture be a cost-

effective means of achieving stated political or social objectives, such as food security

or poverty alleviation, and that all externalities be taken into account in the pricing

mechanism. In order to use irrigation water and current irrigation infrastructure more

effectively, the agriculture sectors of emerging countries need to better allocate

irrigation water. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (2000), reallocation is

also necessary to lessen irrigation's externalities, such as waterlogging and salinization

of irrigated land, as well as its detrimental effects on the environment (caused by over

extraction of groundwater and depletion and pollution of surface water.

Lastly, water management is important since it helps determine future irrigation

expectations. Water management is the management of water resources under set

policies and regulations. Water, once an abundant natural resource, is becoming a

more valuable commodity due to droughts and overuse (Omics Online,2022). Water

resource management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing

the optimum use of water resources. It is a sub-set of water cycle management. Ideally,

water resource management planning has regard to all the competing demands for

water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to satisfy all uses and

demands. As with other resource management, this is rarely possible in practice.

life on the planet. Of the water resources on Earth only three percent of it is fresh and

two-thirds of the freshwater is locked up in ice caps and glaciers. Of the remaining one

percent, a fifth is in remote, inaccessible areas and much seasonal rainfall in monsoonal

deluges and floods cannot easily be used. At present only about 0.08 percent of all the

world fresh water is exploited by mankind in ever increasing demand for sanitation,

drinking, manufacturing, leisure and agriculture (NGC,2022).

Following are the objectives of the study:

 To promote environmentally sustainable, economically efficient and equitable

allocated use of water resources in the aspects of agricultural sector.

 To know the purpose of water management in the aspect of agriculture

 To know the importance of water management in agricultural sector.

 To determine the challenges being faced by agriculture if water management is

not present
Scope and Limitation

This study focuses on the importance of water management in the aspects of

agricultural sector. It aims to identify the purpose of water management and promote

environmentally sustainable, economically efficient and equitably allocated use of water

resources in agriculture. This study will be conducted at the selected barangays in the

municipality Sta. Fe, Leyte. The respondents of this study are the farmers, residents in

the selected municipality of Leyte. The researchers will provide a questionnaire to the

said respondents about the effects on proper usage of water resources in agriculture in

relation to water management.

The researchers have limited materials that are needed in researching and

lacking in financial capability. We have limited participants to participate the survey

because they might be in the rice field working. Also, the said participants have the

possibility in not participating in the conducted study.

This study aims to provide crucial information and knowledge regarding the chosen

topic from the respondents and related sites needed for the expected importance to the

individuals as follows:

To the students

The study aims to make the students knowledgeable about maintaining proper

irrigation for them to have the capability to guide their farmer parents.

To the Parents

The study aims to give them more knowledge and ideas about maintaining

proper irrigation and using irrigation in proper ways.

To the Farmers

The study aims to give sustainable and reliable learnings and knowledge that

would help them to maintain being productive as farmers.

To the Community

This study will be beneficial to the community as an instrument to give more

knowledge and awareness especially in the field of agriculture.

To the Future Researchers

This study will be beneficial to the future researchers as it will give ideas, knowledge,

treatments and process that they will gain from this study.
Framework of the Study

Conceptual Framework

Farmers Demographic Profile:

Importance of Water
Management in the Aspect of
Agricultural Sector

Effects:
 Availability of Water
Resources
 Quality of Water
Resources
Theoretical Framework

The Theory of Change, and Game Theory were the two theoretical frameworks

use by this investigation to determine the effects on proper usage of water resources in

the aspects of agriculture in selected municipality of Leyte. These two parts contains an

explanation of each theory and how it interacts with their perception.

Theory of Change

According to Center of Theory of Change (2022), theory of Change is essentially

a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is

expected to happen in a particular context. It is focused in particular on mapping out or

“filling in” what has been described as the “missing middle” between what a program or

change initiative does (its activities or interventions) and how these lead to desired

goals being achieved. It does this by first identifying the desired long-term goals and

then works back from these to identify all the conditions (outcomes) that must be in

place (and how these related to one another causally) for the goals to occur.

In connection with our study entitled Water Management: Effects on Proper

Usage of Water Resources in the Aspects of Agricultural Sector, this theory relates in a

way that it will help developed the team or an organization implement projects that focus

more on a consistent set of assumptions, and analyze progress.

Game Theory
 According to Journal of Hydrology (2010), game theory can identify and interpret

the behaviors of parties to water resource problems and describe how interactions of

different parties who give priority to their own perspectives, rather than system’s

objectives and results in a system’s evolution. A “game theory” is also a study of

mathematical models of strategic interaction between rational decision – making. The

outcomes proposed by optimization techniques, which assume that all parties would act

in the best interests of the system as a whole, frequently diverge from those anticipated

by game theory.

Game Theory can be applied to develop policies for water allocation. This can be

applicable in this study because with the presence of game theory, since water resource

management usually involves conflict, game theory can be a big help to farmers to

simulate the behavior of the system’ surface/ ground water resources to water – users’

with the well – known game “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” for economic development of the

farmers without over exploitation of the water resources.

Agriculture

- It is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock

Agriculture water

- Is a water that is used to grow fresh produce and sustain livestock

Drought

- Is a condition that result in adverse plant responses, which can range from

reduced crop and forage yields to total crop or forage failure.

Farmers

- Is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food

Flow Meters

- It is an instrument capable of measuring the amount of water passing through a

pipe. Several water flow meter technologies are available for selection depending

on the water measurement applications, budgetary terms, and maintenance

requirements.

Game Theory

- It is the study of mathematical models of strategic interaction between rational

decision-makers”. Since water resource management usually involves conflict,

Game Theory identifies and interprets the behaviors of the parties who aim for

their own objectives rather than the system’s objective.

- It involves the monitoring of water application for crops or yard. It usually will be

used for more extensive properties that need a system to help manage the

volume, rate, and timing of water application in order to match with water holding

capacities and soil intake.

Management Strategy

- It is a plan or a specific project to meet a need for additional water by a discrete

user group, which can mean increasing the total water supply or maximizing an

existing supply.

Reallocation

- It is the transfer of use rights between users who have been allocated a certain

amount of water (through formal water use rights or entitlements, or informal

arrangements), after it has been determined the initial allocation is physically

impossible, or socioeconomically unfavorable.

Theory of Change

- It is a method that explains how a given intervention, or set of interventions, is

expected to lead to specific development change, drawing on a causal analysis

based on available evidence.

Water Resource Management

- It is the process of planning, developing, and managing water resources, in terms

of both water quantity and quality, across all water uses

The literature review recounts research and literature related to the variables of

the study.

Water Management

There is a growing concern in the Philippines and elsewhere over what some

have termed a “water crisis”—too little or at times too much water. We first discuss the

historical context of Philippine irrigation development and management. Then we

discuss the trends in irrigation development—public and private investment, national

and communal systems, and new and rehabilitation projects. We note the rapid

increase in private investment based on the agricultural census, mostly pumps and

shallow tube wells, and the increase in investments on communal in the last decade.

With the recurring and persistent problems on planning and investment, design and

management, and operation and maintenance, we call for there thinking of the way we

develop and manage our agricultural water resources. Despite all the concerns, there

are paths to improving water management and increasing water productivity, some of

which are currently being pursued. We conclude, however, that climate change will

make it difficult to achieve food security without continued reliance on rice imports.

Managing water resources systems usually involves conflicts. Behaviors of

stakeholders, who might be willing to contribute to improvements and reach a win–win

situation, sometimes result in worse conditions for all parties. Game theory can identify

and interpret the behaviors of parties to water resource problems and describe how

interactions of different parties who give priority to their own objectives, rather than
system’s objective, result in a system’s evolution. Outcomes predicted by game theory

often differ from results suggested by optimization methods which assume all parties

are willing to act towards the best system-wide outcome. This study reviews applicability

of game theory to water resources management and conflict resolution through a series

of non-cooperative water resource games (Mendis,1990).

In Sri Lanka, the total land area under irrigation in 1987 was about 520,000 ha of

which about 300,000 ha are managed by the ID, 45,000 ha by the Mahaweli Authority of

Sri Lanka (MASL) and 175,000 ha by the Department of Agrarian Services @AS). A

description of the irrigation systems handled by each agency is also given. Most of the

irrigation schemes over 25 to 30 years of age have earthen canals. Over the years, the

canals have eroded and silted. Some of the field channels conveying water from the

distributary channels to the individual farms have suffered due to poor maintenance.

Appreciable quantities of water are lost in the canals due to seepage and overflow

(Perera, K.D.P,1987).

In the journal titled Agriculture and Biology Journal of North America, water

stress continues to be one of the most significant environmental factor affecting growth,

production and quality of crops worldwide. Improving water agricultural efficiency is

crucial in many parts of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, such as

Saudi Arabia. The current study investigates the use of an automated irrigation system

in comparison with manual irrigation. The plant material used in this study were varieties

of wheat grown in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Plants were grown under two

different water irrigation regimes, 80% and 40% of the field capacity which are

controlled using humidity sensors connected to a micro-controller that detects the water
quantity and compensates for water loss in the soil. Plants were grown in 1 kg capacity

plastic pots containing compost mixed with sand and kept in a growth cabinet. The

automatic irrigation system performance is evaluated by measuring the growth of plants

compared to those of manually irrigated. Growth parameters are shoot, root and total

fresh weight and dry weights. No differences were observed in growth, expressed as

fresh and dry weights, between the two irrigation systems. Growth showed that total dry

weights at both water treatments were higher in the automated system plants than

those manually irrigated. The results showed an efficiency of the automated irrigation

system over the manual one, as measured by the performance of plants for

photosynthesis rates (Ali, 2011).

In Venezuela, the availability of water resources has a direct impact on the

economy of a country and the development of the main production processes, from

agriculture, irrigation, and food production, to energy generation and water supply. The

regional economic and social development is influenced by an adequate management

of water resources because it stimulates the economy by expanding and ability to

provide water for multiple uses, directly impacting on the generation of employment the

improving the quality of life of the population. Venezuela has abundant surface water

resources in the large basins. The northern part of Venezuela, where the highest

percentage of the population and the main economic activities are based, face a severe

water scarcity. Irrigation systems under public sector administration are characterized

by large budgetary restrictions, with works for rehabilitation, operation, and maintenance

generally carried out with inefficient results, due to lack of adequate technical

supervision. There is a gap of official information that allows highlight the crisis that the
agricultural sector has faced in the last decade. Another, very important aspect is

Venezuela's severe energy crisis which began to present a deficit of electric power

generation that has been alarmingly evident since 2009, which has worsened for more

than a decade, causing the lack of electricity supply in large regions of the country for

periods of time exceeding 100 h, contributing to aggravate the country's economic

crisis. Due to the situation described, Venezuelan food systems have been seriously

affected mainly by the advanced deterioration of irrigation infrastructure and the water

availability on production processes. This paper explores and analyses the influence of

water management on production Venezuelan economics and society, focus in three

pillars representing the qualitative and quantitative relationships of water management

and its impact on the system considering the aspects related to the sustainability of

Venezuelan agri-food systems, analyzing the fundamental aspects for food production,

main indicators related to the national economy, addressing the challenges to ensure

food security (Pizani,2021).

Planning

Availability of Water Resources

According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2021),

philippines is a country richly endowed with natural resources, including abundant

surface and groundwater resources. Its total internal water resource is estimated at 130

km^3/year. However, despite the vastness of this potential supply, the country has a low

freshwater availability per capita and experiences water-related problems. Analyzed

water governance sector is fragmented and the institutional framework is weak, as it is

also given less priority by the government. Though there is already the consciousness

of solving the seemingly worsening problem and several moves were already

undertaken, much has to be done for the country to attain "water supply and demand

balance", as there are a lot of things to do to conserve one of the nature's very

important resource- water (Fujihara,2008).

According to Bureau of Solid and Water Management (2019), the Water

Resources Management Division shall provide leadership in the conservation and

judicious use of water as vital agricultural resources in the upland farming

communities.  With the threat of extreme climate events due to climate change, the

division shall strengthen its functions on rain water harvesting and run off

management to address land degradation and reduce the impacts of droughts in

vulnerable areas. As such, it shall upgrade its capabilities to provide real-time and

location specific agro-meteorological information to facilitate the formulation of

location- specific cropping pattern and calendar; and provide inputs in the design

of more cost-effective and appropriate soil and water conservation structures, and

tools for the development of early warning systems. It shall engage in cloud

seeding operations in key production areas and critical watersheds to minimize the

impact of El Nino and prolong droughts in agricultural areas, particularly in the

uplands.
 The functions of the Division involves the preparation of designs,

development, and management of Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIP), an

earth fill structure on narrow valleys with height of 5-15 meters and service area

ranging from 25 to 150 hectares; and of Small Farm Reservoir (SFR) which is

smaller version of SWIP to collect rainfall and runoff for use by a single farm, with

height of less than 4 meters and reservoir area of 300 – 1,500 square meters  

serving about half to a hectare of farmlands.  The Division is also involved with

development of Small Diversion Dams (DD) which is a concrete or rock fill

structure to divert a portion of stream flow, with heights ranging from half to two

meters and servicing a farm area of about 40 hectares.  Shallow Tube Wells

(STW’s) is another major output of this Division, a tube or pipe vertically set into

the ground to a depth as much as 20 meters to lift water from shallow aquifer to

service an area of about 3-5 hectares.

Quality of Water Resources

Philippines is an archipelagic country dominated by water and inland water

sources. Water quality has been the subject of attention for the country and

specifically, Mindanao Island, because of the role this natural resource plays in

agriculture. Water supply and usage for the island and the nation are identified

and discussed in relation to the scarcity of potable water. Potential threats and

pollution hotspots bring forth the various health and environmental impact

attributed to the water system accessibility, distribution, and quality. Strategies

addressing water resources problems are taken into consideration side-by-side the
numerous national laws, policies, standards, and guidelines in addressing water

quality control and management. Therefore, the legal framework for various

agencies to carry out these policies on quality control, usage, and water

management are pivotal to recommendations on revision of certain provisions that

rely on embedding local community involvement to lessen the environmental

impact that is causal to poor population health. The World Bank has been

instrumental in prompting local activity with initiatives first established in relation to

the United Nations Millennium Development Goals that are being carried forward

today in the Sustainable Development Initiatives. This chapter extends the recent

UN and World Bank initiatives to demonstrate how further community involvement

can continue to improve quality of life for Philippine citizens through education and

participation.

Agriculture production is highly dependent on water and increasingly subject to

water risks. It is also the largest using sector and a major polluter of water. Improving

agriculture’s water management is therefore essential to a sustainable and productive

agro-food sector. In recent years, agricultural regions around the globe have been

subject to extensive and increasing water constraints. Major droughts in Chile and the

United States have affected agricultural production while diminishing surface and

groundwater reserves. These and other extreme weather events, like floods or tropical

storms, are also expected to be more frequent. Climate change is projected to increase

the fluctuations in precipitation and surface water supplies, reducing snow packs and

glaciers and affecting crop’s water requirements. Coupled with these changes, farmers

in many regions will face increasing competition from non-agricultural users due to
rising urban population density and water demands from the energy and industry

sectors. In addition, water quality is likely to deteriorate in many regions, due to the

growth of polluting activities, salination caused by rising sea levels and the

abovementioned water supply changes. These water challenges are expected to

strongly impact agriculture – a highly water-dependent sector – undermining the

productivity of rain-fed and irrigated crops and livestock activities particularly in certain

countries and regions. These changes could in turn further impact markets, trade, and

broader food security.

METHODOLOGY

This chapter covers the data gathering process necessary for this study and

discusses the construction of questions and as well as the analyzation.

Research Design

This study is a descriptive method of research. This characterized by collection

and analysis of quantitative data. This method will determine the effects on proper

usage of water resources in the aspects of agriculture in relation to water management.

Research Locale

The study will be conducted at the selected barangays of municipality of Sta. Fe,

Leyte.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study are the farmers who resides in the selected

barangays in the municipality of Sta. Fe, Leyte such as the, Brgy. of Pitogo, Baculanad,

Catoogan, Katipunan, San Juan, Curba and Brgy. Cabangcalan with a maximum of 100

participants to be expected to participate in the conducted study.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers will ask permission to the respondents to conduct the study and

to gathered data. The researcher’s will also make a request letter for the respondents,

upon approval the researcher'. In administering the interview, the researcher’s will ask

for their time to avoid distractions. The participants’ responses were given enough time
to answer the questions. After data gathering, the researcher’s will interpret the answer

of the participants and apply the statistical treatment of data to be used with the study.

Data Analysis

The responses made by the farmers describing their demographic profile, and

anticipated problems were presented. For instance, age, sex, and economic status and

the role of farmers when it comes to planning, implementing and evaluating. This will be

applied for the availability and quality of water resources. In providing overall picture of

the demographic profile and in planning, implementation and evaluation as well as the

anticipated problems in determining the effects on proper usage of water resources in

the aspects on agricultural sector, summary presentations will also have presented.

Sex

69 – male

31 – female

Age

20 – 30

30 – 40 and above

Economic Status

7 - Lower Class

12 – Middle Class

Income
 7 – 6, 000 below

5 – 6, 001 – 8, 000 above

Statistical Treatment of Data

Responses to the conducted interview by farmers in the selected municipalities

of Leyte were statistically analyzed with the data requirements of the study. Farmers

were statistically analyzed with the data instruments of the study. To interpret the data

effectively, the researcher will employ the following statistical treatment of data. The

percentage, weighted mean and the t-test are the tools use to interpret data.

1. Percentage

This will employ to determine the frequency counts and percentage of

personal related variables of the respondents.

F
Formula: %= ×100
N

% - the percentage

F – is the frequency

N – is the total number of respondents

100 – constant value

2. Average Weighted Mean

This will be used to determine the assessment of the respondents to their

personal profiles.

Fx
Formula: X =
N
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