Indigenous knowledge of water management in the agricultural sector (Case study: Bakhshlu Chay District - Urmia County)

Introduction

Water resource allocation refers to the distribution and division of water among farmers and their owned lands. In the past, the desired water was allocated through the flow of springs or rivers surrounding the agricultural lands with the help of special water distribution tools. In the past, each farmer had a specific time for irrigation based on the area of their agricultural land, and the water rights of the farmers were determined according to the type of crop and seed used in a 7 to 10-day cycle. The change in the exploitation system and other production inputs and their management, without considering the environmental resilience conditions, has led to a 9 times increase in water consumption in the Bakshlu Chai district for agricultural production. This district is located on the western shore of Lake Urmia and, due to its suitable water and soil resources and influenced by a production-oriented approach based on modernization strategies, has become a region for producing products such as apples and grapes. However, currently, due to the water crisis and the drying of Lake Urmia, the region's water resources are under threat. Therefore, the present article aims to identify the components and criteria of indigenous water management knowledge in the area and to address the main question of the article, which is: What is the role of indigenous water management knowledge in the agricultural sector of the Bakshlu Chai district? Discuss and examine.

Methodology

The method of the article is based on exploratory, descriptive, and analytical methods. The method for extracting components of Indigenous water management knowledge involved interviewing farmers and content analysis was used to analyze the obtained information. In the next stage, the extraction of indigenous knowledge variables effective in the supply, distribution, and consumption of water was carried out through interviews. Accordingly, the variables examined in water management, specifically the system of supply, distribution, and consumption of water in the agricultural sector, included the system of water users, irrigation timing, type of cultivation, type of crop, cultivation period, irrigation period, and type of seed. In the next stage, the selection of variables and questions for the article's questionnaire (in the form of a Likert scale) was defined based on the article's variables, and finally, after collecting the questionnaires, SPSS and AMOS software were used for data analysis. The statistical population of the studied article consists of the Bakshlu Chai district (Charchai) and rural beneficiaries over 40 years old. Considering the high homogeneity of the studied population, 2 percent of the individuals over 40 years old and accessible in the region were selected as the sample. Among them, 24 farmers were chosen for interviews on Indigenous knowledge in water management, and 130 individuals were selected for measuring quantitative data and determining the relationship and impact of Indigenous knowledge criteria in water management.



Findings and Discussion

The results of the one-sample t-test show that all the techniques extracted from the interviews play an effective role in water resource management in the field of water distribution and consumption. Based on the obtained results, irrigation timing has the highest role in reducing water consumption with an average of 4.2 on a five-point Likert scale. The level of dispersion of responses from the average for this index is also 1.02, indicating the closeness of farmers' opinions to each other. After this index, the type of crop, irrigation period, and traditional water distribution system had the most significant roles in optimal distribution and consumption, with averages of 4.18, 4.16, and 4.1, respectively. The significance level of the role of each of the indigenous water management knowledge indicators shows that all indicators are at a 99% confidence level with an alpha of less than 0.001. Based on this, it can be concluded that all the indicators of indigenous knowledge have an above-average impact on water management at the regional level.

The results obtained from the analysis of the research questionnaires based on structural equation modeling (AMOS) indicate that the weight of each sub-index is as follows: in the irrigation system index, the highest score is related to A4 (In the old irrigation system, to what extent did the role of the water master prevent excessive water extraction from the river?). With a weight of 0.06. In the irrigation timing index, the highest score is related to B1 (How much can daytime irrigation, especially at noon, negatively impact water resource reserves?). With a weight of 0.50, and in the crop type index, it can also be stated that C4 (to what extent does planting in the direction of the slope affect the increase in water flow?) With a weight of 0.45, it has the highest score. The highest score for the product type index items also belongs to F2 (How much do you know about the role of changes in product types for cultivation in increasing water consumption?). With a weight of 0.13, and in the planting period index, E1 (in the past, to what extent did the planting period of crops correspond with the rainfall period?) It has the highest score with a weight of 0.38. In the irrigation period index, the highest weight and score of the items are related to D1 (In the past, how significant do you consider the role of using oven ash, animal manure, and agricultural residues to increase soil moisture retention to reduce the irrigation period?). With a weight of 0.38, and in the seed type index, G1 (to what extent can the replacement of local seeds with genetically modified seeds affect water consumption?) It has a weight of 1.13.



Conclusion

The irrigation system of water distribution and the role of the water master in distributing water among users has been one of the techniques for agricultural adaptation, utilization, and water resource management in the region. The most important role of this water distribution system has been to prevent excessive water extraction from the river and over-irrigation of crops; therefore, changing or modifying a system without considering its historical background and lineage has often not yielded satisfactory results and, in some cases, has had negative consequences. Self-purification and the organic adaptation of the elements of the water management system to changes in natural elements such as the quantity of rainfall, type of precipitation, temperature, etc., and human elements such as population growth, increased levels of welfare, changes in social and economic structures, etc. In government planning, through techniques of dominance and inherent power, the space for the involvement of rural inhabitants and the main and direct stakeholders of agricultural water resources has been restricted, depriving water users of their agency. The reform or change of the water management system in the villages of the studied region with the strategies of the Green Revolution, including the use of chemical fertilizers instead of organic animal and plant fertilizers, improved seeds instead of local seeds, a water distribution system managed by the government and official institutions instead of local water user institutions, and new cultivation patterns instead of local patterns, has significantly impacted the amount of water consumption and the way water is distributed and allocated.