Assessment of agricultural potential of a river command using geo-spatial techniques: a case study of Himalayan river project in Northern India

Abstract Agriculture and associated sectors are one of the primary sources of living for the global population. Sustainability in agriculture will yield long-term benefits requisite to accomplish development and mitigation of resource scarcity. Hence, realistic assessment of water requirement for agricultural use or alternatively agricultural potential from available water resources is imperative to sustainable water management keeping in view of possible scarce situation in relation to freshwater availability across the Globe. The present study focuses on assessment of the water requirement for potential agricultural use for the command area of a Himalayan river project, namely Gandak river project in Northern India using extensive geo-spatial techniques. Detailed information of extensive canal network is derived from high-resolution satellite images using GIS tools, along with other spatially distributed information for relevant parameters such as rainfall, temperature, soil type, elevation, water-holding capacity and agricultural productivity. The study reasonably identifies the spatial variability in water requirement potential in the project command with rational indication of maximum water demand in north-central section of the study area where the lowest aridity index characterized by very low slope and deep sandy loam soil is recorded. Efficient usage with growing scarcity of this essential natural resource warrants efficiency optimization of water usage with realistic assessment. This approach unlike traditional method uses high-resolution satellite data that are more scientific and accurate and will undoubtedly facilitate development of rational decision support system for efficient management of available surface water use for different purposes in the region.