Preparation and development of a strategic research plan for improving Basin-Scale agricultural water productivity (WP) in Iran.

Agricultural production will have to increase rapidly to keep pace with future demands for food and fiber. The framework of water productivity (WP) is a useful means for evaluating the performance of agricultural production systems and provides relevant feedback for management at all levels, from field to river basin scales. Because of water scarcity and population growth, improvement of WP is a necessity in water and agricultural sector of Iran. Improved WP can contribute significantly in addressing current and future water challenges in Iran. However, information on WP in Iran in general, and in the Basins scale in particular, is limited, which undermines the judicious planning and management of scarce water resources. The objective of this research project is to study the issues and challenges of improving WP in the basin scale in Iran. For this purpose representatives of different stakeholders in the water and agriculture sector of the country were gathered and participated in the different brain storming meeting to determine the problems and sources of inefficiencies regarding low value of WP in Iran in the basin scales of water management, than field scale. The research mainly focused on determination of the problems, in the form of problem trees, the objectives and research or executive plans for alleviating these problems and achieving to the final goal, which is improving WP. The methodology of the research was fully participatory. Based on results, the basic causes of low basin scale WP, can be categorized in the five pivots as: Lack of comprehensive water allocation plans, lack of integrated management and conservation and utilization of water resources, lack of planning and risk management of water crisis (droughts and floods), and lack of a comprehensive data bank. Therefore, the following action plans and program are suggested to overcome to the above weaknesses: Special attention to the land use planning in soil and water development plans, setting criteria for planning and prioritizing water resources allocation, water balance studies and prediction of future demands and allocations, enhancement of stakeholders participation in the water resources plans, planning for using marginal water resources with considering sustainability issues, providing comprehensive plans for optimum operation and maintenance of water structures and infrastructures, quantitative and qualitative monitoring of water resources, proper risk and crises management of drought, proper management of control and utilization of floods, attention to and management of other relevant hazards, and establishment and management of basin data bank.