Water & Drainage in Agriculture

Overview

Syllabus

Courses

• 1 review

  5 weeks, 18-20 hours a week, 18-20 hours a week

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  Increasing scarcity of natural resources
  ****The demand for safe and healthy food is rapidly increasing. The world population is growing and is projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050. How do we prepare for this and how are we going to be able to feed all these people?

  Global climate change raises the pressure on supply and demand for water. Changing temperatures and long-term variation in annual precipitation amounts and regional distribution patterns require more ways to control water levels. In addition to the changing climate, cropping patterns are diversifying and field irrigation methods are changing.

  Relevance of drainage
  It is clear that the food production mainly has to come from improvements in agricultural water management on existing agricultural lands. In light of all these changes in water demand, supply and use, the role of (subsurface) drainage has changed from a single-purpose measure for controlling waterlogging and/or salinity to an essential element of integrated water management under multiple land use scenarios.

  Learn how drainage can contribute to sustainable food security
  Join this course to advance your knowledge in drainage, drainage systems and solutions, and to help securing a sustainable food supply. In this course, you will work on different modules, apply the knowledge gained directly to your home country drainage situation. Furthermore, you will learn from other cases and learners worldwide, expanding your horizon on the global importance of drainage.

  For whom
  This course was developed for professionals and students from various backgrounds, especially those who are interested in agricultural water management and want to broaden their understanding of drainage planning, design, and management, and drainage-related research and training. Although specifically watermanagers and waterengineers, agricultural engineers, irrigation professionals, hydrologists, and agricultural policy makers join this course, the course is open and accessible to everyone.

  Do not miss out on the opportunity to join this online course and upgrade your knowledge on drainage for agricultural lands.

• 0 reviews

  10 weeks, 4-5 hours a week, 4-5 hours a week

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  Increasingly scarce natural resources
  Worldwide, a variety of processes puts more pressure on water resources every day. Global climate change causes temperatures to rise and precipitation patterns to change. A growing degree of urbanization causes people to move from the countryside to the cities. This results in increased competition over water resources, like rivers and groundwater, between cities and their surrounding areas. Furthermore, population growth and rising global welfare create an increased demand for food.

  The growing demand for food must be obtained using existing agricultural land, since we are already dealing with scarcity of new farmland. Yet, the potential of increased production in the existing rain-fed agricultural areas is low.

  Sustainable water management; various perspectives to consider
  The combination of the processes described above create an urgent need for improved agricultural water management, agriculture being the dominant water user worldwide. In our search for sustainable solutions the management and governance regarding irrigation and drainage should take a number of water related aspects into account, among which:

  • the different perspectives of involved uses and users
  • including various spatial levels, from farm, to scheme, to river basin
  • minding the effects on both upstream and downstream water users
  • each of which must be combined with the right quantity and quality of water

  Wageningen University & Research is actively involved in debates on water and food. Predominantly focussing on the combination of both water technologies and social factors, this creates a unique socio-technical approach.

  Putting theory into practice
  In this MOOC, we will focus on the role agricultural water management plays in this global context of sustainable water and food supplies. The online course consists of several learning modules, combined with a case study.
  We start by taking a deep dive into practical and technical aspects, from crop characteristics and irrigation water requirements to actual field practices.
  Subsequently, we explore the institutional perspective, from models of rural development to water management demands.
  The case study videos and interviews from Morocco create the opportunity for you to directly apply your newly acquired knowledge in a real-life situation.

  For whom?
  This MOOC is for anyone with basic knowledge of social and biophysical sciences, ready to contribute to improving agricultural water management from where they are. Are you ready? Join us, enrol now!

  Acknowledgments
  We developed the MOOC: Agricultural Water Management: Water, Society and Technology Interactions in close cooperation with IAV (Institute Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II) in Rabat, Morocco. Specifically, professor Hammani (director of the institute) and researcher Ms. Kettani supported us greatly during the development of this MOOC. The case is situated in the Tadla irrigation scheme, where we were supported by the ORMVA-T. Special thanks go to Mohamed Saaf, chef of ORMVA-Tadla, for the support we received in the field.

Taught by

Petra Hellegers, Harm Boesveld, Alex Bolding, Dr. Ir. Henk Ritzema, Dr. Ir. Klaas Metselaar, Dr. Ir. Jos van Dam, Dr. Ir. Lodewijk Stuyt and Gerlo Borghuis MSc

Tags

• netherlands