Spatiotemporal Assessment of Irrigation Performance of the Kou Valley Irrigation Scheme in Burkina Faso Using Satellite Remote Sensing-Derived Indicators

Abstract

Traditional methods based on field campaigns are generally used to assess the performance of irrigation schemes in Burkina Faso, resulting in labor-intensive, time-consuming, and costly processes. Despite their extensive application for such performance assessment, remote sensing (RS)-based approaches remain very much underutilized in Burkina Faso. Using multi-temporal Landsat images within the Python module for the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land model, we investigated the spatiotemporal performance patterns of the Kou Valley irrigation scheme (KVIS) during two consecutive cropping seasons. Four performance indicators (depleted fraction, relative evapotranspiration, uniformity of water consumption, and crop water productivity) for rice, maize, and sweet potato were calculated and compared against standard values. Overall, the performance of the KVIS varied depending on year, crop, and the crop’s geographical position in the irrigation scheme. A gradient of spatially varied relative evapotranspiration was observed across the scheme, with the uniformity of water consumption being fair to good. Although rice was the most cultivated, a shift to more sweet potato farming could be adopted to benefit more from irrigation, given the relatively good performance achieved by this crop. Our findings ascertain the potential of such RS-based cost-effective methodologies to serve as basis for improved irrigation water management in decision support tools.

Performance Assessment of Irrigation Projects in Nepal by Integrating Landsat Images and Local Data

“…In this study, the performance of the irrigation project was assessed using both socioeconomic performance indicators (yield and ISF) and factors influencing the project's performance (project annual budget, main canal discharge, and precipitation levels). For a more comprehensive evaluation of the irrigation project, the inclusion of remote-sensing-based indicators, such as relative evapotranspiration, depleted fraction, delivery performance ratio, drainage ratio, and crop water productivity, as suggested by [19][20][21][22], alongside the existing indicators used in this study could be considered.…”

“…Landsat [1] Random Forest Quantify the performance of 79 irrigation schemes across Sub-Saharan Africa for 2014-2018 [9] Support Vector Machine Quantify changes in irrigated areas between 1987 and 2015 in Burkina Faso [12] Maximum It is beneficial to evaluate the performance of irrigation projects and its drivers by integrating satellite-based irrigation maps and other local data. The performance of several irrigation projects has been assessed utilizing both remotely sensed irrigation performance indicators, such as relative evapotranspiration, delivery performance ratio, drainage ratio, depleted fraction, crop water productivity, and so on by [19][20][21], and socio-economic indicators, such as grain yield, price ratio, and water productivity by [22]. Kumar [23] and Nikam et al [24] combined the remote-sensing-based estimates with the water release data from the project and other field observations data.…”

Regional Assessment of Soil Moisture Active Passive Enhanced L3 Soil Moisture Product and Its Application in Agriculture

“…Although this validation experiment uses a resolution of 9 km, there were still multiple agricultural activities within a grid cell, making it difficult to precisely target irrigation at a specific site. Furthermore, various factors, including the climate, crops, and soil, led to the soil moisture remaining unchanged or decreasing after irrigation, which was a normal occurrence [52]. This occurrence also contributed to the satellites' inability to accurately capture irrigation signals.…”

A Comparative Analysis of Random Forest and Support Vector Machines for Classifying Irrigated Cropping Areas in The Upper-Comoé Basin, Burkina Faso

“…The sustainable management of natural resources has become challenging given the rapid world population growth and the changing climate patterns worldwide (1) .The demographic growth recorded in various parts of the world is most often accompanied by an increased use or destruction of natural resources (2) .Across the Sahelian zone of Africa, drought events occurred frequently due to the extreme variability in rainfall patterns and temperature conditions. Such drought events most often resulted in severe environmental impacts such as the reduction of vegetation cover, land degradation and loss of biodiversity, as well as harsh socio-economic conditions (3) .Burkina Faso is a country in the Sahel, whose agricultural development is considerably limited by the availability of water in the major agricultural areas (4) .Agriculture in Burkina Faso is typically rainfed; the vast majority of farmers (97.6%) use rain as a source of water, and https://www.indjst.org/ only 2.2% of them use irrigation (5) .To cope with the adverse impacts of rainfall variability, the governmental agencies have been committed to an intensification of irrigated agriculture since the 2000s through multiple incentives (6) .This has led to a substantial expansion of irrigated areas in certain regions of the country over the years, with greater profits compared to rainfed agriculture (7) .However, this expansion of irrigated agricultural areas, most often near water points such as rivers or water reservoirs, has put a noticeable pressure on these water resources. Monitoring irrigation water relies on a good knowledge of the irrigated areas and available water resources.…”