Main irrigation system management for rice-based farming systems in the Philippines

MOST IRRIGATIONSYSTEMS in the Philippines and in other developing countries of Asia have been designed for rice irrigation. The majority of such systems are run-of-theriver type, with fairly adequate water supply to irrigate their design areas during the wet season. However, during the dry season, they experience water scarcity so that only part of the design area could be served. This situation somehow encouraged the adoption of diversified crops in some of these systems. While the need to produce more rice to support the demand of the increasing population is recognized, the production of nonrice crops during the dry season provides opportunities for increasing the productivity of irrigation systems. It could provide a means to optimally utilize the available land and scarce water resources for agricultural production.