More Crop per Drop and Better Environment - Success Story of Drip Irrigation and Fertigation in Türkiye

During the past 16 years, the SWMCN subprogramme has successfully implemented FAO/IAEA-funded TCPs in improving water and nitrogen management in this region with the support of the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority-Ankara Nuclear Research Center in Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Ankara (TAEA-ANRCAAS) as the main counterpart and the following partner institutions: Turkish Science and Technology Research Authority (TSTRA), Nigde Potato Research Institute (MA-NPRI), Ankara University, Agricultural Faculty, Soil Science Department, Ankara (AUAFSSD), and the Soil and Fertilizer Research Institute (SFRI) in Ankara.

Although a conversion from conventional sprinkler irrigation system to drip irrigation-fertigation would cost farmers approximately USD200 per hectare, 60 million dollar annual savings in terms of time, energy and labour inputs in irrigation and the cost associated with the reduction in fertilizer applications would be attained in the region if all farmers adopt drip irrigation and fertigation instead of conventional sprinkler system. Not only such huge savings will be achieved, contamination of ground waters with nitrate leaching can be avoided. These findings from TCPs have been communicated to Turkish farming community by the Turkish main project counterparts (TAEA-ANRCAAS and MA-NPRI) through a 12 minute-interview with the Turkish Radio Television (TRT) on July 2000 at a field site on a farmer's property in the the Cappadocia Region.