Asian irrigation systems require urgent reform, according to a report published on 18 August by the International Water Management Institute in Battaramulla, Sri Lanka, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other partner groups.

Canals in many Asian regions are in dire need of maintenance. Credit: INT. WATER MANAGEMENT INST.

Asia contains 70% of the world's irrigated land, much of it watered by state-funded canal systems that were installed in the 1970s. But the systems are poorly maintained. If Asia is to meet the needs of its growing population, the report says, it needs more efficient, better-regulated irrigation systems; more involvement by the private sector in managing them; and more education about, and investment in, watering programmes.

The report also suggests that governments should support and regulate extraction from groundwater aquifers by individual farmers, rather than condemn the practice.