**2. River flow areas basic irrigation network improvement**

#### **2.1 Irrigation network to increase food production**

Replace in anticipating the impacts of climate change, the government has set policies, such as developing and modifying infrastructure, that can save the management of water resources and biodiversity, taking into account the emissions trading, reducing greenhouse gases, and establishing institutions involved in planning and implementing water resources management, as well as innovations on the application of technology that has a good impact on water resources and other natural resources [5].

The irrigation system includes irrigation infrastructure, irrigation water, irrigation management, irrigation management institutions, and human resources [6]. The Important infrastructure to support the availability of water is the irrigation network. The availability of water will determine the success of increasing production. The water sufficiency for plants will provide optimal results for both growth and production [7]. Regarding food crops, the availability of water from technical irrigation networks (weirs, culverts, and reservoirs), as well as other water sources (dams/ spring ponds, long storage, and others) is the basis for accelerating the increase in food and agricultural production [8].

Storage and utilization of abundant water is an applied operational strategy to increase food production in rain-fed rice fields [9]. In addition, through water management (utilizing rainwater and other water resources as much as possible), increasing food production in 4 million ha of distributed rain-fed rice fields in various islands can be done, including by increasing the cropping index from one to two or three times per production in a year [10, 11]. Moreover, the tertiary irrigation network restoration of rice fields can also increase the cropping index and production [12].

The rehabilitation of irrigation networks to optimize the water resources is mainly to support the establishment of food security, increase added value, and at the same time increase farmers' welfare [13]. The Indonesian government has rehabilitated the irrigation network with the realization of around 3.05 million hectares of rice fields that are spread across all agricultural areas in Indonesia [6].

Generally, the type of channel in the irrigation network is divided into primary, secondary, tertiary, quarter, and drainage channels [14]. Primary and secondary

*Improvement of Tertiary Irrigation Networks, Changes in Cropping Patterns, and Increasing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106266*

irrigation networks become the responsibility of the central, provincial, and district governments. Meanwhile, the maintenance of tertiary irrigation networks is accomplished by farmers or water management groups. The provision of optimal tertiary irrigation networks in irrigated rice fields is a direct and adaptive operational action that can be taken by farmers in dealing with drought or water needs. One of the main culprits of the food and agricultural production opportunities loss is the poor condition of supporting infrastructure.

The deterioration of the irrigation system network will threaten the increase in food production [6]. Restoration of damaged irrigation networks covering an area of 3 million ha or 52% of the total irrigation area, can expand irrigation services to increase the cropping index by 0.3 or more [8]. The network restoration is gradually carried out by the government and farmer groups. Irrigation management requires institutions, namely, management, members, and various accompanying regulations to be efficient in their use and remain sustainable [6]. The results of research in Central Sulawesi Indonesia recommend a more efficient and useful technology in dealing with climate change in food crop production to increase farmers' knowledge, provide user-oriented features, and various institutions to provide collaborative programs in facing the challenges of climate change [15].

#### **2.2 Distribution of watersheds in Kendal Regency**

Kendal Regency, Central Java Province, is one of the regions that contributes to food availability in Indonesia. Generally, Kendal Regency has an area of 23,270.07 ha of irrigated rice fields and 809.6 ha of rain-fed rice fields [16]. These conditions support the development of food crops, especially rice, corn, and soybeans. Efforts to increase food crop production can run optimally; therefore, since 2015, restorations have been made to tertiary irrigation networks in rice fields. Through the restoration of the irrigation network, it expects an integrated increase in IP and resource management with a specific location, as well as the application of technological innovations according to technical standards can also be carried out. Finally, the target of increasing production, productivity, and rice crop index in a year can be realized. One of the efforts made by the government to fulfill food needs is by increasing food production in agriculture. The most productive agricultural effort is the use of water for irrigation. Based on these conditions, proper, regular, and sufficient water supply and management is a must [13].

Irrigation can be interpreted as an effort to bring in water by making buildings and channels to drain water for agricultural purposes, distributing water to rice fields or farms regularly and in sufficient quantities, and then disposing of the unnecessary water is required [17]. Generally, irrigation areas are closely related to watersheds as sources of irrigation in the form of large rivers, springs, and others [18].

This watershed is usually associated with the local climate of a place, which is a rainfall area. In Kendal Regency, there are four groups of rainfall areas (**Figure 1**), namely, 500 mm/year rainfall, 1000 mm/year rainfall, 1500 mm/year rainfall, and 2000 mm/year rainfall. The highest rainfall (2000 mm/year) is in two subdistricts, namely, Plantungan and a small part of Sukorejo, 1500 mm/year is in Limbangan District, 1000 mm/year is in Boja, Singorojo, Patean, and parts of Sukorejo. The remaining 500 mm/year of rainfall occurs in most subdistricts in the Kendal Regency. These conditions determine the watershed and the construction of irrigation networks. For example, the Cepiring subdistrict is an irrigation area originating from the Bodri watershed or Sidomukti irrigation area (**Figure 2**).

#### **Figure 1.**

*Map of rainfall in Kendal Regency [19].*

**Figure 2.** *Irrigation network in Kendal Regency [19].*

*Improvement of Tertiary Irrigation Networks, Changes in Cropping Patterns, and Increasing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106266*

Based on the type of rainfall and watershed in the Kendal Regency, the construction of a tertiary irrigation network is displayed in **Table 1**.

**Table 1** shows that there are 30 locations for the construction of tertiary irrigation channels in the Kendal Regency. These locations are spread over 11 subdistricts with different sources of irrigation water. Based on the table, it is known that seven sources of irrigation water or watersheds become the source of irrigation in the Kendal Regency.


#### **Table 1.**

*Tertiary irrigation channels in Kendal Regency, Central Java Province.*

**Figure 3.** *Disaster-prone area in Kendal Regency [19].*

Regarding the restoration of irrigation networks, the determination of the point of the tertiary irrigation network restoration is based on the watershed and the irrigation area that has the potential to increase the cropping index. The restoration of the tertiary irrigation network is not carried out in locations that are prone to flooding, whether it is rainwater puddles or seawater intrusion.

**Figure 3** depicts that the northern coast (yellow) is a flood-prone area. Therefore, in the first planting season, the related agency suggested farmers plant rice varieties tolerant of flooding. If **Figure 3** is combined with the position of the irrigation network in **Figure 2**, the Kendal Regency area is an area where the condition of the availability of irrigation water is very sufficient.

The water requirement in rice cultivation is divided into several stages. Tillage is the stage that requires the most water. Optimal tillage is the beginning of preparation for plant life that affects the growth and production of rice plants. Therefore, water is absolutely necessary. Water requirements in each growing season are different. The water requirement for early maturing rice plants is highest in the second planting season because rainwater begins to decrease. The largest available water discharge occurs at the end of February and the potential for water availability is relatively small [20]. Therefore, in the second and third planting seasons, the expansion of water discharge through the tertiary irrigation network significantly affects the increase in the cropping index and the enlargement of rice fields, particularly in technically irrigated rice fields [13].

Water sufficiency for crops in a rotation pattern is the foremost step in considering whether a crop rotation is possible to be applied to an area. The irrigation planning criteria offer an effective rain calculation based on rainfall measurement data at the nearest station. In areas that have irrigation network facilities or irrigated rice fields, the water source is better used as chief support to irrigate crops than rain. A rational rotation pattern is selected based on the following criteria: (1) the need and

*Improvement of Tertiary Irrigation Networks, Changes in Cropping Patterns, and Increasing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106266*

sufficiency of water; (2) the highest economic profit each season per year; and (3) other considerations, such as market demand and government policies [21].

#### **2.3 The restoration of the tertiary irrigation network in Kendal District**

Irrigation network facilities and infrastructure restoration is divided into two activities, namely, development and maintenance. Related to these activities, there are many locations in irrigation areas that require first handling. The results of the research in Yogyakarta showed that the tendency of tertiary irrigation networks in 10 irrigation areas was that the higher the command area, the higher the priority ranking for the development or management of a location. If there are several proposed locations with similar conditions, prioritization can be determined based on the command area [22].

In Kendal Regency, the restoration of the tertiary irrigation network was conducted to support the enlargement of the planted area for food crops. The irrigation network restoration was conducted in 57 locations (**Table 2**), including in the Districts of Boja, Kaliwungu Selatan, Pegandon, Singorojo, Limbangan, Brangsong, Ngampel, Cepiring, Patebon, Patean, and Gemuh. The estimated area of irrigated rice fields is about 3500 ha. The restoration of the tertiary irrigation network is a shared commitment between the government and the water management groups. However, in practice, the *officers of the union of water-user farmers* usually work together in determining the location for repairs and making suggestions for restorations to the government.

The union of water-user farmers in the Bantimurung Irrigation Area, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, has moderate authority in the utilization, development, and management of irrigation water [23]. Whereas in Morocco, farmer organizations formed to intervene in water management and sugar production appear to be inactive or have weak relationships with their constituents. Therefore, irrigation managers and the sugar industry continue to interact directly with farmers in a centralized manner [24].

The restoration of the tertiary irrigation network in the Kendal Regency was conducted in the areas of lowland, medium, and highland irrigated rice fields. In **Figures 4** and **5**, some examples of tertiary irrigation network restoration locations in the lowlands include Patebon Subdistricts (Maju Makmur water user farmer association covering an area of 60 ha), Pegandon (Gemah Ripah water user farmer association covering an area of 80 ha) and Gemuh (Tirto Rahayu water user farmer association covering an area of 80 ha and Sumber Rejeki water user farmer association covering an area of 80 ha).

The restoration of the lowland tertiary irrigation network was also conducted in Weleri Subdistrict (Sumber Agung Village and Karanganom Village) and Kangkung Subdistrict, Gebanganom Village. The restoration of the tertiary irrigation network in Sumber Agung Village is an irrigation network from the Timbang Weir (Weleri District), which is a transfer from the Damar river. The cropping pattern that is usually done by farmers around the restoration of irrigation networks, in general, is paddypaddy-paddy. But some farmers plant with paddy-paddy-tobacco or paddy-paddyhorticultural (vegetable) cropping patterns. Meanwhile, irrigation in Karanganom Village, Weleri District, comes from the Sasem Weir (from Grinsing District, Kendal Regency). The usual cropping pattern is paddy-paddy-paddy (**Figure 6**).

For the area of Tani Makmur water-user farmer association Gebanganom Village, Kangkung District (**Figure 7**), the restoration of the tertiary irrigation network


*Irrigation and Drainage - Recent Advances*


**Table 2.**

*Tertiary irrigation network repaired in the Kendal Regency in 2015.*

*Improvement of Tertiary Irrigation Networks, Changes in Cropping Patterns, and Increasing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106266*

#### **Figure 4.**

*Secondary irrigation channels in Gubugsari Village, Pegandon District (not yet repaired), and tertiary irrigation networks in Gubugsari Village, Pegandon District.*

#### **Figure 5.**

*Secondary (no restoration) and tertiary channels in Galih Village, Triharjo Village, Gemuh District.*

#### **Figure 6.**

*Restoration of the Tertiary Irrigation Network at Ngudi Luhur water user farmer association Sejati, Sumberagung Village, Weleri District, and Timbang Weir, Weleri District.*

#### **Figure 7.**

*Tertiary irrigation network rehabilitation at P3A Tani Makmur, Gebanganom Village, Kangkung District.*

*Improvement of Tertiary Irrigation Networks, Changes in Cropping Patterns, and Increasing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106266*

is adjacent to the secondary channel from the Juwero Weir (in Gemuh District). The initial cropping pattern was paddy-pady-corn. With the restoration of the tertiary irrigation network, it is expected that the cropping pattern will become paddy-paddy-paddy.

Restorations of the tertiary irrigation network in the highlands were conducted in the district of Boja (in **Figure 8**), water-user farmer association of Bebengan Village for an area of 35 ha, Tani Mulyo water-user farmer association (Ngabean Village) for an area of 30 ha and in Trisobo Village Tuk Mandiri I water-user farmer association for an area of 25 ha. In addition, restorations of the irrigation network were carried out at the location of Taru Martani water-user farmer association (in **Figures 9** and **10**, Bangunsari Village, Pageruyung District), as well as repairing the Kreon weir from the Kuto River, which was an aspiration fund. The cropping index around Kreon Weir is not rice, but annuals. It can be said that the restoration of the irrigation network around the Kreon Weir is to improve the irrigation of the rice fields under the Kreon Weir. Restorations to the irrigation network were executed in two places, namely, around the Kreon Weir and near the rice fields.

Besides Pageruyung (**Figure 11**), other highland rice fields are located in Plantungan District. The restoration was carried out at Ngudi Sejahtera water-user farmer association, Bendosari Village, Plantungan District. This location is quite far and close to Batang Regency. The flow of water comes from the Bulus river, which is runoff from the Kuto River. The cropping pattern of irrigated rice fields is paddypaddy-paddy. It can be said that the restoration of the irrigation network is to expand the area of rice fields that can be irrigated.

The restoration location is quite far from the rice fields. However, the land around the irrigation network, which was previously planted with annual crops, is expected to be planted with rice in the third planting season of the following year.

**Figure 8.** *Semi-technical tertiary irrigation channels in Bebengan Village and Ngabean Village, Boja District.*

#### **Figure 9.**

*The secondary irrigation channel has a disconnected position with a tertiary channel in Trisobo Village, Boja District.*

#### **Figure 10.**

*Kreon weir, irrigation network, and irrigated rice fields in Bangunsari Village, Pageruyung District.*

#### **Figure 11.**

*The location of the irrigation network is in Bendosari Village, Plantungan District.*

Based on the results of field observations and focused discussions with the agriculture, plantation, livestock, and forestry service of Kendal Regency (coordinator of instructors, agricultural assistants, instructors, and agricultural infrastructure staff) and farmers, information was obtained that the restoration of the tertiary irrigation network can reduce water loss due to leakage during irrigation. Therefore, the area of irrigated rice fields increases, especially in the second season of rice planting. In addition, farmers hope that the rice fields can be planted with food crops after the restorations of the tertiary irrigation network in the third planting season.

The implementation of irrigation network infrastructure development in Bengkulu Tengah Regency, Bengkulu Province, Indonesia, is a priority in supporting the provision of water resources, functioning to support dynamic and interactive rural development, as well as irrigated agriculture in the future. The utilization of water resources is fully aimed at improving the economy and welfare of farmers. By using technology it supports infrastructure development, as well as water management to produce a more effective irrigation network [25].

Small irrigation systems with a command area of less than 500 ha are the backbone of family food security, which, in turn, leads to food security at the national level. The deterioration of the irrigation system network will threaten the increase in food production. In the future, irrigation infrastructure must be supervised better. Therefore, the agricultural sector can realize agricultural diversification. The wider

#### *Improvement of Tertiary Irrigation Networks, Changes in Cropping Patterns, and Increasing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106266*

the conservation, local wisdom, and social capital in irrigation management can be maintained. Irrigation expansion and development should include the participation of farmers and water-user farmer association through self-management, not a tender system (auction), and target-oriented. In addition to better performance, the self-management system fosters a high sense of ownership and responsibility by the water-user farmer association [6].

Self-management will be more efficient if it is combined with a mutual cooperation system, therefore, restoration targets can be achieved and even exceeded. In addition, supervision from farmers and even cross-control between group members will automatically occur. In the future, the role of the water-user farmer association will be improved to increase the function of the development and management of irrigation, especially in small irrigation. Good small irrigation management involving the role of government and stakeholders is expected to improve farmers' income levels, expand job opportunities in farming and outside farming, food resources, soil and environmental damage prevention, and ownership of productive assets [6].

Participatory irrigation, where farmers are given greater control and management responsibility, has been a topic of controversy for many years. Initially seen as a panacea for dealing with weaknesses in state-run irrigation, participatory irrigation has generated mixed results, especially in south Asia. Part of the challenge in understanding the conditions that elevate and undermine participatory irrigation is that it is rarely deployed in the same way. For example, irrigation fees collected by farmers are not handled collectively, even within a single country. In some instances, a large amount of collected fees is retained locally. Only a small amount is kept for local use. In this paper, we use game theory to consider how the portion of irrigation fees retained locally might impact the effectiveness of participatory irrigation. We show that there are multiple plausible equilibria and that allowing farmers to retain more funds locally might shift behaviors from an uncooperative equilibrium to a cooperative outcome. However, we also find that it is unlikely to be a singular fix. We use empirical evidence to demonstrate the conundrums of making participatory irrigation sustainable [26]. Irrigation water can increase rice production, productivity, and farmers' revenue through the restoration of irrigation infrastructure, utilization of biological fertilizers, and proper management of irrigation systems [27].
