Lands Prioritization for Developing Irrigation and Drainage System Network (Case Study: Miankangi Plain)

Soil and water scarcity has become the main challenge encountering human, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In addition, due to economic limitations in developing countries, region prioritization for developing and modernization of irrigation and drainage networks should be considered. In this study cultivated lands of the Miankangi Plain in Hirmand County located in Sistan-o-Baluchestan Province has been prioritized, in order to irrigation system network development. At first, questionnaires were designed and more than 120 of them were completed by experts and researchers, then weighted based on statistical indicators. After that, based on the available reports, field research, preliminary studies and data analysis, the effective parameters were selected. Effective parameters for this scope have been divided to technical and socioeconomic groups. These parameters had different efficiency. Among technical factors in different climatic conditions, fertility and soil quality with 34 points (out of 100) and among socioeconomic factors population density with 25 points had the most weights (efficiencies) for classification. Eventually cultivated lands were classified and prioritized to 11 groups. Villages such as Alimorad, Poodineh and Rudini were located in the first priority and Dahmarde, Molla Abdollah with the lowest points in the last priority. It is suggested to use this method to better understand the effective factors in nearby villages for the development of irrigation and drainage network.