GIS Technology for Agricultural Management of Tank Irrigation Systems in South India

Abstract

For many centuries village tanks have been the backbone of the village economy in South Asia. Tank storage structures are the prime water source to store rainwater and help farmers during crop growing period and provide stability to agricultural production. This resource has to be utilized properly by carrying out the On Farm Developmental works in its command area. The objective of the present study is to develop a GIS based Agricultural management of tank irrigation information system to facilitate the planning, operation and management of tank system. The study area selected was the Maragathapuram tank in Villupuram district served by the Ponnaiyar River. Developing agricultural tank information system involves the collection of various information of the command area. This information can be recorded and stored as different layers in GIS in the form of spatial and non-spatial data and GIS has the capability of integrating and analyzing spatial, non-spatial and multi-layered information available in different formats in framing various strategies for agricultural management and for socio-economic development. GIS based information system is also capable of generating outputs in the form of maps, tables and graphs that will help the irrigation engineers, agriculturalists, farmers and Government officials to monitor their performance of the tank at any place and time and take necessary steps to manage the resources effectively.