Strategic Analysis of the Modern Irrigation Systems Development in the Jiroft Plain

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Water Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jiroft, Karmen, Iran

Abstract

During the past few decades, developing countries in arid and semi-arid regions, including Iran, have faced water crises. It is predicted that between 2050 and 2100, many of the countries that have abundant water, will face water shortage challenges. Therefore, the importance of finding solutions for countries exposed to this threat has been proven. Iran is seriously facing the challenge of water resource shortage. While the largest amount of water resources is consumed in the agricultural sector, this sector is suffered by low water productivity. The Ministry of Agricultural Jihad has been implementing the Project of the Modern Irrigation Systems Development (PMISD) in order to improve water productivity in line with sustaining food security, since 1989. The activities of the project are being implemented in all provinces and about 30% of the country's irrigated agricultural lands have been covered. This study aims to strategically analyze the project performance in one of agricultural polar of the country, the Jiroft Plain. Strategic analysis is a systematic process for identifying opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses in order to formulate long-term decisions and improve the performance of a project. Data collection was carried out in two stages; first, through structured interviews with 217 farmers, internal and external factors affecting the PMISD were identified. Next, the status quo of the project, and improvement strategies were determined via a SWOT analysis and strategic path mapping, respectively. The findings show that the management system of the PMISD has prominent internal strengths that have not been properly utilized. In these circumstances, choosing a strategic approach of capacity building to create a platform for using opportunities is recommended.

Keywords

Introduction

Iran is seriously facing the challenge of water resource shortage. While the largest amount of water resources is consumed in the agricultural sector, this sector is suffered by low water productivity. The Ministry of Agricultural Jihad has been implementing the Project of the Modern Irrigation Systems Development (PMISD) in order to improve water productivity in line with sustaining food security, since 1989. The activities of the project are being implemented in all provinces and about 30% of the country's irrigated agricultural lands have been covered. This study aims to strategically analyze the project performance in one of agricultural polar of the country, the Jiroft Plain.

Materials and Methods

The present study was conducted using a qualitative research approach and is within the scope of strategic management studies of development plans in the field of water resources. The PMISD in the Jiroft Plain was selected for study area. In order to collect research data and information for a strategic understanding of the status quo of the PMISD, it is necessary to collect details about the strengths and weaknesses (internal factors of the system) and opportunities and threats (external factors). In this stage, information was collected using structured interviews and convenience sampling method. In the first stage, 217 farmers were surveyed and the internal and external dimensions of the system were identified in four dimensions: technical, economic, social and environmental. Then, a SWOT analysis questionnaire was developed. And using the perspective of 12 key informants, they were selected using purposive sampling method. These individuals have evaluated the internal and external dimensions of the PMISD in various executive agencies, including the Agricultural Jihad Organization, the Regional Water Company, the Research Center, and the implementing companies.

Results and Discussion

The internal factors evaluation (IFE) of the project shows that the management system has obtained scores of 1.04, 0.27, -0.44 and -0.38 in the technical, economic, social and environmental dimensions, respectively. These numbers mean that the system has acceptable strengths in the technical and economic dimensions, but it does not enable to use them optimally. Regarding the social and environmental dimensions, the internal factors have negative numbers; this means that in these dimensions the system has severe weaknesses, but the situation is such that it can be improved. The overall evaluation of the total internal factors for the management system is 0.49. This means that in general, in the Jiroft plain, the strengths of the project outweigh its weaknesses, but this advantage is not significant.

The results of the external factors evaluation (EFE) of the PMISD in the technical, economic, social and environmental dimensions are 0.24, -0.60, -0.05 and -0.37 respectively. T The overall evaluation of the total external factors for the management system is generally equal to -0.20. This means that the management system in the Jiroft plain is strongly influenced by external challenges and threats and, on the other hand, rather than having the chance to use opportunities, it is involved in negative environmental driver, including the slow speed of development of modern irrigation systems among farmers, lack of credit, dissatisfaction of participating farmers and undesirable exploitation of the systems.

After identifying and determining the status quo of the PMISD management in the Jiroft plain, improvement strategies were developed. Based on the interaction of internal and external factors, a total of 34 strategies have been developed to improve the status quo. These strategies include 11 SO strategies, 5 ST strategies, 12 WO strategies and 6 WT strategies. These strategies include a different set of measures and have been drawn using a strategic map of their priority with information from key informants.

Conclusion

This research is an attempt to analyze the status quo of the PMISD management. The methodology used in the strategy drawing stage has outlined a specific process of progressive measures to improve the project, which can be generalized to other areas related to the modern irrigation systems development. This study has also examined the management part of the project with a strategic approach. Conducting a similar study at the national level can reveal the institutional and legal characteristics of the project in a desirable way. It is also suggested that the relevant institutions should develop an executive manual of the strategies proposed by this study in the Jiroft plain, and conduct an operational evaluation of the proposed solutions.

References

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Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 56, Issue 3
February 2026
Pages 229-249

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