Abstract
Questionnaires were sent to the farmers in two districts where farmland consolidations have been carried out, and accordingly irrigation is done through open channels entirely separate from drainage channels. The results are chiefly as follows:
(1) Many of the farmers are not satisfied with conventional systems of irrigation through open channels.
(2) The main reason for their dissatisfaction is that their demands for irrigation often clash with those of others in terms of access timing.
(3) As a result, they would like a new innovated irrigation system.
Questionnaires were also sent to the farmers in three other districts where irrigation is done using a new system consisting of a regulating pond and pipelines. The questionnaires showed the following contrasting results:
(1) Irrigation is readily available when it is required.
(2) Time required for water management has been significantly reduced.
(3) Therefore, many of the farmers have evaluated this irrigation system very highly.
(4) As for the capacity of the regulating pond, while three times the volume of water normally required per hour is a little too samll, six times that volume is sufficient for uninterrupted and readily available irrigation.
(5) Through this system, water can be used not merely for irrigation, but also for other purposes, such as melting snow on roads.
