IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN THE USSR DURING THE 10TH FIVE-YEAR PLAN (1976–1980)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Irrigation development in the 10th Five-Year Plan is a continuation of long-term Soviet efforts to improve agriculture in arid regions by supplementation of natural moisture supplies. Major emphasis is on expanding irrigation in Central Asia, the Ukraine, the North Caucasus and along the lower Volga. Serious problems continue to plague this economic sector: organizational inadequacies, an inefficient technology, and widespread secondary soil salinization. Serious efforts are being made to alleviate these difficulties in the 10th Five-Year Plan. The most critical future obstacle to expansion of irrigation may be a shortage of surface flow, necessitating more efficient irrigation practices, greater use of ground water, and ultimately large-scale interbasin river diversions.