Knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations of farmers in Abu Dhabi and Western Australia on groundwater management: A comparison study

• Author: Jeff Camkin,Yusri Alyaarbi,Susana Neto,Peter Wegener
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/wwp2.12012
• Published date: 01 November 2019
• Date: 01 November 2019

World Water Policy. 2019;5:161–178. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/wwp2

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© 2019 Policy Studies Organization.

Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

DOI: 10.1002/wwp2.12012

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations of

farmers in Abu Dhabi and Western Australia on

groundwater management: A comparison study

YusriAlyaarbi1

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JeffCamkin1,2

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SusanaNeto1,2,3

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PeterWegener1

1International WaterCentre,Griffith

University, Griffith, Australia

2UWA Institute of Agriculture,University

of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

3CERIS,University of Lisbon, Lisbon,

Portugal

Correspondence

Yusri Alyaarbi, International WaterCentre,

Griffith University, Griffith, Australia.

Email: yusri.alyaarbi@griffithuni.edu.au

Abstract

In Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, groundwater is

the only natural freshwater resource. This resource is under

great stress due to high extraction rates, low precipitation/re-

charge rates, and increasing levels of salinity. This is compa-

rable with groundwater issues in Western Australia, which

also faces water challenges. Just like Western Australia, Abu

Dhabi is heavily dependent on groundwater to support agri-

cultural irrigation, which uses nearly 70% of the groundwater

extracted. Unlike Western Australia, however, agriculture in

Abu Dhabi relies heavily on governmental subsidies, despite

its negligible contribution to the economy. This study aimed

to fill the gap in understanding about Abu Dhabi farmers’,

and Western Australian farmers’, knowledge, attitudes,

skills, and aspirations concerning groundwater manage-

ment. A comparison of the findings related to these factors

among both populations was used to develop ideas for future

groundwater awareness programs targeting Abu Dhabi farm-

ers. The theoretical framework of this research was based

on the fifth step of Bennett's Hierarchy model, which is a

popular method for measuring the effectiveness of extension

programs. Twelve Abu Dhabi farmers were interviewed re-

garding groundwater management in Abu Dhabi. The inter-

view transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis, and

the findings were compared to Western Australian farmers’

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INTRODUCTION

The excessive extraction of groundwater for irrigation is depleting aquifers in important agricultural

regions around the world (Dalin, Wada, Kastner, & Puma, 2017; Richey et al., 2015). Half the water

used for irrigation worldwide is groundwater, and more than two billion people depend on groundwater

knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations concerning sus-

tainable agricultural practices, which were synthesized from

relevant literature. The study revealed that the interviewed

Abu Dhabi farmers realized the importance of agriculture

and groundwater. However, they viewed agriculture more

as a hobby than a source of income and had cultural and so-

cial ties to farming. They also possessed limited knowledge

regarding agriculture's environmental impacts. A trust or

communication problem between the farmers and the Abu

Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, the govern-

mental authority in charge of irrigation and agricultural ex-

tension, was also identified. Abu Dhabi farmers chose basic

measures to preserve groundwater, and most were unwill-

ing to adopt additional practices. Western Australian farm-

ers, on the other hand, possessed more detailed knowledge

about agriculture's environmental impacts and were willing

to adopt sustainable practices so long as they did not affect

their income. The following recommendations are made for

extension programs targeting Abu Dhabi farmers: Focus on

developing a shared vision regarding groundwater conserva-

tion; include a farm laborers’ extension program; foster trust

between extension agents and farmers; use demonstration

farms for new technologies; and link governmental farm-

ers’ subsidies to the adoption of water efficiency. This study

calls for future research on the objectives of the Abu Dhabi

Agriculture and Food Safety Authority's water conservation

extension programs, as well as on the effect of demographic

factors on Abu Dhabi farmers’ knowledge, attitudes, skills,

and aspirations.

KEYWORDS

Abu Dhabi, agrarian groundwater, agricultural extension, agriculture,

groundwater conservation, Integrated Water Resource Management