Rational Pricing of Water as an Instrument of Improving Water Use Efficiency in the Agricultural Sector: A Case Study in Gujarat,India

The agricultural sector in India accounts for over 85% of the total water used for various purposes in the country. However, the efficiency of water use in agriculture is very low, approximately 40% for surface irrigation and 60% for groundwater irrigation. Part of the reason for the low efficiency is the highly subsidized price of irrigation water that encourages the excessive application of water to crops. This paper is based on a case study conducted in the command area of a public irrigation canal in the state of Gujarat, India. It attempts to explore the role of the rational pricing of canal irrigation water in motivating farmers to use water judiciously and thereby enhance the water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture. The paper contends that farmers are sensitive to an increase in irrigation water charges, but unless the administered price is increased to the level that would prevail in a free market, it will not have its intended effect on irrigators.     

Fundamentals Determining Prices and Activities in the Market for Water Allocations

This paper analyses prices paid and volumes traded in the market for water allocations to provide insight into which factors drive activities in that market. While factors such as commodity prices, supply and demand as well as macroeconomic indicators have had an influence on price and volume traded, the main determinants during the study period have been the level of seasonal allocation, rainfall and evaporation. During this period of relative water scarcity, irrigators with water-dependent capital assets such as dairy and horticultural farmers have been willing to pay increasing water prices relative to commodity prices in order to protect these long-term investments and stay in business.     

Conserving One Water Source at the Expense of Another: The Role of Surface Water Price in Adoption of Wells in a Conjunctive Use System

One potential side-effect of irrigation water rate reform is groundwater substitution. As surface water prices rise, irrigators may find it cheaper to rely on on-farm wells than a regional irrigation district. The impact of surface water price on well adoption is examined in a conjunctive use system where both surface water and groundwater are used to meet irrigator demand. Results indicate that as the price of surface water approaches 62% of the marginal cost of pumping groundwater, irrigators are more likely to have on-farm pumping capabilities. This result suggests that proposed water rate reforms by the United States Bureau of Reclamation may result in irrigators substituting groundwater for surface water by adopting on-farm wells.     

Can Irrigation Water Use Be Guided by Market Forces? Theory and Practice

This paper provides insight into the relevance of market forces to typical problems found in irrigated agriculture. It first considers the theoretical basis for the use of economic instruments, such as volumetric water charges and tradable water rights, then considers their usefulness in the context of five case studies of irrigated areas, in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Morocco and Ukraine. The case studies confirm that competition for scarce water and shortage of funds are widespread. To assess the suitability of economic instruments to achieve water management objectives, insight is provided into the current price paid for irrigation water, the cost of service provision and the value to irrigators. It becomes clear that there is a big gap between the price and value of irrigation water. This means that a considerable increase in the price of water is needed to balance supply and demand, which would reduce farm economic welfare substantially. This socio-political problem, plus the technical and administrative complexity of measuring water, make water pricing an unsuitable approach to balance supply and demand.     

Water demand related to availability and price in an irrigation district in the Segura Basin

A methodology is presented to determine the demand of water to alternative sources, given the benefit functions of irrigation water in each unit of demand, and assuming that farmers will buy water if the price is less than the marginal benefit. In the study area, the benefits of farmers are estimated based on the availability of conventional water resources, the water allocation made and the sale price of desalinated water. If the price of desalinated water is €0.43/m³ and water is allocated optimally in the irrigation units, the demand for water would increase to cover up to 69% of the water needs in the entire irrigated areas. The highest associated benefits would be attained with the lowest water prices and the lowest initial availability of water.     

The Economic Impact of Water Evaporation Losses from Water Reservoirs in the Segura Basin,SE Spain

In this paper we assess the economic impact of evaporation losses from great dams (GDs) and on-farm agricultural water reservoirs (AWRs) in the semi-arid Segura River basin, SE Spain. Evaporation losses from water reservoirs reduce the high water use efficiency reached in agriculture by means of other techniques such as well-built water pipes or drip irrigation and have a substantial economic impact. Evaporation losses have been calculated using Class-A pan evaporation data and pan coefficients, whereas their economic impact has been assessed using an economic mathematical programming model that simulates land and water allocation in the different irrigated areas of the basin. Our results show that annual evaporation from GDs and AWRs represents 8.7% of the water currently available for irrigation in the Segura basin. The economic impact of such losses has been estimated in a reduction of 6.3% of the value of agricultural production and 5.4% of the farm net margin. As less water is effectively available for farmers the basin’s irrigated area is reduced in a 7.5%. This impact is greater, in both absolute and relative terms, in the areas accommodating the most intensive and profitable irrigated agriculture. The applied methodology and results could be useful to regional water agencies and collective irrigation schemes for future planning and management, including the assessment of alternatives for reducing evaporation from reservoirs.     

宁夏河套灌区可持续发展的水价调整方案

通过对宁夏河套灌区供水成本价格的分析和测算 ,研究不同电价对灌区供水成本价格的影响和现行水价政策等 ;根据灌区农户收支结构的调查与分析 ,探讨水价变化对农户收支结构的影响 ,研究并给出灌区农户可承受的供水价格水平 ;提出基于灌区可持续发展的水价调整方案 .     

Fundamentals Determining Prices in the Market for Water Entitlements: An Australian Case Study

Prices paid in the market for water entitlements within the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District in Australia have increased by 15% p.a. over the 10-year period from 1993 to 2003. This is less than half the increase that has taken place in the market for water allocations during the same period. Regression analyses show very few relationships between commodity prices and prices of water entitlements, with only wine grape prices having a significant positive influence on price. Correlation analyses show strong negative correlations between commodity prices and the price of water entitlements, especially with dairy products, which is the main high value industry within the district. The major factors influencing the price of water entitlements are: the price of water in the allocation market, the level of seasonal allocation, vine grape prices and interest rates. There is some evidence to suggest that high value producers have been willing to pay increasing prices as supply has declined in order to protect their long-term investments in permanent plantings and other capital investments such as dairy equipment and cattle. The negative correlation with dairy prices indicates that dairy farmers have had to accepted to pay higher prices despite a relative fall in commodity prices; the increase in the price of water has therefore come out of irrigators' profit margins and not out of increased income.     

What is Public Participation in Water Resources Management and Why is it Important?

Abstract:

Australia has undergone comprehensive water policy reforms since the mid‐1990s. These reforms have imposed considerable uncertainties with respect to future supply and passed the risk management burden from water authorities to irrigators. There is, therefore, an increased need for risk management tools to assist irrigators in managing this increased uncertainty. Water markets are seen as important tools for managing this uncertainty and in assisting irrigation communities in the necessary adjustment process. Australia, therefore, provides an excellent case study in the extent to which irrigators have used markets as a risk management tool. It is concluded that allocation markets have been used by irrigators to manage uncertainty and risk within and between seasons while entitlement markets have been used to adjust irrigators’ risk position in the long term, resulting in subsequent use of the allocation market to manage this new risk position. However, there is clear evidence that the substantial uncertainty with respect to future supply has made irrigators reluctant to use the entitlement market and has therefore seen them rely heavily on the allocation market to manage their existing risk position. Also, existing water trading arrangements are impeding new investments in high value, efficient production systems. To address these two issues and to remove these impediments a new National Water Initiative is presently being implemented.     

甘肃河西走廊及沿黄灌区农业节水现状分析

河西走廊及沿黄灌区的农业节水灌溉技术,如喷灌、滴灌等已基本成熟,但受现行农业生产体制、农民文化素养、作物种植结构、水价及农产品市场等非技术因素的影响,这些技术的节水潜力难以充分发挥。分析了该区当前工程节水、农艺节水、管理节水现状,提出了保障农业节水发展的对策:提高农业集约化程度,深化水权制度改革,建立节水补偿机制,理顺投资渠道等。     

Determinants of willingness to pay for groundwater: insights from informal water markets in Rafsanjan,Iran

This study highlights the methodological challenges in determining the value of water in informal water markets. As the decision to participate in water markets is unlikely to be random, self-selectivity is an important issue for an unbiased estimation of the participating farmers’ revealed willingness to pay. The relevance of these issues is illustrated for an informal irrigation water market in Iran. A two-stage random sampling was carried out in pistachio-growing farms which are irrigated by water from the Rafsanjan aquifer in Iran during 2008–2009. A Heckman sample selection model shows that the real willingness to pay can be less than the observed prices in an informal water market.     

Causes and Consequences of Unutilised Irrigation Orders in the Central River Murray Area

Regulation of river systems has led to the development of irrigated agriculture and other uses of this engineered additional water supply. One of the main environmental drawbacks from regulation of river systems has been a shift in the seasonality of flow of these rivers. One such river is the River Murray, Australia. A common concern for the River Murray is a decreased incidence of winter and spring flooding of floodplains. A lesser known problem is the increased incidence of unseasonal flooding of the Barmah-Millewa Forest (B-MF) around the Barmah Choke on the River Murray. These flood events have often been said to be created by ‘rain rejection events’. Rain rejection events are the rejection of advanced irrigation orders by irrigators due to rainfall on their properties meaning this previously requested water goes unutilised. This paper investigates the causes of unutilised irrigation orders (UIO) and takes a holistic view to investigate the variables affecting unseasonal flooding of the B-MF. It is concluded from this research that unseasonal flooding of the B-MF can be linked to UIO but there are other more significant factors; inflow from Ovens River particularly during December, River Murray flow at Albury and the available airspace in the River Murray at Tocumwal. UIO were found to be linked to the previous day’s UIO, rainfall and the advanced order volume placed four days prior.     

Irrigation Performance Assessment in Crimea,Ukraine

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the performance of irrigated agriculture decreased drastically in Ukraine, due to problems related to the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. Before formulating recommendations on required actions to modify this problematic situation, insight is needed about (i) whether irrigated agriculture is profitable under a market economy; (ii) to what extent the irrigation costs can be recovered from the farmers; and (iii) where irrigation costs can be reduced. Therefore, an economic performance assessment of irrigated agriculture is performed for the North Crimea Canal (NCC) irrigation system in Crimea, Ukraine on the basis of a number of indicators. A spatial analysis is required, because in the remote parts of NCC water has to be lifted several times before it reaches the field and costs of water delivery consequently vary. Analysing irrigation performance in a spatial environment is an extension of existing work. The analysis shows that (i) irrigated agriculture is profitable under a market economy although costs vary considerably (due to water lifting and irrigation technology used); (ii) the irrigation costs can be recovered by farmers; and (iii) can be reduced substantially at distribution and farm level.     

NeStRes – Model for Operation of Non-Strategic Reservoirs for Irrigation in Drylands: Model Description and Application to a Semiarid Basin

Water availability in dry inhabited environments has usually been promoted by large strategic reservoirs, but small non-strategic ones, built by farmers and communities, are unable to cope with long term droughts and inappropriate for human supply. Nevertheless, small reservoirs promote water spatial distribution and play a major role for livelihood in rural areas. To fill the gap of operation methods for non-strategic reservoirs used for irrigation where water is a limiting factor, the NeStRes model was developed. The model is composed of three modules: i) hydrological: to define the reliability of water withdrawals from the reservoir; ii) agricultural: to simulate crop production based on water availability; iii) economic: to compute the possible income from irrigated agricultural crops. NeStRes was applied to 91 reservoirs of the semiarid Banabuiú River Basin – BRB, Brazil. The simulations indicated that the maximum income from the cultivation of maize is obtained when the reservoirs are intensely used, drying completely in one to two thirds of the time. Adoption of a fixed reliability level of daily water supply (54%, in the BRB) generates at least 85% of the maximum possible income for all simulated reservoirs. This model application suggests a paradigm change in the operation of small non-strategic reservoirs in drylands: to use water for crop production and save the revenue, instead of saving water, which is susceptible to evaporation. Although high reliability level is desired for human supply by strategic reservoirs, non-strategic ones can be more intensely explored to generate income from irrigated agriculture in drylands.

     

内蒙古包头市黄河灌区工程节水量计算

采用渠道衬砌前后单位长度渗漏损失差值计算工程节水量的方法,对内蒙古包头市黄河灌区实施渠道衬砌后进行计算,灌区总节水量8 310.01万m3,其中镫口灌区节水量4 709.06万m3,民族团结灌区节水量3 600.95万m3。灌区渠系水利用系数由现状的0.58提高到0.749,农田灌溉水利用系数由现状的0.41提高到0.674。该方法旨在为全面实施用水总量控制、提高农田灌溉水有效利用系数提供借鉴。     

基于经济行为分析理论的水银行运行机制研究

水银行是调剂用水余缺、节约水交易成本、保障供水安全的一个有效工具。由于水银行运行机制方案是其发挥效益的基础，本文利用水银行的经济行为分析模型，以王圪堵水库供水区为例研究了10种模拟情境下的存水价格、贷水价格和方案特点，分析了不同方案下的水价情境。定量分析表明：对贷水市场利用边际贷水成本定价，存水价格按照农民的意愿定价，可实现贷水量越多水银行获得的总利润越高，是有利于实现存水者、贷水者及水银行三方共赢的适宜方案。     

六安市金安区农业水价综合改革实践及其成效分析

农业水价综合改革试点目标在于建立机制,采取经济措施,促进农业节水。六安市金安区作为全国农业水价综合改革试点区,提出了农业水价综合改革“七步工作法”;完善了“灌区 + 用水合作社 + 用水户”管理组织体系,培育出国家级“农民用水合作示范组织”,形成具体操作方法,其实践经验可为相关地区提供参考。     

Why Is Water Pricing Ineffective for Deficit Irrigation Schemes? A Case Study in Southern Spain

This paper explores the impact on water demand of the adoption of deficit and precision irrigation as a farmer’s attempt to respond to water scarcity by maximising water productivity. The case study is characterised by the intensive use of deficit irrigation techniques in olive groves, which account for 50% of all irrigated land in southern Spain. These technologies have an important influence on the structure of the water demand. This study reveals that following the adoption of such technologies, water demand does not respond to moderate changes in water price, unless price increases become so great that they reach a threshold price representing a disproportionate and unaffordable social impact. This fact has significant consequences for water policy as water pricing becomes an ineffective instrument for managing water demand in a context characterised by resource scarcity and farmers’ adoption of deficit irrigation techniques.     

黄河流域水价改革的思路

黄河流域水价改革应基本理顺水利工程供水价格和城市供水价格，使经营性和水利工程，城市供水进入良性循环，并初步建立起能够促进水管单位加强管理，改善经营，有利于节约用水的水价形成机制和水价管理体制。     

A water balance modelling approach to optimising the use of water resources in ephemeral sand rivers

Alluvial aquifers present a possibility for conjunctive use with surface reservoirs for the storage of water in ephemeral sand rivers such as the Mzingwane River in the Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe. The Lower Mzingwane valley is a semi‐arid region with high water stress, where livelihoods have revolved around the large rivers for thousands of years. However, current water allocation favours the commercial user: of the 2600 ha irrigated in the 5960 km² (596 000 ha) region, only 410 ha are for smallholder farmers. A water balance approach was used to model the surface water resources and groundwater resources to determine the potential for expanding irrigation and to explore water allocation options. Using a combination of field and laboratory investigations, remote sensing and existing data, the Lower Mzingwane valley was modelled successfully using the spreadsheet‐based model WAFLEX, with a new module incorporated to compute the water balance of alluvial aquifer blocks. Results showed that the Lower Mzingwane alluvial aquifers can store 38 × 10⁶ m³ of water, most of that storage being beyond the reach of evaporation. Current water usage can be more than tripled: the catchment could supply water for currently‐planned irrigation schemes (an additional 1250 ha), and the further irrigation of two strips of land along each bank of the Mzingwane River (an extra 3630 ha)—without construction of any new reservoirs. The system of irrigating strips of land along each bank of the Mzingwane River would be decentralized, farmer or family owned and operated and the benefits would have the potential to reach a much larger proportion of the population than is currently served. However, there could be substantial downstream impact, with around nearly one‐third of inflows not being released to the Limpopo River. The approach developed in this paper can be applied to evaluate the potential of alluvial aquifers, which are widespread in many parts of semi‐arid Africa, for providing distributed access to shallow groundwater in an efficient way. This can enhance local livelihoods and regional food security. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.