An optimal irrigation water allocation model
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Date
2007
Authors
Samei' Tabieh, Mohammad Abedel
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Abstract
Water shortage is a serious problem in most countries in the Middle East. In
Jordan, Irrigation water consumes about 70 percent of the available fresh water
resources.
The main objective of this study is to develop a management model for optimal
use of irrigation water in the Jordan Valley. The study presents a practical approach for
the purpose by building a linear programming optimization model for analyzing
allocation of irrigation water in quantities, qualities, timing, prices and pricing policies;
and their impact on agricultural production and income.
The optimal water demand curves as well as the derived demand curves for
planted area, agricultural labor and fertilizers according to the different water prices can
be derived from this model. Consequently, demand elasticities can also be estimated
for water and for the other constraints. Optimal cropping pattern in the Jordan Valley
and its districts are also generated from the model. The optimal water demand
schedule is obtained by the model and distributed according to the months and the
needs of the planted areas. The results shows the effectiveness of the use of pricing
mechanism as a policy tool in dealing with water in irrigated agriculture under the
current water management institution in the Jordan valley.
The optimal demand curves allow to quantitatively estimate the demand for water
at various prices and on the optimal mix of activities for every water price. Optimal
demand curves can also be obtained by the model for both districts and for entire
region. They appear to be agreement with estimates of elasticity of water demand as
well as reflect actual water usage at suggested prices reasonably closely.
The results show that the optimal planted area in the Jordan Valley is about 211
thousand dunum which is about 69 percent of the total available area in the Jordan
Valley. The limited quantity of irrigation water covers only 82 percent of the total area in
the Jordan Valley. The optimal cropping pattern would generate 37.97 Million
Jordanian Dinar (JD) at the prevailing water price of 0.025 JD/CM. A reduction in the
total net income occurs when the prices of water increased. The price elasticity of
water demand is – 0.04 in the Jordan Valley at the prevailing water price of 0.025
JD/CM. The current schedule of irrigation water shows that some months have an
excess of water while others have a shortage.
The water price of 0.70 JD/CM represents the break-even price for vegetables
while most of the crops experience losses. At the prevailing water price of 0.025
JD/CM, the profitability of one dunum is 180.1 JD, and of one cubic meter is 0.177 JD.
It has been recommended that the current price of water be increased from 0.025
JD/CM to 0.05 JD/CM, in order to reduce irrigation water consumption without affecting
the planted area or the agricultural labor or the agricultural fertilizers and to keep gross
margin stable.
Description
PhD
Keywords
Economic , optimal irrigation , water allocation model , management , pricing policy