Agricultural Economics
F. Razzaghi Borkhani; T. Azizi Khalkheili; A.A. Barati
Abstract
IntroductionThe shortage of freshwater resources is one of the primary crises the world faces, despite the constant availability of renewable water sources. As a result, the rising risks associated with water scarcity are a critical concern. The water crisis reduces crops production and negatively affects ...
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IntroductionThe shortage of freshwater resources is one of the primary crises the world faces, despite the constant availability of renewable water sources. As a result, the rising risks associated with water scarcity are a critical concern. The water crisis reduces crops production and negatively affects food security. Due to the increase in demand for food, agriculture section is under more pressure because of both water crisis and more demand for food. Agricultural sector has been also facing with water shortage due to climate changes caused by the more global warming and low precipitation. Water crisis and climate changes leading to a decrease in the crops production. Now, agriculture and livelihood of villagers has become unstable more than any time. Considering the importance of irrigated farming in Mazandaran province in the country's food security, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the most important variables that affecting water security in Mazandaran province. Materials and MethodsThe statistical population of the research included 16 subject experts with research or executive experience in the fields related to water studies, water security and climate change. The selection of them was done in a purposeful way. The data collection tool was a researcher made questionnaire and the data collection method was face-to-face interview. At first, to identify the variables involved in water security a subject literature review and several semi-structured interviews with subject experts were conducted. Then, the experts were asked to evaluate the cross-effects of the identified variables through pairwise comparisons and in the form of the MICMAC questionnaire. Finally, the data were analysis using MICMAC software. Results and DiscussionAccording to the results, among the studied variables, "knowledge and environmental literacy of villagers" and "reduction of precipitation due to climate change" (input variables) are two important key variables that directly and indirectly affect water security and therefore should be considered. The variables "best management of appropriate farm operations", "volume and diversity of water resources" and "good management and governance of agricultural water" are intermediate variables, with high impact and high dependence. Based on the direct influence network intensity of the key variables involved in water security, variables such as “best management of suitable farm operations”, “good management and governance of agricultural water”, “the degree of resilience of farmers to adapt to climate change” play a central and sensitive role. Based on the indirect relationships, “best management of appropriate farm operations”, “the degree of resilience of farmers to adapt to climate change”, “risk management of ecological hazards and climate change” have the greatest indirect effect on other variables and should be considered by policy makers and planners in this field. ConclusionWater crisis is a major challenge for agricultural activities and consequently for food security. Considering the vital role that Mazandaran province plays in the agricultural products production and as a result food security, the present study examined the most important variables affecting food security. The findings of this study showed that "good management and governance of agricultural water" has the most direct impact on water crisis management. Good water governance can be taken into consideration with the relative strengthening and synergistic participation of public and private sectors and non-governmental organizations in line with the planning and implementation of food security policy with the water-energy-food nexus approach. The role of increasing the environmental knowledge and literacy of villagers by providing effective educational-promotional services such as farm filed school is very important on the farmer's resilience and adaptability. On the other hand, variables such as good water management and governance, development of new irrigation systems and technologies, zoning of agricultural lands and the explanation of the appropriate cultivation pattern for each zone (such as planting crops with low water demand and high added value include medicinal plants) are undeniable impact on the livelihood resilience of the farmer's family and adaptation to climate change conditions. Diversify the livelihood resources of farming households with the participation of household women, promoting climate-oriented businesses that are compatible with climate changes (such as agricultural tourism and handicrafts), using drought-resistant species, changing the date of cultivation, developing greenhouse cultivation, medicinal plants and modernization of irrigation, change of history and cultivation pattern play important roles on the resilience of farmers to adapt climate change.
Agricultural Economics
J. Hosseinzad; M. Raei Jadidi
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the problem of water scarcity is becoming one of the most challenging issues with the economic development and population growth that have involved many sectors due to its importance and economic status and has received increasing attention from governments and international ...
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Introduction: In recent years, the problem of water scarcity is becoming one of the most challenging issues with the economic development and population growth that have involved many sectors due to its importance and economic status and has received increasing attention from governments and international research organizations. This emphasizes the need for optimal allocation of mentioned resources to balance socio-economic development and save water. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop an uncertainty-based framework for agricultural water resources allocation and calculate the amount of water shortage after allocation and also risk evaluation of agricultural water shortage. The developed framework will be applied to a real case study in the Marand basin, northwest of Iran. Perception of the amount and severity of risk on the system can be a good guide in the optimal allocation of resources and reduction of damage.Materials and Methods: Since various uncertainties exist in the interactions among many system components, optimal allocation of agricultural irrigation water resources in real field conditions is more challenging. Therefore, introduction of uncertainty into traditional optimization methods is an effective way to reflect the complexity and reality of an agricultural water resources allocation system. Among different methods, inexact two-stage stochastic programming (ITSP) has proved to be an effective technique for dealing with uncertain coefficients in water resources management problems. ITSP is incapable of reflecting random uncertainties that coexist in the objective function and constraints. Considering the risk of violating uncertain constraints and the stochastic uncertainty of agricultural irrigation water availability on the right hand side of constraints and uncertainties related to economic data such as the revenue and penalty in the objective function which are expressed as probability distributions, the CCP method and Kataoka’s criterion are introduced into the ITSP model, thus forming the uncertainty-based interactive two-stage stochastic programming (UITSP) model for supporting water resources management. A set of decision alternatives with different combinations of risk levels applied to the objective function and constraints can be generated for planning the water resources allocation system. In the next step, on the basis of results of UITSP agricultural irrigation water shortage risk evaluation can be conducted by using risk assessment indicators (reliability, resiliency, vulnerability, risk degree and consistency) and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method.Results and Discussion: A series of water allocation results under different flow levels and different combinations of risk levels were obtained and analyzed in detail through optimally allocating limited water resources to different irrigation areas of Marand basin. The results can help decision makers examine potential interactions between risks related to the stochastic objective function and constraints. Furthermore, a number of solutions can be obtained under different water policy scenarios, which are useful for decision makers to formulate an appropriate policy under uncertainty.The results show that the dry season, i.e., July, August and September are the peak periods of water allocation and demand in Marand basin, which in these months, despite the higher water demand, the amount of water allocation in the current situation is less, which leads to more water shortages in these months. However, the results show that by increasing the efficiency of irrigation and water allocation using the developed framework, the amount of agricultural water allocation and demand is almost balanced and in addition to reducing water shortages, it leads to control over extraction from wells. Also, the goals of the regional water organization, which is reducing the amount of water allocated in the agricultural sector, will be achieved. Comparison with actual conditions shows that the allocation of water resources using the developed framework reduces water shortages while allocation becomes more efficient. Furthermore, the net system benefits per unit water increase which will demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the developed framework. Results of evaluation of agricultural irrigation water shortage risks indicate that the water shortage risks in the Marand basin are in the category of serious or critical risk level. Therefore, if the current trend of allocation and exploitation of water resources continues, with the population growth, climate change, increasing demand for agricultural products and changing the probability of available water in the future, the water shortage risk would increase to the unbearable risk level. The continuation of this process threatens all investments and economic foundations of this study area. Therefore, the risk of water shortage in the future should be managed by improving the water-saving technologies and also changing the cultivation pattern to drought resistant crops.Conclusion: In this study, an uncertainty-based framework for agricultural water resources allocation and risk evaluation was developed, including model optimization of agricultural water and risk evaluation of water shortage. The developed framework is capable of fully reflecting multiple uncertainties. The developed framework will be helpful for managers in gaining insights into the tradeoffs between system benefits and related risks, permitting an in-depth analysis of risks of agricultural irrigation water shortage under various scenarios. The assessment of agricultural water shortage risk based on the results of the optimization model helps decision makers to obtain in-depth analysis of agricultural irrigation water shortage risk under various scenarios. In application of the developed framework to Marand basin, series of results of agricultural water resources allocation expressed as intervals, and agricultural water shortage risk evaluation levels under different flow levels and also different combinations of risk levels are generated. Comparison between optimal results and actual conditions of agricultural irrigation water allocation demonstrates the feasibility and applicability of the developed framework. Results of evaluation of agricultural irrigation water shortage risks indicate that the water shortage risks in the Marand basin are in the category of serious or critical risk level. Therefore, effective risk management measures should be taken first for different irrigation areas of Marand basin.
A.R. Nikooie; M. Zibaei
Abstract
Irrigated agriculture is an important contributor to the expansion of national food supplies and is expected to play a major role in food security of developing countries. Such countries face water crisis for securing the food staples. Well designed water resource policies potentially can improve the ...
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Irrigated agriculture is an important contributor to the expansion of national food supplies and is expected to play a major role in food security of developing countries. Such countries face water crisis for securing the food staples. Well designed water resource policies potentially can improve the water allocation and use efficiency as well as the food security objectives. This paper presents an hyrdro-economic model implemented through the development of an integrated basin framework for sustaining water resources uses and addressing the food security goals. The objective is to maximize the discounted net present value of the sum of both use and environmental economic benefits over a 10 year time horizon, subject to the basin’s hydrological, agronomic, institutional, and economic structure. Using this approach, optimal water allocations and uses is examined in Zayandeh-Rud River Basin of central Iran. This policy is evaluated against a background of two alternative hydrologic supply scenarios. Three important data sources including survey data, incidental studies, reports, and selected expert knowledge were used to assign all needed data for the model. Results reveal that this program not only increases basin's irrigation efficiency, but also improves the food security through increasing proportional sharing of downstream irrigated districts in the food staple productions under reduced water supply. The study approach and the results contributes to realize effective policies toward sustainable management of water resources under water scarcity circumstances. We conclude that river basin analysis within an integrated framework would considerably enhance the effectiveness of sustainable water resource management as well as provide food security for current and future generations.
T. Kanani; M. Sabouhi
Abstract
AbstractThe existence of various perceptions related to the efficiency of water use in agricultural sector can hamper the development of appropriate water resource conservation policies. Particularly, when there has been an emphasis on increasing water use efficiency by improvement in irrigation systems. ...
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AbstractThe existence of various perceptions related to the efficiency of water use in agricultural sector can hamper the development of appropriate water resource conservation policies. Particularly, when there has been an emphasis on increasing water use efficiency by improvement in irrigation systems. The main purpose of current study is to estimate excess water use for a sample of 15 farms by simple stochastic sampling, located in southern Khorasan province during 2000-2006 by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Results showed that, there is a very weak association between irrigation systems and the level of excess water use. Management had an effective role in water use efficiency. There was a positive and negative relationship between age, size of farms and excess water use, respectively. Also differences in the amount of excess water use between farms located in two different locations (eastern and southern) were also shown. According to findings, the efficient farmers can be considering as a measure for improving water use efficiency in the area under study.