The Effects of Economic Pricing of Irrigation Water on Cropping Pattern in the Dehgolan Plain

Iran with an average precipitation of 260 mm in a year is one of the [1]countries with limited water resources. For this reason, pricing policy can be used to manage water demand. However appropriate pricing of irrigation water in any region must be determined based on the condition and products of the region. For this purpose, the economic value of water and its effect on cropping pattern was determined in 10 scenarios. To this end, positive mathematical programming and maximum entropy method were applied. The required data for this study were collected through completion of questionnaires by a sample of 162 farmers in Dehgolan plain for cropping year of 2012. The results showed that extraction cost per cubic meter of water was 634.3 Rials and the difference between the extractions cost per cubic meter of irrigation water and its economic value was 1878.3 Rials. It is concluded that applying water pricing policy based of its economic value could lead to reduction of water consumption and also cultivated area of all crops.