Investigation of technical and economic efficiency of smartening agricultural wells in Qorveh and Dehgolan counties of Kurdistan province

Given that one of the main and limiting factors of agricultural development is water input, identifying methods of water resources management and formulating the right policies in this sector is inevitable. This study investigated the smart making of agricultural wells and its role for saving water consumption in Dehgolan and Ghorve counties of Kurdistan province. The data set was collected by completing questionnaires in 2017-18. According to the objectives of the study, various indicators of efficiency (technical, allocative and economic) and total and partial productivity of farmers' production factors have been studied. The results showed that only 23.8% and 11.4% of the smart and non-smart groups have the technical efficiency. The results of allocation and economic efficiency are 3.1% and 2.9% of the smart and non-smart groups, respectively. The most of the farmers have not an inappropriate production scale. The results showed that on average, there is no significant difference between total factor productivity in the two groups. If the smart making is emphasized on goals of saving water resources, it is necessary to consider its impact on the productivity of production inputs and the reduction of other costs except water input or on product sales (for example, the prioritization of guaranteed purchase of these products). Or, by actualizing water price for farmers outside the smart making, it is necessary that they pay tax for extra use of the water resources. According to the results, amount of water consumption per hectare for farmers with smart wells compared with other farmers decreased 12.48 percent but in long term because of this fact that not only smart wells have not suitable benefit but also have losses in farmers' activity, this water saving according to the moral hazard can't be guaranteed.