Measurement of Virtual Water and Comparison of Virtual Water Technical Efficiency with Market Efficiency in Agricultural Sector, a Case Study of Selected Irrigated Agricultural Products in Kurdistan Province

In this study, by using the technical-economic approach of virtual water and related indicators in 13 selected agricultural crops in the province of Kurdistan has been evaluated and analyzed.Water productivity is the inverse of virtual water consumption. Alfalfa had the lowest and tomatoes had the highest water productivity in crops. Walnuts and nectarines also had the lowest and highest water productivity among garden products.Crops implicitly exchange the lowest market value for water for consumption. Among these products, alfalfa has exchanged the lowest price range of water due to its special water consumption. Among crops and horticulture, potatoes and nectarines have the highest market productivity. The results showed that horticultural products have on average 9 times the market revenue of virtual water compared to agricultural products.Analysis of the relations test between the two variables of technical water efficiency and market value of virtual water consumed at the selected products in the province shows that their relationship is negative at 95% confidence level. In other words, products with more virtual water had lower prices and market value in the market. Both the lack of market value of water consumption and the amount of virtual water consumption show that the structure of the production system and cultivation pattern is not commensurate with the weight and size of water consumption of products and is even inverse.