Prioritization of areas suitable for rice cultivation based on the economic value of irrigation water

This study assessed the economic value of rice irrigation water in four key rice-producing provinces of Iran: Guilan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan and Fars. In this respect, the production function approach and cross-section data of 2014-2015, collected from paddy farmers in each province, were applied. In this research, two approaches were used: (i) determining the economic value of irrigation water after omitting outliers and extreme observations (first approach); (ii) determining the economic value of rice irrigation water using relevant observations that match the yield-input consumption trend equation (second approach). The results of the first and second approaches showed that Guilan province was ranked first in terms of economic value of rice irrigation water with average economic values of US$0.47 and 0.53, Mazandaran ranked second with average economic values of US$0.35 and 0.32, Khuzestan province ranked third with US$0.17 and 0.16 and Fars province ranked fourth with US$0.09 and 0.09, respectively. Therefore, it is recommended that farmers cultivate rice in the two first provinces that enjoy enough water and, also, in the two last provinces limit the scope of their cultivation because of water scarcity. This methodology can be employed in other regions to prioritize areas suitable for rice cultivation.