Assessment of irrigation water security measures: The case of the Genil-Cabra Irrigation Community

Adoption success of measures aimed at improving irrigation water supply reliability, both from the supply and demand side, depends on their acceptance by irrigators, being the evaluation prior to their implementation very useful for decision-making. In this context, this work aims to assess the effects of one of the most widely used measures in supply management, such as the increase in storage and regulation capacity, on the irrigators' profits. It also aims to identify the farmers and farms characteristics that influence the heterogeneity of preferences, and their effect on the temporal evolution of valuation. For these purposes, the contingent valuation methodology has been used in the Genil-Cabra irrigation community (Cordoba, Spain). Results show that farmers are willing to pay on average 23 (sic)/ha year to secure water supply, which would not cover the costs of the measure for increasing storage (38 (sic)/ha year). The net annual income and the area of each type of crop, conditional on the possibility of being grown rainfed, influenced the individual preference of irrigators. These results, together with the spatial distribution of the individual assessments made, should help the irrigation community management and the Water Authority to make informed decisions on measures to secure irrigation water supply.