Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
1. Ph.D Student of Sistan and Blouchestan University, Researcher of Agricultural Economic, Seed and Plant Improvement Research Institute (SPII), Karaj, Iran;
2
2. Researcher of irrigation, Agricultural Engineering Research section. Agricultural Research Center of Semnan Province (Shahrood), Shahrood, Iran;
3
3. Researcher of irrigation, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Karaj, Iran
Abstract
Limited irrigation in rainfed cultivation must be investigated from economic aspects to determine the best agronomic management practices. The purposes of this study were to determine cost and benefits of rainfed wheat production under traditional and advanced managements (AM), determine the price of irrigation water with proper discount rate, and economics of substitution of treatments under different managements. Experimental treatments included two levels of agronomic managements (traditional and advanced management) with different levels of supplemental irrigation (rainfed, single irrigation (SI) at planting time, and SI at spring time). Field experiments were carried out in some typical farmers’ fields and the requiered data was collected. In this study, in order to select the best irrigation treatments, agronomic managements, and the price of irrigation water at Merek Catchment, in Kermanshah province, in the upper Karkheh river basin, Partial Budgeting (PB) technique and Engineering Economy Methods (uniform series formulas)were used during 2005-07. Results showed that the mean of production cost under traditional and advanced management was estimated at 1107.5 and 1567.5 thousand Rials per hectare, respectively. Compared to other treatments, AM-SI spring treatment was more economical. The mean of the net benefit of this treatment was estimated at 5664 thosands Rials/ha, which was more than the other treatments. Present value of uniform annual cost for capital costs was estimated at 24723.3 thousand Rials with discount rate of 7%. Based on the current costs and volume of water used i.e. 199584 m3, the price of irrigation water was estimated at 123.9 Rials/m3.
Keywords