IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v227y2020ics037837741831984x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The value of information for the management of water resources in agriculture: Assessing the economic viability of new methods to schedule irrigation

Author

Listed:
  • Galioto, Francesco
  • Chatzinikolaou, Parthena
  • Raggi, Meri
  • Viaggi, Davide

Abstract

This study develops a methodology to assess the comparative advantages of new methods to plan irrigation with respect to prevailing existing irrigation practices. The methodology consists of a comparative cost-benefit analysis based on the Value of Information approach that makes it possible to analyse whether an improvement in the information available to farmers generates economic benefits. The method is applied to the problem of comparing computer irrigation models (providing irrigation advice based on measurements, water balance models and weather predictions) and prevailing irrigation practices (at times based on soil and plant observations, or on advanced technologies) in estimating and predicting crop water requirements, in pilot experiments located in four different European regions. The results reveal that the introduction of the alternative method improves the performance of irrigation practices in Mediterranean regions that are characterised by high weather variability and for those crops for which the consequences of failing to meet predictions are relatively low (i.e. tomato instead of maize, drip irrigated crops instead of sprinkler irrigated crops). Under favourable conditions, the use of the alternative technology generates a 0–20% increase in gross margin and a 10–30% water saving with respect to prevailing existing irrigation practices. The study concludes by addressing the conditions that justify the use of advanced information systems to schedule irrigation interventions and by offering some policy recommendations to drive their uptake. These include subsidising research at the evaluation stage and public investments aimed at knowledge creation (weather and shallow water table monitoring stations) and knowledge sharing (counselling) at the adoption stage.

Suggested Citation

  • Galioto, Francesco & Chatzinikolaou, Parthena & Raggi, Meri & Viaggi, Davide, 2020. "The value of information for the management of water resources in agriculture: Assessing the economic viability of new methods to schedule irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:227:y:2020:i:c:s037837741831984x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105848
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837741831984X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105848?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harwood, Joy L. & Heifner, Richard G. & Coble, Keith H. & Perry, Janet E. & Somwaru, Agapi, 1999. "Managing Risk in Farming: Concepts, Research, and Analysis," Agricultural Economic Reports 34081, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Qin, X.S. & Huang, G.H. & Zeng, G.M. & Chakma, A. & Huang, Y.F., 2007. "An interval-parameter fuzzy nonlinear optimization model for stream water quality management under uncertainty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(3), pages 1331-1357, August.
    3. Robert K. Lindner & Melissa Gibbs, 1990. "A Test Of Bayesian Learning From Farmer Trials Of New Wheat Varieties," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 34(1), pages 21-38, April.
    4. Margarita Genius & Phoebe Koundouri & Céline Nauges & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2014. "Information Transmission in Irrigation Technology Adoption and Diffusion: Social Learning, Extension Services, and Spatial Effects," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 328-344.
    5. Lindner, Robert K. & Gibbs, Melissa, 1990. "A Test Of Bayesian Learning From Farmer Trials Of New Wheat Varieties," Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 34(1), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Richard M. Adams & Kelly J. Bryant & Bruce A. Mccarl & David M. Legler & James O'Brien & Andrew Solow & Rodney Weiher, 1995. "Value Of Improved Long‐Range Weather Information," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 13(3), pages 10-19, July.
    7. Eduardo Nakasone & Maximo Torero, 2016. "A text message away: ICTs as a tool to improve food security," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 49-59, November.
    8. Liu, Xuanli & Nelson, Macon & Ibrahim, Mohammed, 2008. "The Value of Information in Precision Farming," 2008 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2008, Dallas, Texas 6742, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    9. Li, Dazhi & Hendricks Franssen, Harrie-Jan & Han, Xujun & Jiménez-Bello, Miguel Angel & Martínez Alzamora, Fernando & Vereecken, Harry, 2018. "Evaluation of an operational real-time irrigation scheduling scheme for drip irrigated citrus fields in Picassent, Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 465-477.
    10. S. Wang & G. Huang, 2012. "Identifying Optimal Water Resources Allocation Strategies through an Interactive Multi-Stage Stochastic Fuzzy Programming Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(7), pages 2015-2038, May.
    11. Perry, C. J. & Narayanamurthy, S. G., 1998. "Farmer response to rationed and uncertain irrigation supplies," IWMI Research Reports H022447, International Water Management Institute.
    12. Bas Groot Koerkamp & M. G. Myriam Hunink & Theo Stijnen & Milton C. Weinstein, 2006. "Identifying key parameters in cost‐effectiveness analysis using value of information: a comparison of methods," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(4), pages 383-392, April.
    13. Margriet Caswell & David Zilberman, 1985. "The Choices of Irrigation Technologies in California," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 67(2), pages 224-234.
    14. Janis M. Carey & David Zilberman, 2002. "A Model of Investment under Uncertainty: Modern Irrigation Technology and Emerging Markets in Water," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 84(1), pages 171-183.
    15. Laure Cabantous, 2007. "Ambiguity Aversion in the Field of Insurance: Insurers’ Attitude to Imprecise and Conflicting Probability Estimates," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 219-240, May.
    16. Jenny C. Aker & Ishita Ghosh & Jenna Burrell, 2016. "The promise (and pitfalls) of ICT for agriculture initiatives," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 35-48, November.
    17. Corbari, Chiara & Salerno, Raffaele & Ceppi, Alessandro & Telesca, Vito & Mancini, Marco, 2019. "Smart irrigation forecast using satellite LANDSAT data and meteo-hydrological modeling," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 283-294.
    18. Perry, Christopher J. & Narayanamurthy, S.G., 1998. "Farmer response to rationed and uncertain irrigation supplies," IWMI Research Reports 44582, International Water Management Institute.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Luo, Wanqi & Chen, Mengting & Kang, Yinhong & Li, Wenping & Li, Dan & Cui, Yuanlai & Khan, Shahbaz & Luo, Yufeng, 2022. "Analysis of crop water requirements and irrigation demands for rice: Implications for increasing effective rainfall," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    2. Zhang, Xueliang & Ding, Beibei & Hou, Yonghao & Feng, Puyu & Liu, De Li & Srinivasan, Raghavan & Chen, Yong, 2024. "Assessing the feasibility of sprinkler irrigation schemes and their adaptation to future climate change in groundwater over-exploitation regions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    3. Francesco Cavazza & Francesco Galioto & Meri Raggi & Davide Viaggi, 2020. "Digital Irrigated Agriculture: Towards a Framework for Comprehensive Analysis of Decision Processes under Uncertainty," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Castillo, Gracia Maria Lanza & Engler, Alejandra & Wollni, Meike, 2021. "Planned behavior and social capital: Understanding farmers’ behavior toward pressurized irrigation technologies," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    5. Galioto, Francesco & Battilani, Adriano, 2021. "Agro-economic simulation for day by day irrigation scheduling optimisation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    6. Rossi, Fabiana Ribeiro & Filho, Hildo Meirelles de Souza & Miranda, Bruno Varella & Carrer, Marcelo José, 2020. "The role of contracts in the adoption of irrigation by Brazilian orange growers," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    7. Diana Martínez-Arteaga & Nolver Atanacio Arias Arias & Aquiles E. Darghan & Dursun Barrios, 2023. "Identification of Influential Factors in the Adoption of Irrigation Technologies through Neural Network Analysis: A Case Study with Oil Palm Growers," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-13, April.
    8. Hassan, Wasim & Manzoor, Talha & Jaleel, Hassan & Muhammad, Abubakr, 2021. "Demand-based water allocation in irrigation systems using mechanism design: A case study from Pakistan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Galioto, F., 2018. "The value of information for the management of water resources in agriculture: comparing the economic impact of alternative sources of information to schedule irrigation," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277384, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Nadia A. Streletskaya & Samuel D. Bell & Maik Kecinski & Tongzhe Li & Simanti Banerjee & Leah H. Palm‐Forster & David Pannell, 2020. "Agricultural Adoption and Behavioral Economics: Bridging the Gap," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 54-66, March.
    3. Jean‐Paul Chavas & Céline Nauges, 2020. "Uncertainty, Learning, and Technology Adoption in Agriculture," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 42-53, March.
    4. Gautam, Tej K. & Bhatta, Dependra, 2017. "Determinants Of Irrigation Technology Adoptions And Production Efficiency In Nepal’S Agricultural Sector," 2017 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2017, Mobile, Alabama 252856, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    5. Wang, S. & Huang, G.H., 2014. "An integrated approach for water resources decision making under interactive and compound uncertainties," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 32-40.
    6. Yegbemey, Rosaine N. & Bensch, Gunther & Vance, Colin, 2023. "Weather information and agricultural outcomes: Evidence from a pilot field experiment in Benin," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    7. de Fraiture, Charlotte & Perry, C. J., 2007. "Why is agricultural water demand unresponsive at low price ranges?," IWMI Books, Reports H040602, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Trivedi, Kairav & Singh, O. P., 2008. "Impact of quality and reliability of irrigation on field and farm level water productivity of crops," Conference Papers h041877, International Water Management Institute.
    9. Linda Steinhübel & Johannes Wegmann & Oliver Mußhoff, 2020. "Digging deep and running dry—the adoption of borewell technology in the face of climate change and urbanization," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(5), pages 685-706, September.
    10. Trivedi, Kairav & Singh, O. P., 2008. "Impact of quality and reliability of irrigation on field and farm level water productivity of crops," IWMI Conference Proceedings 245275, International Water Management Institute.
    11. Kumar, M. Dinesh & Trivedi, K. & Singh, O. P., 2009. "Analyzing the impact of quality and reliability of irrigation water on crop water productivity using an irrigation quality index," IWMI Books, Reports H042636, International Water Management Institute.
    12. Gabriel S. Sampson & Edward D. Perry, 2019. "Peer effects in the diffusion of water‐saving agricultural technologies," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(6), pages 693-706, November.
    13. Kamiche Zegarra, J. & Bravo-Ureta, B., 2018. "Are users of market information efficient? A stochastic production frontier model corrected by sample selection," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 275870, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Llewellyn, Rick S. & Lindner, Robert K. & Pannell, David J. & Powles, Stephen B., 2003. "Effective information and the influence of an extension event on perceptions and adoption," 2003 Conference (47th), February 12-14, 2003, Fremantle, Australia 57911, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    15. Marra, Michele & Pannell, David J. & Abadi Ghadim, Amir, 2003. "The economics of risk, uncertainty and learning in the adoption of new agricultural technologies: where are we on the learning curve?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 75(2-3), pages 215-234.
    16. Kumar, M. Dinesh & van Dam, J. C., 2009. "Improving water productivity in agriculture in India: beyond \u2018more crop per drop\u2019," IWMI Books, Reports H042639, International Water Management Institute.
    17. Abadi Ghadim, Amir K. & Pannell, David J., 1999. "A conceptual framework of adoption of an agricultural innovation," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 145-154, October.
    18. Wu, Haixia & Ge, Yan & Li, Jianping, 2023. "Uncertainty, time preference and households’ adoption of rooftop photovoltaic technology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    19. Li, Haoyang & Zhao, Jinhua, 2018. "What Drives (No) Adoption of New Irrigation Technologies: A Structural Dynamic Estimation Approach," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274474, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Schaible, Glenn D. & Aillery, Marcel P., 2012. "Water Conservation in Irrigated Agriculture: Trends and Challenges in the Face of Emerging Demands," Economic Information Bulletin 134692, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:227:y:2020:i:c:s037837741831984x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.