The Potential Benefits of Water Reallocation among Agricultural Users.

Abstract

Irrigated fields produce a large share of the world’s crops, but in many river basins agriculture faces growing competition from other water users. This paper focuses on the intensity of irrigation water use, i.e., the volume of water applied per unit of irrigated land, in the ten irrigation districts located on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande-Bravo Basin. Based on the analysis of historical production data for the districts’ main crops, results show that irrigation intensity varies widely among the districts and through time. Local environmental conditions (aridity and seasonal availability of water) explain most of this variability; however, districtlevel organizational characteristics (plot sizes and the land tenure regime) also play a role. These features of agricultural water use within the water-stressed river basin point to substantial opportunities for using water transfers to meet nonagricultural water needs (including environmental uses) without affecting overall crop production.