INCORPORATING ECONOMIC-ANALYSIS IN IRRIGATION DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT

Traditional principles for the design, operation, and evaluation of ir rigation systems do not adequately incorporate the scarcity value of w ater. This paper presents an operational framework that attempts to in tegrate economic concepts into irrigation design and management. By me ans of a simple spatial optimization model, conditions are derived for optimal water allocation at each location in the system. Principles f or optimal investment in distribution canals and in water conservation technology on the farm are obtained. Irrigated area and aggregate wat er use are determined. The potential economic benefit of the proposed model is demonstrated through an illustrative example.