Assessment of Agricultural Water Productivity (WP) in Iran, and the Performance of Water Policies and Plans of the Government in this Regard

Water resources have a key role in land planning and are a major base for economical development of any country. Water productivity (WP) index is indicator of produced crop (Kg) or crop revenue per unit (m3) of irrigation water consumed. Indeed WP could be indicator of the role of each unit of water consumed in country’s GDP or GNP. Economists believe that the only solution to the problem of food production from limited water resources and reduction of excessive import of agricultural commodities is the improvement of physical and finally economical WP. From legal aspects, improvement of WP in agricultural sector of Iran has emphasized in the article no of 25 of the general act of enhancement of productivity in agricultural and natural resources sectors of Iran approved by the parliament in 2010. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to assess current situation of agricultural WP in Iran and evaluation of the policies and plans of country, especially in the last decade, in this regard. Moreover, the factors influencing the WP, the strengths, and the weak points of the plans and policies are determined and some suggestions and measures are provided. Based on results, the physical WP of the country in years 2000 (Baseline year), 2006, 2010 (control year), and 2025 (target year) was 0.70, 0.79, 0.95, and 1.70 respectively. Also the water application efficiency for the aforementioned years was 34, 37, 40, and 60 percent respectively. Improvement of WP is an unavoidable fact of the country, and by the year 2025 its value should be almost doubled from the present value (0.9-1.0 Kg/m3). This challenge requires development of new laws, rules, and institutions and update of current policies on country’s water management, together with stakeholder participation, technical, infrastructural and software actions, enhancement of technical knowledge and applied research. Implementation of the article no of 25 of the general act of enhancement of productivity in agricultural and natural resources sectors of Iran could be the first and the main step toward this target.