Investigate the Effects of Pricing Policy of Water Irrigation on Cropping Pattern and Water Consumption Productivity (Case study: Ghorveh- Dehgolan plain at Kurdistan province)

The current study attempted to investigate the effects of pricing policy of water irrigation on cropping pattern and water consumption productivity in Ghorveh- Dehgolan plain at Kurdistan province. The positive mathematical programming and maximum entropy maximum were used to analyze data. The 360 farms selected through stratified random sampling for the crop year 2012-2013 that data was collected through interview and filling questionnaire. The results showed that, the policy of increase water price increased the area under cultivation crops with the low need of water or crops with high revenue. Also, the results water pricing policy on water consumption productivity indicators (Employment per Drop, Crop per Drop and Benefit per Drop) showed that water consumption productivity increases. It should be mentioned is Application of the policy caused increase for onion, Garlic and rapeseed crops and decrease for the rest in Net Benefit per Drop index.