Evaluation of the Efficiency of Irrigation and Agriculture Management in Khuzestan Water Users' Associations

The efficiency of irrigation and agricultural management in irrigation associations is one of the important indicators in evaluating the management of irrigation networks. In this study, the efficiency of irrigation and agricultural management of each of the 20 Water User Associations (WUAS) in Khuzestan province was estimated using data envelopment analysis and their performances were evaluated and compared with each other. The results showed that agricultural management and agricultural production efficiency have more priority than the efficiency of irrigation management and water saving in irrigation schemes. Also, the findings indicate that the technical weakness of water bodies in irrigation management is about the efficiency of their scale and the reason for inefficiency in agricultural management is weakness in operation management of the irrigation network and collecting water. The results also showed that the optimal efficiency of irrigation and agriculture management depends on the management performance of water users in the context of interaction between the executive bodies of the water and agriculture ministry.