Economic evaluation and efficiency of sprinkler irrigation method in wheat production (Case study of Ardabil province)

Water is a unique commodity and a very vital substance, and the limitations of this vital substance affect the capacities of other vital resources such as food, energy, fish and wildlife. One of the main concerns of human beings is water shortage, a shortage that is increasing every year. Many people in developing countries now lack enough water to meet their basic needs. One of the most important signs of water scarcity is the drying up of rivers, which is now observed in a number of important rivers in the world.Of the world's total water, 97.4% is the brackish water of the seas and oceans, only 2.6% is the freshwater reserves. Most of it is in the form of ice in the poles of the earth and glaciers (1.98%) and groundwater (0.59%), which are not available. Globally, the average consumption of fresh water in the drinking and health sector is 10%, industrial, recreational and commercial activities and other cases is about 20% and agriculture alone 70%. In some countries, especially African countries, up to 90% of freshwater resources are spent on agriculture in the desert and coastal areas of Africa. In Iran, the share of the agricultural sector in water consumption is estimated at 93%.Including the strategic product of the agricultural sector; It is a wheat crop that produces a total of 712 million tons in the world, which is 28% of the world's grain. Iran is the 13th largest wheat producer in the world with a cultivated area of 7 million hectares (2.5 million hectares irrigated and 4.5 million hectares dryland) and a production of 15 million tons. In the production of which water is of great importance. Despite severe water resource constraints, the efficiency of using this input is low. Implementing proper management on the optimal use of water in farms and exploitation units in the form of policies and executive programs, is the most important action that is taken in the optimal use of water resources and combating water shortage and dehydration in different regions of the country.Among the measures taken to improve productivity and save agricultural water consumption is the development of pressurized irrigation systems. The present study was conducted with the aim of economic evaluation and estimating the efficiency of pressurized irrigation methods in wheat crop in Ardabil province.

In economic and social studies, usually two methodologies and mathematical program are used to achieve research objectives. In this study, for some reason, production function methodology has been used. This is a descriptive and applied research that uses the method of (questionnaires) to reach the top of the research. The study population is farmers in Ardabil province (in some crops, the Sprinkler method has been introduced and in others it has not been implemented).

Estimates showed that the amount of water used in the Sprinkler irrigation method compared to the volume of water used in the traditional irrigation method has decreased by 17%. At the level of 5%, they have given meaning. But the volume of water used in the production method with Sprinkler irrigation is about 30% more than the water requirement of the plant (wheat). It is possible to reduce it by another 20%. In other words, by implementing the Sprinkler irrigation method, up to 37% of agricultural water consumption can be saved. If we consider productivity as the amount of product produced from each unit of input input, according to the estimates made in this study, per cubic meter of water used in the Sprinkler irrigation method has been produced 1.04 kg of wheat. Whereas in the traditional irrigation method, the amount of wheat produced per cubic meter of water is 0.62 kg.

Comparison of these two numbers shows that water efficiency in Sprinkler irrigation method is more than 1.8 times compared to water efficiency in traditional irrigation method. In general, the estimated production function shows that the use of Sprinkler irrigation method has improved the composition of inputs and their proper and timely consumption. As a result, the amount of product produced has increased compared to the agricultural situation with traditional irrigation. And with the implementation of the new irrigation system, both the volume of water consumption has been reduced, and production costs have been reduced, and that wheat production has increased.