Estimating Economic Value of Optimal Water Consumption in Agriculture (Case Study of Gachsaran Gardens)

Due to the limited water resources in the country, determining the economic value of water as a new approach is essential in managing and utilizing water resources. The general objective of research is to estimate the economic value of water in Gachsaran gardens. The Statistical Society in this research was gardeners of Gachsaran city with 2900 people. To select the statistical sample, Krejcy and Morgan tables were used. based on this table, the sample size was 262 people. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. To assess the validity of the research tools, a panel of experts including the professors of the Agricultural Management Department of Islamic Azad University of Gachsaran Branch was used and to calcute the reliability of the research tool Cronbach's alpha test was used and the Cronbach's alpha value of the entire questionnaire (0.78) was calculated, this value is acceptable to do the research. According to the total production elasticities of Cob-Douglas subordinate inputs, the rate of return relative to the scale of horticultural products in Gachsaran is 7.55%, indicating that with 7.55% increase in production input in Gachsaran, the horticultural product increases by 7.55%. In order to determine the economic value of agricultural water, the functions of Cobb Douglas, Transcendental and Transgul production have been used. The results of the estimation of production functions showed that the Cobb Douglas function according to its simplicity and coefficients was superior to other functions (Transcendental and Transgul), and the estimated economic value of water is 585,060 Rials.