Analysing Irrigation Farmers’ Preferences for Local Governance Using a Discrete Choice Experiment in India and Pakistan

Abstract

This paper reports the results of an investigation into the preferences of irrigation farmers for different payment apparatus for irrigation fees. We also report the results of a study that queried farmers’ preferred model for water governance at a local level. The results and analysis thus make an important contribution to the debate about how participatory irrigation might operate more effectively, especially in India and Pakistan. The rationale for this study is that aligning the payment mechanisms and local water governance more closely with farmer preferences is likely to reduce the barriers to accepting participatory irrigation and the requirement to pay water charges. To the knowledge of the authors, no other study has specifically addressed this issue by seeking direct feedback from farmers.

Irrigation Advisory Services: Farmers preferences and willingness to pay for innovation

“…The service should be reliable and directly delivered through Internet and/or mobile phone. However, there is not a panacea that will satisfy all farmers in all geographic areas (Burton et al, 2020).…”

Editorial—Using Applied Economics to Study Participatory Irrigation Institutions and their Impact in South Asia

“…The key finding from this ambitious work was that there is considerable diversity of preferences across and within jurisdictions. As with Hone et al [13], Burton, Cooper, and Crase [14] conclude that there is no simple universal panacea to enhancing the performance of PIM and understanding the local setting is paramount.…”

“…The nuances of payment, collection, and local irrigation management choices are further scrutinised by Burton, Cooper, and Crase [14]. In this instance, choice experiments were undertaken to progress two main lines of inquiry.…”

Impact of water allocation oversight in irrigation systems: an agent-based model approach

“…It is important to acknowledge that our assumption of homogeneous decision behavior among all farmers may not hold true in a real-world scenario (Sanga et al, 2021). Conducting interviews and behavioral modeling, such as discrete choice experiments (Burton et al, 2020), would be valuable for future improvements, allowing for a better understanding of crop choice dynamics and farming area preferences. However, it is essential to consider that interviews provide a snapshot of the current situation, and we must assume that future farmers will behave in a similar manner.…”