Dawit Mekonnen

Drivers of groundwater use and technical efficiency of groundwater, canal water, and conjunctive use in Pakistan’s Indus Basin Irrigation System

Abstract This paper explores the major determinants of heavy reliance on groundwater and the extent to which conjunctive use of ground and surface water affects the production efficiency of Pakistan’s irrigators. The results show that the major drivers of groundwater use in Pakistan’s agriculture are the variability and uncertainty associated with surface water delivery and that any effort to address the groundwater–energy nexus challenge should first consider fixing the problems associated with surface water supplies. The findings also suggest that having access to groundwater does not directly translate into improvements in technical efficiency of production.

US import demand for apple: source differentiated almost ideal demand system approach

We adopted a restricted version of Source Differentiated Almost Ideal Demand System (RSDAIDS) to analyse the US import demand for fresh apples, apple juice and other processed apples after differentiating each type of apple by import origins. Seasonality and time trend variables were included in the RSDAIDS model and the general demand restrictions of adding-up, homogeneity and slutsky symmetry were imposed. The system of equations is then estimated using Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) and the results of the estimation are presented in the form of parameter estimates, as well as price and expenditure elasticities.

The impact of water users’ associations on the productivity of irrigated agriculture in Pakistani Punjab

This paper finds productivity-enhancing effects of watercourse-level water users’ associations for farms at the tail of a watercourse and for those that rely exclusively on groundwater – two groups that are marginalized from surface water use and more likely to rely increasingly on groundwater. Yet, heavy reliance on groundwater consumes vast energy resources and leads to environmental degradation through overdraft and groundwater salinization. Improving the management of surface water through functioning watercourse-level institutions can increase use efficiency across water, energy and land resources through increasing agricultural productivity of those now least able to access fresh surface water resources.

Evaluating the pathways from small-scale irrigation to dietary diversity: evidence from Ethiopia and Tanzania

Interventions that aim to increase water availability for agriculture hold great potential for improving nutrition through increasing food production, generating income, enhancing water access and sanitation and hygiene conditions, and through strengthening women’s empowerment. Yet there is scarce evidence on the linkages between small-scale irrigation and the pathways through which nutrition outcomes can be achieved. Using data from a cross-sectional household survey collected in Ethiopia and Tanzania, we explored the potential for small-scale irrigation to contribute to improved diets, and identify the pathways through which irrigation affects dietary diversity as measured by the Household Dietary Diversity Score. Unadjusted comparisons show that irrigating households in both countries produced more vegetables, fruits and cash crops, are less food insecure, have a higher value of production, and have higher production diversity and dietary diversity compared to non-irrigating households. Econometric results of a simultaneous equation (3SLS) model showed that irrigation leads to better household dietary diversity mainly through the pathway of increasing household incomes. However, these results are statistically significant only in the case of Ethiopia, and not in Tanzania. While irrigation increased production diversity in Ethiopia, the benefits of increased dietary diversity cannot be attributed to these changes in production after controlling for the effect of income. Other factors, such as gender of the household head and having off-farm income, also influence dietary diversity in Ethiopia. These findings suggest that the potential for irrigation to influence diets is highly context-specific. Understanding the particular pathways and entry points for nutrition-sensitive agriculture approaches could help to improve their benefits for nutrition.

Chapter 4. Irrigation and Water Management in the Indus Basin: Infrastructure and Management Strategies to Improve Agricultural Productivity

ions consistent with a sustainable yield for the Indus aquifer (50 MAF, according to Briscoe and Qamar [2005] and Yu et al. [2013]). RWSM-Pak assumes nonirrigation water is drawn from groundwater only. For chis study, all water data are drawn from the new Indus Basin Model Revised, developed by the National Engineering Services Pakistan and the WAPDA, while crop data come from the 2010 Agricultural Census of Pakistan (GoP 2010). The Water Accord of 1991, which reflects a highly sensitive political compromise, dictates the sharing of water between the four provinces and that dams should be managed with irrigation as a priority (Briscoe and Qamar 2005). Implementing the Water Accord in the model leads us to impose rule-based constraints on the simulated system. The objective function is constrained by these stringent rules on dam storage while maximizing the water delivered to cultivated areas. However we do not constrain individual canal releases to follow historical patterns, because this is a usage not enshrined in provincial law. Eight MAF of water are reserved as an outflow to keep the delta healthy, which is also mandated by the Water Accord . The Hydropower Module Benefits from the Diamer-Bhasha Dam include not only extra irrigation water but also extra electricity production. We include a hydropower module to simulate the extra electricity chat would be produced by the dam. Hydropower generation depends on water flow and head (height of the dam and water level of the reservoir). Given that Pakistan explicitly gives priority to irrigation, we do not include hydropower generation in the objective function of the RWSM-Pak model. Instead, we compute hydropower electricity production after allocating water to the crops and include it as a source of energy in the CGE model. Hydropower is represented as a fixed quantity of the total energy production, because we assume no other hydroelectric dam than Diamer-Bhasha is built. The additional energy production is included in GDP and valued as a benefit of the dam. 14 The current CGE model does not disaggregate energy sources or consider substitution possibilities across energy types. More detailed data is currently being developed for the Pakistan SAM and will be included in future models.