Irrigation production functions with water-capital substitution |
| |
| Authors: | Uri Shani Yacov Tsur Amos Zemel David Zilberman |
| |
| Institution: | Department of Soil and Water Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel;Department of Agricultural Economics and Management, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel;Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boker Campus 84990, Israel;Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel;Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, 207 Giannini Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | The dynamics of biomass growth implies that the yield of irrigated crops depends, in addition to the total amount of water applied, on irrigation scheduling during the growing period. Advanced irrigation technologies relax constraints on irrigation rates and timing, allowing us to better adjust irrigation scheduling to the varying needs of the plants along the growing period. Irrigation production functions, then, should include capital (or expenditures on irrigation equipment) in addition to aggregate water. We derive such functions and study their water-capital substitution properties. Implications for water demand and adoption of irrigation technologies are investigated. A numerical example illustrates these properties. |
| |
| Keywords: | Q12 Q15 Q16 |
|
|
