This study has two objectives: (1) to identify which Irrigation Water Management (IWM) practices and combinations are associated with higher water productivity (WP) under producer-managed field conditions, and (2) to compare applied irrigation water and yield outcomes between fields managed by producers and those managed in collaborative demonstrations. We use data from the Arkansas Irrigation Yield “Most Crop per Drop” Contest (2018–2023) to analyze six IWM practices, including Computerized Hole Selection (CHS), Surge irrigation, Soil Moisture Sensors (Sensors), Multiple-Inlet Rice Irrigation (MIRI), Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), and Furrow-Irrigated Rice (FIR), individually and in combination across corn, soybean, and rice. Descriptive statistics and Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) models show that some IWM practices are associated with higher water productivity (WP). In corn, combinations of CHS, Sensors, and Surge are associated with higher WP, driven primarily by yield gains rather than reductions in applied irrigation water. In soybean, combinations of CHS and Sensors are associated with higher WP through reduced irrigation application without yield penalties. In rice, results are less consistent, although SUR analysis provided some evidence that the MIRI/AWD combination was associated with higher WP. Comparisons with previously published demonstration fields indicate that irrigation outcomes may differ between producer-managed and extension-supervised settings, potentially because of differences in implementation support and management conditions, although these comparisons should be interpreted as descriptive rather than causal. These findings offer practical insights for producers, extension agents, and policymakers seeking to improve irrigation management and water productivity.

Homeowners' willingness to pay for urban forest benefits can be inferred from hedonic property value studies, which use real estate transactions to estimate the elasticity between home value and tree canopy cover (i.e., the % change in home value for a 1 % change in tree cover). We compiled a meta-dataset of 17 hedonic studies to predict this elasticity for 64,658 urban census tracts across the contiguous United States. Three benefit transfer methods were evaluated: matching value transfer using a nearest-neighbor technique, unit value transfer using weighted mean elasticities, and function transfer using a meta-regression model. The matching method produced the lowest out-of-sample transfer errors and best reproduced the observed distribution of elasticities. Using the matching method, we estimated that home values increase $9-$134 per home (2020 USD) for a 1 % increase in urban tree cover. Using projected changes in urban tree cover from 2020 to 2030, which are largely negative, we estimated regional home value losses ranging from $1.7 to $4.8 billion, with a total national loss of $11.8 billion. These results highlight the significant economic value of maintaining and expanding urban tree canopy cover in U.S. cities.

The use and the share of water applied from several irrigation water sources correlate with the irrigation practices in use by the peers of Arkansan farmers. From a sample of producers from an irrigation survey in Arkansas, a bivariate sample selection model accounts for how peer use of numerous irrigation practices affects the use and the share of irrigation that comes from a water source. The bivariate sample selection model controls for the bias in the statistical estimates that occur because producers who volunteer for an irrigation survey are likely to know about and use irrigation more than the population. We find that peer influence operates through multiple irrigation practices, and peer influence through an irrigation practice depends on an irrigator's location and current farm practices. For example, peer use of a tail-water recovery system and peer use of alternate wetting and drying both increase the probability of surface water use alone.

This study examines the impacts of farmers' drought-severity perceptions on two adaptation strategies—ex-ante use of drought-tolerant varieties and ex-post irrigation use—employing a large-scale survey data of maize farmers in northern China. The former is helpful for saving water while the latter may increase the intensity of water use in drought season. An endogenous switching probit model is employed to account for the potential selection bias and endogeneity of farmers' drought-severity perceptions in regressions of adaptation strategies. The results show that perceiving increasing drought-severity might increase farmers' probabilities of using drought-tolerant varieties (DTVs) by 8.1% on maize plots but lower the probability of irrigation by 15.1%. However, once the use of the DTVs is controlled for, the perception of drought-severity has no additional predictive powers for irrigation. Furthermore, the use of drought-tolerant varieties may reduce the probability of irrigation by 27.5%. The findings highlight the need for policymakers to enhance farmers' perceptions and differentiate adaptation options and consider their interrelationships in allocating resources to maximise their effectiveness.

There are a range of demographic, climatic, and economic factors that influence the use of irrigation practices, along with the effect of peers and Extension agents on agricultural technologies. This research was conducted to determine how a peer's use of multiple irrigation practices influences the use of common irrigation practices in the Delta region of Arkansas. Using data from a producer survey conducted by telephone in 2015, we identify the determinants of the use and the share of an irrigated farm with five common irrigation practices in the Arkansas Delta. The role of peers for irrigation practice use depends on where a farmer is and the current farm practices in the region. A finding of the own practice peer effect is that a producer with a peer that uses flow meters is 29% more likely to use flow meters themselves. A cross practice peer effect we observe is that a producer with a peer that uses scientific scheduling is 30% less likely to use center pivot.

We examined how irrigation techniques in use by family and friends influence the use and share of land utilizing different irrigation techniques by Arkansas producers. A bivariate sample selection model simultaneously estimated how farm characteristics determine the use and explain the share of a farm that utilizes an irrigation technique. We found that the irrigation techniques in use by family and friends do affect the irrigation techniques a producer uses and the share of acres utilizing different irrigation techniques. A producer with a family or friend that uses end-blocking irrigation is 41% more likely to use end-blocking themselves. Having a family or friend who uses pivot irrigation technology tends to decrease the share of irrigated acres that utilizes end block irrigation by 0.211. We also found that when the irrigation techniques in use by family and friends interact with variables such as location and participation in a regional conservation partnership program, the effects on the producer’s decision vary. The share of irrigated acres that use cutback irrigation decreases by 0.21 for a producer who has a peer that uses irrigation scheduling. However, if the producer lives along Crowley’s Ridge and has a peer that uses irrigation scheduling, the share of irrigated acres that use cutback irrigation decreases by an additional 0.54.

This article assesses a number of market enablers and barriers including property rights/institutions, hydrology, externalities/governance, system type, adjustment, and entitlement registers and accounting processes by applying the WMRA framework to the existing water market in Zhangye City, within the Heihe River Basin in northwest China. First, most farmers in China have relatively smaller amounts of water. Therefore, trades between farmers would appear inconsequential and consequently, farmers are not incentivised to engage in trades at present. With continuing urbanization and rural land consolidation in China, irrigation farms are expected to increase in size and water is likely to become a substantial asset of an irrigation farm. The assessment outcome for water market in Zhangye City in the Heihe River Basin is maintaining the status quo, with enablers for trade and further monitoring if future demand or context changes.

Using household level and plot level survey data spanning over 10 years, this study examines the effects of climatic factors on the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation at the farm level in the North China Plain. Data show that for the past few decades, farmers have experienced a decline in the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation, which is measured by the proportion of the number of groundwater irrigations whose delivery timing matched the requests of farmers. Econometric estimation results show that both long-term climate conditions (mean temperature and total precipitation) and short-term weather conditions during the growing seasons have statistically significant effects on the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation. However, these effects can show opposite results. The frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation is negatively associated with an increase in the long-term average temperature but is positively associated with a short-term temperature rise. The effects, moreover, may also differ in magnitude. Although the frequency of punctual on-demand deliveries of groundwater for irrigation is positively associated with higher precipitation levels in both the short-term and the long-term, the latter exerts a larger influence.

Economic instruments have been increasingly adopted by governments around the world to address water scarcity problems because of their potential to achieve environmental outcomes in more cost‐effective ways. This is the first study to estimate the willingness to accept compensation for land fallowing in rural China. Using survey data collected from village representatives in Northern China (mainly village leaders, party secretaries and village accountants), our results suggest that in groundwater irrigated sample villages, at least 28 per cent of respondents have a compensation expectation lower than the standard level of 500 yuan/mu/year for one season of fallowing set by the Government. Water scarcity measures such as irrigation supply reliability and depth‐to‐groundwater within a village are found to have statistically significant effects on the likelihood of fallowing land in groundwater irrigated villages.

This study uses panel data from the North China Water Resources Survey in 2004 and 2016 to update the status of groundwater. In the past two decades, groundwater irrigation has spread to more villages, but declining groundwater tables and deterioration in water quality have become more serious. Some policy measures (well-drilling permits, water quotas, water resources fees) have been implemented in an increasing number of villages, but they still only reached a small fraction of villages. Some of the responses by farmers to these challenges have accelerated groundwater extraction. Policy efforts are needed to improve the effectiveness of policy implementation and enhance sustainable groundwater use.

This study describes the water management practice (WMP) use patterns by producers in Arkansas, USA, identifies the factors related to producers' choices among WMP groups, and examines the correlations between WMP uses and irrigated acreage. Using data from the 2016 Arkansas Irrigation Survey, WMPs are divided into four groups: field management, water flow control, water recovery/storage, and advanced irrigation scheduling practices. We find that about 77% of producers in the study area use two or more groups of WMPs to manage multiple aspects of irrigation, but that the factors that are associated with choices of WMPs vary by WMP group. Regression results show that the use of water flow meters, providing producers with education on the looming groundwater shortage problems and awareness of financial assistance available for conservation efforts, such as the state tax credits program, and use of WMPs by family members, friends, and neighbors are associated with increased use of WMPs. However, we find that producers that are older, have smaller farms, and rely more on groundwater are less likely to use some of the WMPs. Regression results also show that using water flow meters positively correlates with total irrigated acres, irrigated acres in rice, and irrigated acres in soybeans, and that for soybeans using more groups of WMPs is associated with a reduced extent of irrigated acreage. This study contributes to the small economics literature on WMPs and provides a more comprehensive picture of how producers use different WMPs to manage irrigation.

This study reviews 40 years of irrigation development in China including the transformation of the institutional and incentive structures in irrigation management. After rural reforms in the 1970s, irrigation investments slowed until the late 1990s. In North China, farmers became major investors in groundwater irrigation, leading to property rights’ transfer of tube wells from collective to private ownership. Despite positive effects in cropping patterns, farmer income and development of groundwater markets, privatisation has accelerated groundwater table deterioration. Since the middle of 1990s, Water User Associations have replaced village collective management of surface irrigation. This approach was adopted by most provinces by early 2001 with mixed results; only institutions with water‐saving incentives realised efficient irrigation. The Government is reforming water price policies to provide water‐saving incentives to farmers while not hurting their income. While China has focused on water rights and markets, and despite regulations and pilot projects, full implementation of water rights has been slow. Research reveals greater policy scope for expanding irrigation technologies that generate real water saving to rural areas. Given pressure associated with water scarcity and concern for food security, further effective reforms in irrigation and policy incentives are expected. The Government has also initiated some pilot projects to resolve increasing water scarcity problems through adjusting agricultural production activities.

Empowering farmers to increase productivity by educating them on conservation agriculture (CA) could contribute to reducing vulnerability, alleviating food insecurity, and fighting poverty while being ecologically sustainable in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study assesses the effect of a CA-promotion agriculture program. Findings suggest that location of the farm, training, having accessed credit, belonging to a farmers' group, and being a vulnerable female all drove adoption to varying degrees and directions. Results also suggest that policy makers and CA practitioners should emphasize the ability that CA has to increase income and food security, which could widen CA adoption.

Despite the importance of groundwater in the economy of the Hai River Basin (HRB), falling water tables and salinization of aquifers are both occurring in the region. Hydrological and hydrogeological studies have shown that increases in the salinization of parts of the freshwater aquifers are closely related to the extraction of groundwater. This study uses a framework that considers the interaction between water quantity and quality to examine how the presence of the prehistoric saline water layer affects groundwater management. Simulation results show that in a region where there is a salinization problem like in the HRB, it is optimal to pump at high rates in the early stage of extraction when the quality of groundwater is high. It is then optimal to reduce the pumping rate rapidly as the quality of groundwater deteriorates. Given this characteristic of the optimal pumping path, the heavy extraction currently observed in the HRB does not necessarily indicate that groundwater resources are being overused. However, unregulated extraction by non-cooperative users would eventually cause both the depletion of the water resource and the deterioration of water quality. Hence, joint quantity-quality management is required in the HRB. The study also shows that benefits to groundwater management are higher and costs are lower in regions with salinization problems.

This study examines the relationship between groundwater irrigation and off-farm employment with a set of household level data collected in North China. The results provide evidence that off-farm employment reduces both time spent on irrigation in terms of total hours of irrigation and the amount of groundwater pumped. However, these effects have not resulted in losses of crop production. In fact, water productivity measured as output value produced per m(3) of groundwater pumped is higher among households with off-farm employment. These seemingly contradictory findings are explained by the increased use of water-saving technologies such as furrow irrigation, underground pipes and/or lined canals. These technologies reduce seepage losses during the conveyance of groundwater as well as during irrigation of the fields. As a result, less groundwater needs to be pumped to achieve the same level of groundwater irrigation application rate in the field.

AbstractAgro-forestry (AFR) technologies are perceived to improve livelihoods and natural resource sustainability of the rural households. Despite their aggressive promotion by multiple national and international agencies, the adoption of AFR technologies has been minimal in Kenya. This study conducted a survey to examine the socio-economic factors that affect the adoption process in Nyando, Kenya. Results revealed that farmers with bigger farms and higher education were more likely to adopt the new technology. Additionally, farmers were quicker to adopt technology if they had an increase in crop yields and had stayed longer in the study area. Generally, wealthier famers tended to adopt more AFR technology than those with less income. Access to information was the only factor strongly correlated with the rest of the independent variables. The results suggest that, adoption would be more enhanced with a clear focus on extension activities, income enhancing AFR practices and soil amelioration technologies. This study may be replicated in other parts of Kenya and East Africa to improve the level of AFR technology adoption for sustainable rural development.

Abstract Impact of climate change on crop growth is dynamic and difficult to quantify due to heterogeneity of the associated effects and their interactions within the Earth system. The main objective of this study is to establish how future climate change might affect agriculture, through an assessment of temperature and precipitation driven parameters. These include percentage number of rainy days with extreme precipitation, percentage of extreme precipitation relative to wet days, first fall frost days, last spring frost days, growing degree days, growing season length and the total precipitation. Results show modest increase in total precipitation with a slight increase in extreme precipitation, representing up to 2.2% increase by 2060 under representative concentration pathway (RCP 8.5) scenario. There would be late first fall frost days, early last spring frost days and increased growing season length by up to 2 weeks in 2060. The growing degree days are projected to increase under all scenarios for all crops, with cotton showing the largest increase of up to 37% relative to the baseline period.

With a large-scale household survey data of maize farmers in China, this study examines how farmers perceptions of drought severity influence their adaptation strategies using endogenous switching probit models. Both ex ante and ex post adaptations are modeled. The empirical results first suggest that the impacts of farmers perceptions of drought severity on their ex ante and ex post adaptive behaviors are different. A farmer perceiving an increasing trend of drought severity has a 7.3% higher probability to use drought tolerant variety as ex ante adaptation, while a 4.8% higher probability of irrigation than those of other farmers. On average, farmers who use drought tolerant maize variety have a 18% lower probability to irrigate, which indicates that the ex-ante adaptation, using drought tolerant maize variety, reduces the need to irrigate as ex-post reaction to drought. Our results lend more support to the importance of farmers perceptions of drought severity to their adaptations. Our results also the importance in considering both ex ante and ex post adaptations in policy making. Acknowledgement : This work was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (71773003, 71303226, 71742002), the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2012CB955700).

Conversion to surface water irrigation is one of the critical initiatives to address the decline in ground-water supply. A double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation survey is used to estimate producers' willingness to pay (WTP) for surface water supplied by irrigation districts in Arkansas, United States. The estimated mean WTP for irrigation water is 2.7 c/m(3) ($33.21/acre-foot). Comparison indicates a significant share of producers are likely to have higher WTPs for surface water than the average pumping cost in the study area. Producers located in areas with less groundwater resources have higher WTPs. Producers that are more concerned with a water shortage occurring in the state in the next 10 years have higher WTPs. A somewhat unexpected result is that participation in the Conservation Reserve Program predicts lower WTPs. One possible explanation is that farmers see the transfer of land out of crop production as a more viable financial decision when groundwater supply decreases. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.