ABSTRACT
Abstract With growing demand from municipal and industrial uses, there is increasing pressure to transfer water away from irrigation to cities and factories. A large part of the argument for this is based on the relatively low output per unit of water in agriculture (especially grain production), compared to its value for domestic water or manufacturing. But focusing only on the grain output of irrigation systems ignores the many other uses of water in irrigation systems, such as fish, livestock, and garden production, as well as domestic uses. Thus policies to improve the “efficiency” of water use in irrigation or transfer water out of agriculture can cause substantial losses in overall system output and rural livelihoods. Policies to improve the full economic returns to water need to recognize the value--and the implicit water rights--of nonagricultural users of irrigation systems. Keywords: aquaculture, domestic water supply, environmental benefits, gardens, irrigation, livestock watering, valuation of water, water rights.
