ABSTRACT

In developing countries, irrigated agriculture consumes between 75% and 90% of all water used and contributes nearly 40% of global food production. It has played a major role in generating employment opportunities in rural areas and providing food to the urban population at relatively low prices. However, most of the world's major surface irrigation systems are inefficient: between one half and two thirds of the water is lost in transit between source and crops. Because irrigated agriculture is a central sector in terms of its intensive resource use, policy interventions to reduce waste of water in irrigated agriculture will have direct and indirect impacts on the rest of the economy. Therefore, evaluating possible impacts of policy interventions in the water sector at farm or district levels in isolation from policies related to other sectors or to other resources may lead to incomplete and incorrect conclusions.