ABSTRACT
Agriculture in arid and semiarid zones, such as the Middle East, requires water for irrigation. It competes for that water with the household and industry sectors. There are substantial differences in the characteristics of water consumption between the various sectors. For example, compared with agriculture, water demands by households are not price sensitive, at least for the high-priority uses necessary for human life. On the other hand, whereas agriculture can use low-quality water types (recycled, brackish, and untreated surface water), the household sector and some of the industrial sector require mainly freshwater. Another significant difference is that water supply to households and industry must be extremely reliable, whereas the reliance of the agricultural sector on a dependable supply of water may not be as important, especially when water is to be used for lowcash field crops. As a result, agriculture, although the main water-consuming sector, tends to be the one most vulnerable to water shortages. Further, privately profitable, unsubsidized agriculture tends to require relatively low-cost water. This has led to considerable subsidization of water for agriculture.
