WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT THROUGH WATER PRICING POLICY IN CITRUS GARDENS OF KAZEROON CITY

摘要

The purpose of this study is to estimate water demand function and determine pricernelasticity of agricultural water demand in the citrus orchards of Kazeroun city. Thernrequired data and information for the study have been gathered through interviews andrnquestionnaires.rnThe studied population comprises citrus growers of Kazeroon from which 61 growers werernchosen by two-stage cluster sampling. To estimate water demand function, first, citrusrnproduction function was estimated and then matching the results with profit function, thernwater demand function was extracted. According to the results, the marginal productivityrnof water equals 0.195kg/m~3 and its monitory value was calculated as 460.96 Rials. Alsornthe finished price of each cubic meter of water is 525.66 Rials. Due to differences betweenrnthe finished price and value of marginal productivity of water, water demand for agriculturernis high in the region because, to get the maximum benefit by using more water grower arernlooking for equaling the value of marginal productivity of water with its finished price. Thernresults showed that price elasticity of demand for water is -1.21. So we can conclude thatrnpricing water has a role in its use and in managing the water demand. In the study region,rnthe price of 115.3 Rials for each cubic meter of water has been proposed.