The choices of irrigation technologies in California

This paper introduces an econometric technique to analyze the factors affecting the land shares of alternative irrigation technologies in agriculture. It estimates the likelihood of use of drip, sprinkler, and surface irrigation by fruit growers in the Central Valley of California. Higher water costs, the use of groundwater, the production of nuts, and location are found to increase the likelihood of using drip and sprinkler irrigation. The results are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of water price increases in inducing water conservation. Key words: adoption, drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, water demand. In the Southwest, the recent increase in nonagricultural water demand, the constant decline in water reservoirs, and the slower pace (or sometimes freeze) in the development of new water projects emphasize the need for improved irrigation efficiency. Adoption and extensive use of technologies such as sprinkler and drip irrigation may be one avenue to attain this goal. Quantitative estimates of the im-pacts of various factors on the tendency to adopt alternative irrigation methods are essen-tial ingredients for policy making aimed at en-couraging improved irrigation efficiency. This paper analyzes econometrically the factors that determine the extent of use of furrow, sprinkler, and drip irrigation by fruit growers in the Central Valley of California. The paper examines whether and to what ex-tent differences in water costs among irriga-tion technologies affect the likelihood of their use in the region. The results are used to gen-erate some predictions of the relative impacts of increases in water charges on the extent of use of each technology and on water use for various groups of tree growers in the region