Economic Valuation of Improved Irrigation Water Use: The Case of Woliso District, South West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

As scarcity of irrigation water is rising, pricing of agricultural water and cost recovery can play a significant role in promoting water use efficiency. Hence, the main objective of this study was to analyze economic valuation of improved irrigation water use. Both primary and secondary data were used to achieve the objective. Cross sectional data were collected from 251 households using a two-stage sampling technique (purposive and random sampling techniques) from four kebeles of Woliso District through a semi-structured questionnaire. The result of the study showed that 92.43% of the households were willing to pay for improved irrigation water use and only 7.57% were not willing to pay. The mean willingness to pay for the use of improved irrigation water from the double bounded dichotomous question of Seemingly Unrelated Bivariate Probit model was Birr 575.23 per year per timad (0.25 ha). On the other hand, the mean willingness to pay from open-ended questions was Birr 562.25 per year per timad (0.25 ha). Thus, appropriate irrigation water pricing will make the user more aware of the resource scarcity, creating more value for the improved irrigation, leading to efficient management of the improved system. Keywords: Economic Valuation; Irrigation; Seemingly Unrelated Bivariate Probit; Woliso