Participatory water management and adoption of micro-irrigation systems: smallholder farmers in arid north-western China

Abstract

This study investigates smallholder farmers’ participation in and knowledge of village-based water user associations in north-western China, and analyzes their interplay with membership in water associations and installation and application of micro-irrigation systems. Using farmer survey data, a multivariate probit model is built to analyze the effects of influential factors. Results show significant effects of farmers’ perceptions of water shortage and its causes, attitudes to water conservation, village-based information, and incentives on the membership in water user associations and installation and application of micro-irrigation. Policies promoting micro-irrigation adoption should target decentralized water management and facilitate farmers’ participation.

Keywords:

• Participatory water management
• water user associations
• adoption of micro-irrigation
• participation and perception
• smallholder farmers
• north-western China

Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to Shenghua Chang, Hailiang Jiang, Qin Jiang, Wenjie Pan, Lanqing Peng, Zeng Tang, Guocheng Wang and Dexiong Yang for their assistance during the survey and data collection. The authors are also grateful to the participants at the 2016 Annual Meetings of the Western Economic Association International / Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (WEAI-AERE sessions), and the 2017 University Council on Water Resources Conference (UCOWR). The authors appreciate the helpful comments from the journal editor, Cecilia Tortajada, and two anonymous reviewers, as well as the helpful comments and assistance in proofreading by Richard Teague and Rosemary Teague. The usual disclaimers apply.