Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1971

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Agricultural Economics

Major Professor

M. B. Badenhop

Committee Members

D. W. Brown, L. H. Keller, K. E. Phillips

Abstract

A system of Improved land use localizations for controlling the use of irrigation water is proposed for the Tungabhadra Irrigation Project (TBP) in Mysore State, India. Land use localizations determine which crops, to what extent, and in what season they can be grown. Lands are localized for "light" irrigated crops or for "heavy" irrigated paddy. To insure high levels of total production from a limited water supply, the great majority of land was initially localized for "light" irrigated crops. Localization regulations, however, are not being strictly enforced. This has resulted in farmers' growing more paddy, which appears to be the "preferred" crop, than is authorized. The growing of unauthorized paddy has resulted in a disorderly distribution of water and in frequent shortages. The general objective of this study is to construct an economic model for use in analyzing agricultural phenomena in the black soil area of the TBP. The Fortieth Distributary was selected as the unit of analysis and representative farms were constructed for this distributary based on primary resource data collected from a random sample of farmers." This study investigates the profitability of various dryland and irrigated crops grown on the representative farms assuming that localization regulations are strictly enforced. Linear programming analysis is used to determine the most profitable crops grown on representative farms under two sets of localization regulations for the Fortieth Distributary. Also, three models are considered in which various levels of operating credit and land developed for irrigation are assumed to be available. An aggregate analysis is also made to determine the total input requirements and production that are likely on the distributary under six different sets of localization regulations. Each set of regulations differs with respect to the amount of acres of paddy allowed, and/or the seasons in which various crops can be grown, and/or the exact dates when irrigation water becomes available and terminates. The same representative farms used in the crop analysis are used in the aggregate analysis. Aggregate results are determined under assumed conditions of unlimited operating credit and unlimited land developed for irrigation. Results of the crop analysis show that paddy may not be a "preferred" crop on many farms when localization regulations are enforced. The results show that in situations of limited operating capital the dry land crops compete favorably with irrigated crops, primarily because of the higher returns per rupee invested in cash inputs on the dryland crops. If operating credit is actually as limited to farmers as it was assumed to be in the limited operating credit model then the higher returns per rupee invested for the dryland crops may explain why many farmers have not adopted irrigation. It was found that paddy competes favorably with the light irrigated crops where developed land and capital are plentiful. However, when developed land is limited it is generally more profitable to double crop with two light irrigated short duration crops than to grow one crop of longer duration paddy. Results of the aggregate analysis show that there are significant differences in aggregate production from a given supply of water, depending on the set of localization regulations that Is In force* In general, there Is little justification for using water for paddy if total production Is the major goal In the TBP. Also, It was found that a set of localization regulations that allows a broad range of possibilities for double cropping light Irrigated crops will yield greater total production. It was found that summer Irrigation of light Irrigated crops results In considerably less production because of heavy water requirements during this season and, also, because some of the more profitable light Irrigated crops cannot be grown during the summer.

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