search
for
 About Bioline  All Journals  Testimonials  Membership  News


Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research
Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA
ISSN: 0718-5820
EISSN: 0718-5820
Vol. 69, No. 2, 2009, pp. 224-234
Bioline Code: cj09026
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge

Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 69, No. 2, 2009, pp. 224-234

 en Administration and management of irrigation water in 24 user organizations in chile
Jara, Jorge J.; Lopez, Marco; Martin, Alvaro; Salgado, Luis L. & Melo, Ovidio O.

Abstract

Approximately 85% of the water consumed in Chile is destined to agricultural irrigation and is managed by the users themselves. This study analyzed the price that irrigation water users pay to their Water User Associations (WUAs) to which they belong and the relationship of this price to the professional level and performance of the WUAs. The study included 24 WUAs: 10 River Administration Boards (JV) and 14 Irrigation Canal Associations (AC). The annual operational budget of each WUA, the price paid by users and the management capacities of the board of directors of each WUA were compared. The study also determined the relative value of user payments to WUAs as a proportion of total production costs of the main crops in each zone. The variability of user fees per irrigated hectare decreases when the irrigation area of the WUA is more than 10 000 ha, though this was not observed in JVs. The presence of technical-professional staff directly affects the development and growth of the WUAs. As well, the WUAs with a greater level of capacity development (NDC) have more board members with a higher education level and have lower rates of unpaid user fees. The price that users pay to the WUA by irrigated hectare represents less than 4.0% of the average total production cost of the main crops in the study area. Finally, no correlation was found between the prices that users pay and the average profitability of the main crops, or between price and the geographical location of the WUAs.

Keywords
water cost, water users associations, WUAs, water canal associations, river administration board

 
© Copyright 2009 Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research.
Alternative site location: http://www.inia.cl

Home Faq Resources Email Bioline
© Bioline International, 1989 - 2024, Site last up-dated on 01-Sep-2022.
Site created and maintained by the Reference Center on Environmental Information, CRIA, Brazil
System hosted by the Google Cloud Platform, GCP, Brazil