Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Tank Maintenance and Conservation – An Economic Valuation Approach

Abstract

Contingent Valuation Method involves a resource by imputing a monetary value on the response of the people affected by the change in the state of the resource. In this study, contingent valuation method is used to study the factors influencing farmers decision on willingness to pay and payment levels for tank maintenance and conservation and to rank the reasons for farmers willingness to pay and non-willingness to pay. Two tanks surrounding the Noyyal river in Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu namely, Manickapuram tank and Anaipalayam tank were selected purposively. A quota of 30 farmers surrounding each tank were randomly selected and interviewed for willingness to pay after clearly explaining the benefits of tank rehabilitation, maintenance and conservation. The collected data were analyzed using Logistic, Multiple regression and Garette ranking technique. The study revealed that past benefit had a greater influence on farmers decision on Willingness to pay. Age, Education, Farm income, Farming experience and Land holding influences the payment levels. The study also identified and ranked the reasons for farmers willingness to pay and non-willingness to pay. Finally, the study recommends the farmers to construct small percolation ponds for improving the quality of groundwater.