The willingness to pay for agricultural irrigation water and the influencing factors in the Dujiangyan irrigation area: An empirical double-hurdle model analysis

Abstract

Water prices are an efficient way to manage and allocate water resources. A scientific and reasonable water price standard can assist farmers to optimize their water allocations and ensure an efficient agricultural water system. However, under the current agricultural water pricing policy, it is difficult for water resource management departments to achieve sustainable operation because of unreasonable water price standards and the unwillingness of farmers to pay for agricultural irrigation water. Therefore, to ensure the sustainable management of agricultural water departments, it is important to design scientific and reasonable water price mechanisms that give full play to the regulatory role of agricultural water prices and encourage farmers to pay agricultural water fees. Based on survey data from 335 farming households in the Dujiangyan Irrigation Area, Sichuan, China, in 2019, a double-hurdle model was used to assess the willingness to pay for agricultural irrigation water. The willingness to pay was positively impacted by age, education level, willingness to participate, the arable land area, the water fee proportion, and water-saving awareness but negatively impacted by the water price standard and the farmers’ perceptions of the water price standard. Based on these results, to encourage farmers to participate in and afford agricultural water payments and to give full play to the water price adjustment function and other countermeasures, it is proposed that 1) water-saving awareness training be strengthened; 2) agricultural modernization be promoted; and 3) water price standards be scientifically and rationally formulated.