Efficiency of irrigation water application in sugarcane cultivation in Pakistan

BACKGROUND Diminishing irrigation water supplies are threatening the sustainability of irrigated agriculture in Pakistan. Within the context of dwindling water resources and low agricultural water productivity, it is imperative to improve efficiency in agricultural production and to make efficient use of available water resources. This study employs a non‐parametric approach to estimate the extent of technical and irrigation water efficiency in sugarcane cultivation in Pakistan. RESULTS The mean technical efficiency score is 0.96 for tube‐well owners whereas it is 0.94 for water buyers. The mean irrigation water efficiency score is 0.86 for tube‐well owners whereas it is 0.72 for water buyers. We find that across all farms, 59% of the tube‐well owners and 45% of the water buyers are fully technically efficient, whereas only 36% of the tube‐well owners and 30% of the water buyer are fully efficient in irrigation water use. CONCLUSIONS This study finds that sugarcane growers are operating at fairly high technical efficiency levels. But, there is considerable potential to improve irrigation water efficiency. This study proposes expanding the role of agricultural extension services from merely agronomic grounds to guide farmers to undertake cost benefit analysis of the available production technology, would help achieve higher efficiency levels. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry