Abstract
The goal of integrated on-farm drainage management (IFDM) is to eliminate the discharge of subsurface drainage water from farms into waterways or evaporation ponds. Components of a typical IFDM system include improved irrigation practices, irrigation of salt-tolerant plants with drainage water, and on-farm disposal of drainage water using a solar evaporator. Costs of an IFDM system include initial investments, operation and maintenance, and the opportunity costs of land used for the solar evaporator and for irrigation of nonmarketable, salt-tolerant plants. The farm-level cost of an IFDM system increases with the proportion of farmland used to irrigate salt-tolerant plants. A conceptual framework for evaluating the farm-level costs of IFDM is presented, along with empirical analysis from California’s San Joaquin Valley.
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Wichelns, D. Economic analysis of integrated on-farm drainage management. Irrig Drainage Syst 19, 161–177 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10795-005-3266-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10795-005-3266-9