 Irrigation Externalities and Agricultural Sustainability in South‐eastern NigeriaKevin C. Urama and Ian Hodge Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2004, vol. 55, issue 3, 479-501 Abstract: Agricultural intensification by irrigation is increasingly regarded as the key to solving food supply problems in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Conversely, mounting empirical evidence suggests that irrigation externalities might preclude long‐term sustainability of arable agriculture. Choosing between intensive irrigation schemes and less intensive farming systems is therefore, problematic. The paper examines the implications of irrigation intensification in south‐eastern Nigeria using adjacent rain‐fed farms as the counterfactual. The analyses found mixed results. When first introduced, the irrigation scheme increased marginal factor productivity and gross margins but this has subsequently declined to the extent that the marginal factor product of land has become negative. The annual yields of the irrigated farms were also less stable than those of the less intensive rain‐fed farms. These results indicate the dilemma that irrigation externalities present to sustainable agricultural policy and suggest a need to look again at the potential for developments in rain‐fed systems. Date: 2004 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jageco:v:55:y:2004:i:3:p:479-501 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Journal of Agricultural Economics is currently edited by David Harvey More articles in Journal of Agricultural Economics from Wiley Blackwell |
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