Author(s): Niannian Yuan; Yujiang Xiong; Yalong Li; Baokun Xu; Fengli Liu; Haolong Fu
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Keywords: Small-scale irrigation projects; Comprehensive reform of agricultural water price; Water users’ associations; Water right; Water measurement
Abstract: There are many small-scale irrigation projects in China with insufficient operation and maintenance funds, operation management and protection organizations, and management and water fee collection systems. As a result, the projects cannot be maintained normally, which directly affects the long-term development of project benefits. Comprehensive reform of agricultural water price (CRAWP) includes the distribution of initial agricultural water rights; the construction of water users’ associations; the implementation of the project property rights system; and the establishment of agricultural water pricing mechanisms, agricultural water precise subsidy mechanisms, and water-saving incentive mechanisms. CRAWP can fundamentally solve the problems of “single advance” and “fragmentation” in the reform and development of farmland water conservancies in China, promote the organic integration of the improvement of irrigation facilities and the construction of management systems, and introduce a sound construction and management mechanism for small-scale irrigation projects. The case in this paper illustrates the CRAWP in Qianjiang, a city in China, which has many rivers and lakes and is rich in water resources, and will provide a reference model for similar areas in China.
Year: 2024