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Impacts of off-farm employment on groundwater irrigation in North China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2018

Ning Yin ,
Qiuqiong Huang  and
Yumeng Wang
Ning Yin
Affiliation:
Economic College, Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan, China
Qiuqiong Huang
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Yumeng Wang*
Affiliation:
School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
*
*Corresponding author. Email: wymmyw@ruc.edu.cn
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Abstract

This study examines the relationship between groundwater irrigation and off-farm employment with a set of household level data collected in North China. The results provide evidence that off-farm employment reduces both time spent on irrigation in terms of total hours of irrigation and the amount of groundwater pumped. However, these effects have not resulted in losses of crop production. In fact, water productivity measured as output value produced per m3 of groundwater pumped is higher among households with off-farm employment. These seemingly contradictory findings are explained by the increased use of water-saving technologies such as furrow irrigation, underground pipes and/or lined canals. These technologies reduce seepage losses during the conveyance of groundwater as well as during irrigation of the fields. As a result, less groundwater needs to be pumped to achieve the same level of groundwater irrigation application rate in the field.

Keywords

Groundwaterirrigationlocal off-farm employmentmigrationNorth Chinawater-saving technology

JEL classification

O15: Human Resources • Human Development • Income Distribution • Migration Q12: Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets Q25: Water
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , April 2018 , pp. 161 - 183
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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