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THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF WATER IN AGRICULTURE AND AQUACULTURE: A CASE STUDY IN SOC TRANG AND BAC LIEU PROVINCE, VIETNAM

2017; Volume: 73; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2208/jscejer.73.i_165

2185-6648

Hue Thi Dao, K. Masutani, Hiroshi Ishidaira,

Child Nutrition and Water Access

Water scarcity and water conflict between rice farming and shrimp farming are major concerns in the coastal area of Vietnam. Developing an appropriate water allocation scheme may be a solution in this situation. To provide information on water use efficiency for water allocation problems, in this study, we assessed the value of water use for irrigation and shrimp farming using the Residual Value Method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 144 households in the target area to collect data relating to farming activities, such as average yield, input cost, and output benefit. In combination with estimates of water volumes to irrigate rice paddies and to supply shrimp farming, the water value was evaluated. The average economic values of irrigation water in Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces were 0.054 and 0.060 USD/m3, respectively. The water value in intensive shrimp farming was 0.58 USD/m3 in Bac Lieu province, and 0.67 USD/m3 in Soc Trang province, whereas in extensive/improved extensive shrimp farming, the values were 0.027 and 0.034 USD/m3 in Bac Lieu and Soc Trang provinces, respectively. Although these results show that the net return benefit from intensive shrimp farming was higher than that from rice farming, a multi-objective approach including social equity and environment protection as well as economic benefit should be considered for the sustainable development of river basins. Assigning economic values to water resources can encourage farmers to adopt sparing and efficient water uses.