Agricultural Water Price Reform: Accounting and Allocation of Initial Agricultural Water Rights at County Scale

Abstract

Due to the increased imbalance between water supply and water demand since the 1980s, especially the increase in agricultural water usage, China has undergone four stages in reforming agricultural water price since 2006: initial stage, in-depth pilot stage, comprehensive promotion stage, and policy classification stage. The focus of policy has also shifted from so-called “extensive” to “intensive”. From 2016 to 2020, over 28.7 million hectares of farmlands across the country have been reformed in the country. The comprehensive reform of agricultural water price is a systematic project, and this paper aims to explore a comprehensive, practical, and operational initial water rights accounting and distribution scheme for agriculture at county scale. The scheme can provide guidance for smooth implementation of the comprehensive reform of agricultural water price. We first provide a brief introduction to the current situation of the comprehensive reform of agricultural water price in China and then identify the key tasks in its implementation. An accounting method for the initial water rights of county agriculture is proposed based on the existing rigid constraint system of water resources. The initial agricultural water rights at the county level are allocated according to the priority-order of irrigation areas-beneficiary village groups-townships (and water users). Taking Huangchuan County as an example, the agricultural water rights of all irrigation areas in the county are allocated to the beneficiary villages and their subordinate towns. Completion of initial agricultural water right allocation in the county area is a priority as it not only helps to understand the base and reform process of the comprehensive reform of agricultural water price, but also facilitates follow-up reform work, such as the water-saving incentive mechanism. Our results can provide reference for comprehensive reform of agricultural water price in similar counties and regions and offer experience samples for the applied research of agricultural water right systems.

Keywords

• agricultural initial water rights
• water price
• agriculture
• distribution of water rights