Zirā̒at va Fanāvarī-i Za̒farān (Mar 2019)
Investigation of Saffron Cultivation Development Policy To Reduce Water Consumption In Mashhad Plain
Abstract
Mashhad plain is one of plains of Khorasan Razavi province, which is one of the prohibited and critical prohibited plains. Due to unlicensed and unauthorized exploitation, the groundwater level has been gradually lowered and with a deficit of reservoir. Therefore, choosing the right strategies to reduce water consumption in this plain is necessary. Various policies have been proposed to reduce agricultural water consumption by researchers, including the policy of expanding crops with low water requirements such as saffron. This policy may be a good solution to tackling the increasing use of water, but since different policies have different dimensions and effects, each policy must be explicitly examined for the impact of each policy, as well as the implications of each policy. In this regard, the consequences of the policy of extending the cultivation of saffron in three scenarios of allocating 5%, 10% and 15% of the total land area of the three counties located in Mashhad Plain was investigated using a positive mathematical programming model. The results showed that with the application of this policy, in all three cities, the income of farmers will increase, but water consumption will decrease only slightly in Binalud, and will not change in other two cities. Because with the expansion of saffron cultivation, instead of reducing the level of products with a high water requirement, the level of wheat and barley that requires less water than saffron is reduced, and therefore no reduction in water consumption. So, In the following, it was examined whether the policy would be to increase the cultivation of saffron, along with the absence of a decrease in total surface area of wheat and barley. It was observed that the application of this policy would reduce the consumption of water in all three cities and increase the income of farmers
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