Assessing the Technical and Economic Efficiency of Improving the Ameliorative State of Saline Land: A Case Study of the Syrdarya Region

Abstract

This article examines the economic efficiency of land reclamation measures for desalinating saline land, using the example of a hypothetical farm in the Syrdarya province of Uzbekistan. The evaluation method employed is the calculation of discounted costs. The results indicate that the payback period for works on weakly and moderately saline lands is 4 years and 3 years, respectively, with a net discounted income of $58,375 and $143,678 for the hypothetical farm under analysis. It is established that desalinisation of highly saline lands is unprofitable and they should be excluded from agricultural turnover.