Economic analysis of energy use in groundwater irrigation of dry areas: a case study in Syria

This paper analyses the energy costs of groundwater irrigation in five villages in four stability zones in the northeast of Aleppo province in Syria. Although low fuel prices led to expansion in irrigated areas and a rapid increase in cereal production, farmers in all villages tended to over-irrigate and allocated water to high-consuming crops. However, farmers reduced the area allocated to high-consuming crops when water became scarce because costs became prohibitive. The simulation results show that high water-consuming crops do not constitute optimal water allocation decision in water-scarce areas.