Discharge‐based economic valuation of irrigation water: Evidence from the Teesta River, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Studies estimating the value of irrigation water as a function of river discharge are rarely found in the literature; however, discharge‐based valuation carries significance when the in‐ and off‐stream uses are evaluated for optimal water allocation. This paper develops the total and marginal benefit functions of the key off‐stream water use, irrigation, as a function of flow in the Teesta River of Bangladesh. The field water balance approach and CROPWAT modelling are used to calculate irrigation water requirements for rice and other crops respectively. The residual imputation method is employed to estimate the value of irrigation water. In the cases of insufficient flow in the river, several scenarios based on (i) conjunctive uses of groundwater, (ii) reduction in irrigated…