ECONOMICS OF BRACKISH AND DESALINATION WATER REUSE FOR IRRIGATION

Recent developments in areas where brackish water constitutes either the only source of water or the main one for irrigation have shown that these waters are used efficiently and with a high crop yield. Furthermore, it is expected that shifting from saline to desalinated brackish water will be encouraged to a greater extent since this results in higher yields of existing plants and enables diversion to more profitable types of crops. In this study an economic evaluation has been made to calculate the desalination cost-limit of irrigation brackish water shifting from low-revenue salt-tolerant crops to high-revenue salt-sensitive crops.