Economics of Water Use for Commodity Production in Scarcity Arid Regions : Kutum, Darfur

This paper investigates water use in a rural village in semi-arid of Darfur region. Water use is viewed from the perspective of four production sectors: agriculture, rural industry, trade and services as well as domestic requirements: drinking, cooking and sanitary uses. Water for these uses may be from three sources: rain, surface and underground water. Surveys indicate that groundwater use is dominated by agricultural activities including irrigated vegetables and grains, tree crops, and animal rearing. A ratio of water use to income generated is used as a measure of water intensity compared across activities and commodities. Agricultural commodities, irrigated vegetables, grains and trees, are the most water intensive. The results provide useful background information for the development of predictive models and water conservation strategies. It presents an analysis of water use in a drought-inflicted of Darfur as preliminary findings of a research project whose objective is to assess the implications of alternative rural development scenarios for water use and water scarcity