Irrigation farmers in the lower reaches of the Vaal and Riet Rivers are experiencing substantial yield reductions in certain crops and more profitable crops have been withdrawn from production, hypothesised, as a result of generally poor but especially fluctuating water quality. In this paper...

Deficit irrigation and increasing irrigation application efficiency were analysed as water-utilisation strategies through chance-constrained linear programming (CCLP) to establish whether these strategies were economically advantageous and water conserving. Deficit irrigation was modelled...

Technological information is used to assess KwaZulu-Natal commercial sugarcane farmers' intra-plot (panel) soil conservation relative to requirements of the Conservation of Natural Resources Act of 1983. Findings indicate that farmers consider enforcement of the Act to be unlikely and that 28...

The true value of irrigation water in the Olifants river irrigation system is determined using a static deterministic linear programming model. This paper illustrates that a water market will generate price signals which will reflect the true scarcity of water. If the water market is left to...

Optimum management strategies (crop rotation systems, crop areas, irrigation intensities and moveable capital replacement) for typical one, two and three plot farmers at Vaalharts were determined under different intensities and incidences of water limitations as well as with increased water...

A Principal components analysis and multiple regression techniques are used to analyse heterogeneity in 53 KwaZulu-Natal sugarcane farmers soil conservation decisions. Minimum tillage and construction of water carrying terraces are the most common methods used, whereas trash mulching is least...

Increasing scarcity and competition for water resources has led to international recognition that public policies must change to manage water as an economic commodity. An analysis of natural resources and markets shows that limited potential exists in a regional context for trade in 'virtual...

This paper links two different methodologies to determine the effects of climate change on the Western Cape farm sector. First, it uses a general circulation model (GCM) to model future climate change in the Western Cape, particularly with respect to precipitation. Second, a sector mathematical...

Information on the value of water in use is a prerequisite for the efficient allocation, utilization, trading and transfer thereof. These issues are becoming very important for South Africa. Linear programming (LP) and stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) are two techniques that can be applied...

Important water issues in South Africa relate to equity, efficiency of use, quality (return flow pollution) and instream uses such as the environment. Farmers in South Africa pay water rates whether or not water is used and water is not volumetric priced. Water markets can attach an opportunity...