Agricultural water allocation efficiency in a developing country canal irrigation system

There is ample evidence that canal systems often fail to reach their design capacity. This study argues that inefficient allocation of water within canals is one cause. This study collects precise measures of farm-level water withdrawals using flow meters in a canal in Pakistan. These data reveal that farmers near the head of the canal get more canal water than farmers near the tail, even accounting for conveyance efficiency. The results suggest that improvements in canal water management would yield efficiency gains for the canal.