Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 13 ISSUE 1
Written by Stanley JOHNSON, Rangesan NARAYANAN, Paltamet ESENOV, Nickolay ZVEREV
Irrigation return flows increase the salt concentrations of receiving water bodies and cause water logging which affect agricultural productivity in Turkmenistan. Flooding irrigation drainage water using on natural pastures has also had adverse effects on the long-term productivity of desert ranges. This study examines the economics of halophytes as feed for sheep using saline irrigation water from drainage collector systems on a representative farm. Cost-benefit and rate of return analyses show that the project is economically feasible for reused water with 1400 mg/l mineralization levels or less. At higher mineral concentrations in water, or in more saline soils, bioremediation through halophyte fodder production can be profitably implemented if new market incentives exist. Value chain analysis is applied to evaluate alternative incentive systems for sheep operations based on saline water irrigated halophyte fodder production.
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