An Investigation On Effects Of Implementing Under-Pressure Irrigation Projects On Agriculture Sector Productivity In Khorasan Razav

Introduction Under-Pressure Irrigation Projects (UPIPs) are the most frequently implemented water projects undertaken by the Agricultural Organization in Khorasan Razavi Province. While an increase in the productivity of agricultural sector is the main goal of these projects, there are few, if any, studies focusing on calculating total factor productivity of UPIPs. Therefore, this study will use an integrated Matching-Malmquist analysis to calculate the effects of implementing UPIPs on the productivity of farms. Materials and Methods This study used a two-stage approach to evaluate the effects of implementing UPIPs on the productivity of farms. First, the Malmquist Productivity Change Index (MPCI) was used to measure changes in the productivity of a treatment and a control group in which the UPIPs was and was not implemented repectively. Second, a Genetic Matching Method was used to compare the MPCI between the two goups. Results and Discussion Results showed that the average difference between the treatment and control groups was 0.29. In other words, implementing UPIPs improved the productivity of farms by 29%. Suggestions The significant increase of 29 percent in the productivity of farms that implemented UPIP suggests that these projects should be given a higher priority. Furthermore, the results show that actions that increase the level of technology (such as UPIPs) contribute more to improving productivity than actions such as educational programs for better farming practices. JEL Classification: C31, D04, D24‎