Page 58 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE

each system at four pumping lifts. Five pumping lifts of 150 feet, 250

feet, 350 feet, 450 feet, and 550 feet are assumed for the pumping cost
calculations. Natural gas is the most commonly used fuel to pump water

in the region. Therefore, fuel costs to pump water from the Ogallala
Aquifer are based on natural gas price at the rate of $6.75 per MCF

(Amosson et al., 2009).

The investment costs for the alternative irrigation systems at four
pumping lift levels including the well, pump, engine and distribution

systems are presented in Table 3. Conventional Furrow requires the
least capital investment, $115,800 ($723.75 per acre), at 250 feet lift but

is considered the most labor-intensive method of irrigation, as the pipes

are often moved manually. A furrow system can easily be converted to
surge flow by adding surge valves to the system. Surge flow requires an

investment of $119,800 ($748.75 per acre) for a 250 feet lift. Additional
investment to change from furrow to surge flow is only $25 per acre but

application efficiency is improved from 60 percent to 75 percent.
The investment costs required for MESA, LESA, and LEPA are

$138,000 ($1104.00 per acre), $141,900 ($1,135.20 per acre), and

$143,000 ($1,144.00 per acre), respectively for a 250 feet lift. MESA
can be converted to LESA with an additional investment of $31.20 per

acre. Converting LESA to LEPA requires an additional investment of
$8.80 per acre. Drip requires the highest capital investment; however, it

is considered the least labor-intensive method of irrigation due to
automation. At a pumping lift of 550 feet, the furrow system requires an

investment of $202,300 ($1,264.38 per acre) for the well, pump, engine

and distribution system on 160 acres where the subsurface drip requires

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