Enhancing water policy discussions by including analysis of non-water inputs and farm-level constraints

Water resource professionals have many opportunities to contribute to policy discussions regarding agricultural productivity. Often those discussions are focused on increasing the output generated with limited water supplies, such as maximizing the “crop per drop” or improving irrigation efficiencies, either at the field level or throughout a river basin. Policy discussions involving water resources in developing countries can be enhanced by placing greater emphasis on the roles of non-water inputs and resource constraints in farm-level production and marketing decisions. Three categories of policies that lie outside the water resource realm, but have substantial impacts on water use and agricultural productivity, are examined: (1) policies that modify farm-level input and output prices directly; (2) international trade policies; and (3) policies that modify key institutions, such as land tenure and the sources of investment funds.