The The use of irrigation as an indicator of profitability in family agricultural businesses in Mexico

Abstract

Family agricultural businesses play an important role in the long-term maintenance of the agricultural economy in rural areas, this implies a close relationship between capacities, potentials, and objectives related to sustainable development from a socio-economic perspective. Family farming, like any business, seeks to optimize the use of resources in the production of their crops, however, when it comes to natural resources, their use is not always rational. The study area includes the Irrigation District 03 on the right side of the Santiago River, in the state of Nayarit; whose water concession entitles it to the use, exploitation, and exploitation of national waters for an annual volume of 32,996,000 m3 and, on the other hand, the municipality of Huejotzingo in the state of Puebla, an area that produces rainfed corn. The objective of this research was to analyze agricultural production to determine if there is an efficient use of irrigation water that impacts the profitability of its crops through the marginal revenue product of water. For this, were applied 91 and 81 surveys respectively through a probabilistic sample to business owners to determine their costs, income, types of crops, irrigation technologies, as well as the socio-economic characteristics of the production unit. The most important crops are beans and tobacco, which represent 67% and 25% in the case of the use of sprinkler irrigation systems, and the corn with 100% in the case of rainfed crops. The use of water in crops implies increases in income per hectare of up to 40.4% more with the rainfed system, however, rainfed agriculture implies socio-economic relationships of great importance for the regions where it is developed.