Componentes del valor del agua a considerar en la determinación de las tarifas de riego en la zona citrícola de Villa del Rosario, provincia de Entre Ríos, Argentina

The regulations governing water in most Latin American countries constitute the regulatory instrument for the use and protection of a natural resource such as water. The payment of an “irrigation canon”, provided for in all legislation, is an instrument that seeks to improve efficiency in resource allocation and ensure financing of the water system. Its determination is closely linked to the determination of the “economic value of water”. The objective of this research is to determine the components of said value and its impact on the irrigation canon, around the management of the irrigation system of an artificial course in the public domain, as is the case of the aqueduct built in the citrus area of Villa del Rosario, province of Entre Ríos, Argentina. For the analysis, the components of the value of water were identified, using secondary sources of information. The “conflict analysis” procedure made it possible to recognize the different actors involved, as well as their positions regarding irrigation management, based on systematizing information from different sources (consultancies and interviews). Finally, producers were surveyed, based on a stratified sample, with the aim of reinforcing economic and organizational aspects of the consortium. The results determine that the cost of availability of the resource, which includes the cost of investment and maintenance expenses, was estimated in the order of US$ 0.04936 per m3 of water. This rate represents the minimum payment to be made by producers for use for productive purposes, without subsidies and without considering any profit or economic or environmental externalities. In turn, the opportunity cost assumed different values for the different farm scales considered: US$/m3 0.01224 for those of 15 ha; US$/m3 0.1056 for those of 23 ha; US$/m3 0.1715 for those of 23 ha with irrigation before the work.