Your search found 3 records
1 Weldesilassie, A. B.; Fror, O.; Boelee, Eline; Dabbert, S. 2009. The economic value of improved wastewater irrigation: a contingent valuation study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 34(3):428-449.
Wastewater irrigation ; Valuation ; Surveys ; Economic aspects ; Models ; Irrigation systems ; Water use ; Crop production ; Households / Ethiopia / Addis Ababa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.3 G136 WEL Record No: H042558)
(0.53 MB)
In developing countries the use of wastewater for irrigation can cause considerable harm to public health and the environment. This paper uses contingent valuation to estimate the economic value of safe use of wastewater for crop production on farms within and around Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We estimate a surprisingly large welfare gain from policies for safe use of wastewater for irrigation. Our study highlights the potential and the possible pitfalls of using nonmarket valuation techniques as an input into public decision making where traditional resource use interacts with public health and environmental concerns in complex ways.
2 Weldesilassie, A. B.; Boelee, Eline; Drechsel, Pay; Dabbert, S. 2010. Wastewater use in crop production in peri-urban areas of Addis Ababa: impacts on health in farm households. Environment and Development Economics, 16(1):25-49. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X1000029X]
Wastewater irrigation ; Water quality ; Health hazards ; Farmers ; Households ; Income ; Rivers ; Water pollution ; Urban agriculture ; Vegetables ; Surveys ; Econometric models / Ethiopia / Addis Ababa / Akaki River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H043154)
(0.12 MB)
Using stream water polluted with untreated wastewater in agriculture is controversial due to its combination of benefits and negative health impacts. Using data from a household survey, ‘wastewater’ and ‘freshwater’ farmers were analysed comparatively to examine the perceived impacts of irrigation water quality on farmers’ health and to evaluate the extent of health damage. Probability of illness was estimated using the theory of utility-maximising behaviour of households subject to the conventional farm household production model, augmented by adding a health production function. Reduced model and instrumental variable probit specifications both show that perceived illness prevalence is significantly higher for household members working on wastewater irrigation farms than for those working with freshwater. Our data entails econometric complications (e.g., endogeneity of farmers’ behaviour, unobserved location-specific characteristics). Ignoring these will result in underestimation of the value of policy interventions designed to reduce potential health damage of wastewater use in irrigation.
3 Weldesilassie, A. B.; Amerasinghe, Priyanie; Danso, G. 2011. Assessing the empirical challenges of evaluating the benefits and risks of irrigating with wastewater. Water International, 36(4):441-454. (Special issue on "Wastewater use in agriculture: economics, risks and opportunities" with contributions by IWMI authors). [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2011.595056]
Wastewater irrigation ; Risks ; Public health ; Economic impact ; Valuation ; Policy ; Corporate culture / Africa / Asia / Pakistan / India / Ghana / Ethiopia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: PER Record No: H044196)
(0.17 MB)
In this article the authors assess the empirical challenges of estimating the costs and benefits of using wastewater in agriculture. The wide variation in the characteristics of wastewater irrigation complicates efforts to estimate costs and benefits, and to transfer such estimates across locations. They examine wastewater use in four countries in Africa and Asia, where research has been conducted for many years. They find a significant patchwork of results, but no satisfying overall assessment. The authors suggest focusing on the cost-effectiveness of interventions for risk reduction, rather than economic analyses of the full range of costs and benefits of using wastewater in agriculture.
Powered by DB/Text WebPublisher, from
