Assessing the efficiency gains, in terms of crop production and productivity, of using agricultural water management is critical to understanding the comparative advantage of using different storage and water-lifting technologies in irrigation development. This study aims to compare the efficiency differences among irrigation farmers using various water-lifting technologies and among users of various technology suites in the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. Cross-sectional data collected from 320 randomly selected smallholder farmers, considering the 2019/2020 production season, were used to analyse a one-step Cobb–Douglas stochastic frontier function. The results of the study revealed the existence of technical and allocative efficiency differences between gravity and fuel pump users. Factors that positively determine the level of technical efficiency scores are gender, age, education status, technology type and extension contact. Irrigation experience, access to credit, training and technology type positively affected allocative efficiency, while the distance to the irrigation water source had a negative effect. The findings have important implications for agricultural policy and practice as improving efficiency through the adoption of fuel-powered water-lifting technology could further improve overall agricultural productivity. Designing small-scale friendly business models and promoting irrigation extension services, among others, is critical for scaling successful water management technologies.

中文翻译：

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埃塞俄比亚中部裂谷采用不同蓄水和提水技术的作物生产的技术和配置效率

评估农业用水管理在作物生产和生产力方面的效率增益对于了解在灌溉发展中使用不同蓄水和提水技术的比较优势至关重要。本研究旨在比较埃塞俄比亚中部裂谷地区使用各种提水技术的灌溉农民以及使用各种技术套件的用户之间的效率差异。考虑到 2019/2020 年生产季节，从 320 个随机选择的小农收集的横截面数据用于分析一步柯布-道格拉斯随机前沿函数。研究结果揭示了重力泵用户和燃油泵用户之间存在技术和配置效率差异。积极决定技术效率得分水平的因素有性别、年龄、教育状况、技术类型和延伸联系。灌溉经验、获得信贷的机会、培训和技术类型对配置效率产生正向影响，而距灌溉水源的距离则产生负向影响。研究结果对农业政策和实践具有重要意义，因为通过采用燃料动力提水技术提高效率可以进一步提高整体农业生产力。设计小规模友好的商业模式和促进灌溉推广服务等对于推广成功的水管理技术至关重要。