Change colour: DARK TEXT on WHITE BACKGROUND
Change colour: WHITE TEXT on DARK BACKGROUND
Trouble reading this
report, click to reverse
colour scheme

Australian Government
abare.gov.au
Irrigation in the Murray-Darling Basin: Regional estimates of gross value of irrigated production in 2006-07
    Foreword
    Acknowledgements
      Introduction
      Methods for
      estimating GVIAP
      Survey results
      Conclusions
      Appendix A
      Download PDF

Irrigation in the Murray-Darling Basin:
Regional estimates of gross value of irrigated production in 2006-07

Introduction

The Murray-Darling Basin is an important agricultural region in Australia, covering an area of around 1 million square kilometres and accounting for about 40 per cent of Australia’s total gross value of agricultural production in 2006-07 (ABS 2008a). While most agricultural land is used for dryland enterprises, the Basin also supports a large irrigation sector with around 17 000 square kilometres being irrigated in 2005-06 (ABS 2008a).

Given the relative importance of the Murray-Darling Basin to the Australian economy, industry and government decision-makers need detailed information on economic activities within the Basin. To better understand the economic characteristics of irrigation industries at a farm level, ABARE was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts to undertake a survey of irrigators throughout the Basin. Additional funding for the survey was provided by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The objective of the survey was to collect a range of financial and physical data for the 2006-07 financial year from irrigation farms in selected regions and industries within the Murray-Darling Basin.

Using data collected in the ABARE survey of irrigation farms, it is possible to refine the estimates of gross value of irrigated agricultural production (GVIAP) published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Gross value of production is a measure commonly used to demonstrate the contribution of an activity to the economy. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has regularly published estimates of the gross value of agricultural production (GVP) and, more recently, the gross value of irrigated agricultural production (GVIAP) within the Murray-Darling Basin (ABS 2008a). GVIAP refers to the gross value of agricultural commodities which are produced with the assistance of irrigation. However, estimates of GVIAP by region and industry are not currently available.

This report presents a summary of estimates of crop yields and unit prices received for irrigated crops by region in 2006-07. These results were then used to estimate the contribution of various enterprises to GVIAP by region within the Basin.