Statistically significant data indicates micro-irrigation technology increases incomes and water efficiency.

iDE’s monitoring and evaluation team conducted a rigorous quasi-experimental evaluation of crop production and income changes in Vietnam in February/March of 2016. The results demonstrated that micro-irrigation technology (MIT) users earned, on average, more than double per square meter of cultivated land than control households. Specifically, treatment households earned $17 PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) of crop profit per square meter of land in comparison to control households who earned $8 PPP profit per square meter of land. Statistically significant results of this magnitude, particularly given the small sample size for the study, demonstrate the effectiveness of MIT.

With micro-irrigation, farmers use one-third of the water versus traditional flood and furrow irrigation

iDE’s monitoring and evaluation team conducted a rigorous quasi-experimental evaluation of crop production and income changes in Vietnam in February/March 2016. Included in the survey instrument was a module that collected self-reported farm-level water use across three distinct crop stages (seedling, growth, and fruiting). Measurements were taken on-site to calculate flow rates for irrigation systems, accounting for both micro-sprinkler and flood furrow or hosepipe methods. We found that treatment households use significantly less water for seeding and fruiting stages of the crop cycle, as well as in total summation, in comparison to control households per square meter of cultivation. In total, treatment households used 32 percent less water than control households.