An agent-based simulation of cooperation in the use of irrigation systems

Abstract

This study presents an agent-based simulation of the formation of cooperation in using irrigation. The simulation model is developed based on our understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which farmer households participate the cooperation. That is, a household first becomes a potential participant when the cost of cooperation it needs to sustain is not higher than the amount it can afford or is willing to pay; and on top of this, the propensity that the household participates is heavily affected by its personal characteristics and neighborhood effects. We use model to examine the impacts of initial participants and government support on both the reach and velocity of the cooperation diffusion. The model is calibrated to villages with successfully running Water User Association in central China. Our results show that government support plays a critical role but the initial participants do not matter much for different types of initial participants and network structure of the village.