**7. Discussion**

### *7.1. Balancing Land Allocation*

As an important production input, land oftentimes overshadows irrigation water, and the farmers' decision on land input may determine water use and other inputs [76]. A profit maximizing producer might want to optimally allocate land to planting one or more crops while considering the constraints as well as other real and perceived factors. In an irrigated multi-crop production system, water availability is a serious consideration in the production function of farmers. Consistent with Moore and Dinar [73], our results show a better water availability, with more sources and wells for groundwater extraction, as an input for crop production increases land allocation in a multi-crop system. Compared to dryland production, adequate irrigation has been confirmed to increase output and farm income [39]. In particular, for water-consuming crops, farmers' production decisions prefers more water availability and less variation of water supply in growing seasons. Otherwise the yield can be hurt and producers lose incentives to continue farming.

Not only should water sources be considered in agricultural production, but the prices of inputs are important in driving or limiting factors, including the water price and energy price [62]. Water price is integrated with water availability in irrigated farming decisions [54]. While water prices are typically much lower than their real value. Given the inelastic water demand in farm irrigation, a small increase within the low price range may not be effective to conserve water and subsequently may not show a clear influencing pattern on land allocation [54].

In addition to the costs, other farm and farmer characteristics, nonmonetary motivations, or lack thereof, and information availability are equally important in farmers' decision-making [77]. A large farmland may exhibit economies of scale in crop production, thus, increasing the land allocation to more profitable crops. As the cost of per unit input decreases, the cost advantage can be remarkable and larger production returns can be expected. Additionally, farmers' production incentives can be other nonmonetary motivations. In particular, technical assistance and informational support can facilitate scientific farming decisions [78]. Irrigated production incorporates the adoption of agricultural innovations and the best management practices, which are largely adviser-driven and going beyond the farmers' experience. Therefore, the land use decisions are not free from information access and resources for overcoming the obstacles.

Land use decisions can be affected by both weather conditions in the past and farmers' climate perceptions in the coming growing seasons. Climate variability and risks can be a major threat to the farm output if appropriate coping strategies are not in place [18]. Though insurance helps reduce the potential damage, balancing land allocation according to the experienced and perceived weather variability can optimize input combinations and stabilize the expected farm income [4]. In addition, land use decisions are differing with varying geographical conditions at the state and regional levels. Coupled with climatic conditions, farmers growing the same crops may allocate different portions of land to each crop because they are facing different soil types and land slopes, among others [51]. The state and regional boundaries may also represent the implicit effects of water institutions, which influence land allocation decisions through affecting access to different water sources and the priority of water rights.
