Investment returns on irrigation infrastructure almost too good to be true

Recent Saskatchewan Government investment in the Lake Diefenbaker region irrigation infrastructure pays for itself every two years.

A master’s thesis by a University of Saskatchewan graduate student on the economic impact of irrigation shows a 44 per cent annual return from every dollar the government invested in developing 8,472 acres of irrigation in the district between 2001 and 2016.

Not only did the investment pay off handsomely, Jillian Brown found the $26.5 million in government funds created almost 1,200 full-time jobs.

Her presentation to the annual Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association (SIPA) conference in Moose Jaw seemed incredible to the irrigation farmers attending.

“Has the government seen this?” asked one excited farmer.

Brown said the document was sent to the provincial agency that helped fund her work.

“I think you will get most politicians reviewing this to agree,” she said. “But they have limited dollars and they have to convince the public that the spending is justified, that it is sensible.” When the conference wrapped up for the day, MLA Warren Kaeding, Legislative Secretary for the Minister of Agriculture, agreed with her findings.

“We have limited dollars,” said the Melville Saltcoats MLA. He said the government used Brown’s findings to build support for a just announced rural Internet communications upgrade by SaskTel. Brown said her work found the $26.5 million investment created $201 million of increased output over 20 years. Twenty years is about the life span of a pivot sprinkler system.

As a comparison, she said an economic model of the 116,500 acres in Saskatchewan irrigation districts found dryland farming would reduce output by $116 million over 20 years and cut 1,300 jobs. Brown said Alberta historically developed irrigation with early colony-style projects, while Saskatchewan authorities feared a loss of new homesteaders if irrigation were promoted. “The (settlers) might think it was too dry.”

Early irrigation in Saskatchewan was confined to livestock forage in the Southwest.

The province has 631,000 acres of potential irrigation land, she said. Her work with Statistics Canada also found Saskatchewan has 256,000 acres of irrigated land not in organized irrigation districts. SIPA organizers had estimated 100,000 acres in non-district irrigation.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@ sasktel.net