Comparative analysis of construction costs of irrigation systems for growing crops in the Central Federal District

Under the planned economy, the state assumed all additional costs and operating costs for transportation and water supply for irrigation, but at the same time established plans to achieve maximum productivity in specific natural and climatic conditions. In a market economy, these costs are fully borne by farmers. The profitability of production depends on the meteorological conditions of the year, the quality of the sowing and planting material, the equipment of the economy, the availability of labor resources, etc. The purpose of this study was to analyze the construction costs of an irrigation system for growing crops in the Central Federal District. State-subsidized irrigation reclamation projects for 2022 and 2023 were compared. According to the projects, capital investments for the construction of a drip irrigation system are on average located on an area of 86 hectares, and with the use of sprinkler equipment – 412 hectares. According to the analysis, the construction of drip irrigation systems is 1.8 times more expensive than rain systems. The main crop (75%) on drip irrigation is Malus P. Mill. (Malus domestica). A significant part of the crops on the rain systems is corn Zea mays (38% for grain) and wheat Triticum aestivum L. (spring and winter – 18%).