In the context of increasing water scarcity, understanding is growing that irrigation water rights are
important and that a lack of effective water rights systems constitute a major reason for inefficient
water management. This study carried out a contingent ranking experiment to study how smallholder
irrigators in South Africa would value potential changes in water rights. Three specific dimensions of
water rights, relevant for the South African case, are considered: duration, quality of title and
transferability. Results indicate that smallholder irrigators are prepared to pay considerably higher
water prices if improvements are made in the water rights system. This implies that the proposed
interventions in the water rights system would improve the efficiency and productivity of the smallscale
irrigation sector. The increased willingness to pay could furthermore also assist South African
government to reach the objective of increased cost recovery.