In principle, the approach toward irrigation management in India has gradually shifted froma government-dominated, supply-side paradigm toward a user-preferred, demand-sideparadigm. Yet, decisions regarding water allocation and irrigation charges do not adequately incorporate farmers’preferences and their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for improvedirrigation. Since public investment on irrigation projects is sizeable and the opportunitycost of irrigation water is increasing, there exists a need to estimate the economic value ofirrigation water in order to utilize it in an efficient manner. This paper presents results of acontingent valuation (CV) study conducted in a semi-arid region, namely, the MalaprabhaIrrigation Project in Karnataka, India, which elicited farmers’ preferences and their WTPvalue for improved irrigation. The results suggest that farmers predict a significant increasein agricultural benefits due to additional irrigation and they are willing to pay significantlyhigher than what they are currently paying to secure these benefits. It implies that improvedirrigation increases not only the farmers’ benefits but could potentially increase the government’s revenue, resulting in a win-win outcome.