Area under surface water irrigation expanding
Irrigation by surface water is steadily expanding in different parts of the country while the use of groundwater is declining thanks to the government's move to re-excavate canals and build rubber dams.
The latest data shows that the area under surface water irrigation grew to 27.35 per cent of the total irrigated area of 56.54 lakh hectares in fiscal 2020-21.
Three years ago, the total area under surface water irrigation was 26.75 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC).
Data shows that the overall area under irrigation grew 2 per cent during this period and a major portion of the expanded area came from increased coverage of surface water irrigation.
The latest data shows that the area under surface water irrigation grew to 27.35 per cent of the total irrigated area of 56.54 lakh hectares in fiscal 2020-21
As a result, the area under groundwater irrigation declined by nearly one percentage point to 72.65 per cent of the total irrigated area in fiscal 2020-21.
The expansion takes place at a time when farmers and people in some districts along the Barind tract in the north and parts of Mymensigh are facing difficulty in getting water from their shallow and hand tube wells for irrigation and household use during the dry season, owing to the depletion of water in aquifers.
"This is a positive development from all aspects. Cost of irrigation of farmers will reduce for use of surface water instead of groundwater," said Md Abdul Mojid, a professor of the department of irrigation and water management at the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensigh.
Increased use of surface water for irrigation will also reduce pressure on groundwater and thus contribute to replenishing the aquifers, he said.
Th government's push for expanding surface water-based irrigation systems for food production began nearly a decade ago in the face of complaints that shallow tube-well operators were not getting adequate water in certain areas owing to a fall in groundwater levels and arsenic contamination.
Mojid said groundwater covered 80 per cent of the total irrigated area during the period between 2005 and 2010.
Since then, it took several projects to utilise surface water sources to irrigate croplands and cut the dependence on groundwater.
Mohammad Zafar Ullah, chief engineer of minor irrigation at the BADC, said the state agency re-excavated canals and rivers as well as developed infrastructure to expand surface water-based irrigation.
The state agency, which provides irrigation support to farmers from groundwater and surface water sources through deep, shallow and low lift pumps, re-excavated 9,000 kilometres of canals.
Besides, the dredging of rivers and canals by the Bangladesh Water Development Board has increased their water storage capacities.
As a result, water remains available in these waterbodies during the dry season, particularly the February-March period.
He said government agencies, including BADC and the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, are bringing an additional 25,000-26,000 hectares of land under surface water irrigation annually through various initiatives such as building rubber dams, re-excavation of dead canals and waterways.
"We are targeting surface water more for irrigation," he said, adding that the BADC aims to increase coverage of irrigation system to 30 per cent of the total irrigated area by 2040.
During the current Aman season, farmers were using surface water for supplementary irrigation, he added.
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