Home ›› 13 Dec 2021 ›› Editorial
The farmers in northern districts, who produce a significant amount of rice for the vast population of Bangladesh, are going to witness an enhanced irrigation facility, as a project involving more than Tk 300 crore is in the pipeline.
The objective of this planned project is to increase staple food production by 3.26 tons per annum. The agriculture ministry will implement the project titled “Irrigation Infrastructure Rehabilitation” to develop this irrigation system and facilitate the expansion of irrigation management in the region. This project will be implemented in 120 upazilas under 16 districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions.
The news published in this daily on Sunday in this regard is, indeed, a timely initiative towards attaining food security in the country. The enhanced rice yield will not only meet the growing demand of locally produced rice varieties and lessen import dependence; the irrigation initiative will also increase rice production and profit margins for farmers.
The drought-prone 16 northern districts often suffer from a scarcity of irrigation to wet their croplands, as the lack of an adequate number of deep tube wells adds to the distress of farmers in the region.
This project will increase irrigation through the restoration of 6,654 old irrigation infrastructures, which will be used to irrigate 40,740 hectares of land for additional crop production.
Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) will implement the project by June 2026. Under the project, 1,358 deep tube wells and 5,296 pump houses will be restored for irrigating croplands.
Electricity connections will be provided to 1,358 irrigation tube wells. Of the pump houses, 2,309 will be rebuilt, and 2,987 will be renovated, states the report. In this regard, we want to mention that the government’s 8th Five Year plan vows to introduce a sustainable agriculture management system to increase production and ensure food security.
To attain this goal, an underground irrigation system of different lengths must be established and easy access to low-cost electricity must be ensured so that the project delivers optimum results to farmers.
Being the fourth largest rice producer in the globe, a maximum facility is required to be in place for this sector to retain our position, and even upgrade our status in the global rice production index.
Currently, rice is grown on about 10.5 million hectares. In 2019, the total area equipped for irrigation for Bangladesh is currently around 5.5 million hectares. The total area equipped for irrigation of Bangladesh increased from 1 million hectares in 1970 to 5.5 million hectares in 2019, growing at an average annual rate of 3.62 per cent.
From the production point of view, we are almost there to meet the demand. Bangladesh has done wonders in increasing its rice production. In 1971, we produced 10.59 million tonnes of rice, and it reached above 35 million tons in 2020. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates 35.8 million tonnes of rice production in 2020. Bangladesh is fortunate enough to be endowed with good rainfall and plenty of rivers for crop growth. It is believed that irrigation water was first applied in the world six thousand years ago in Egypt, a country very famous for its old civilization.
Barrages were made on the river Nile to divert water for growing crops. After making barrages, water overflowed by the sides of rivers to flood the field, therefore, the system was named “flood irrigation” or “overflow irrigation.” Before the introduction of a mechanized irrigation system, Bangladesh was a food-deficit country with less than half of the present population.
As the irrigation coverage area has increased to 72 per cent of the cultivable area, the country is producing sufficient rice for nearly 17 crore people. This indicates the importance of irrigation for food production.
Groundwater is used for irrigating 77 per cent of the total irrigated land. As a consequence of too much dependence on groundwater for irrigation, domestic and other uses in many areas of the country, more water is exploited than annual recharge by rainfall and rivers.
Large-scale irrigation should be expanded to other areas of the country too. Not only rice, but other Agro produces such as vegetables and fruits also deserve importance, and thus irrigation of the entire crop sector becomes a necessity at times of drought.
