Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) Pilot Initiatives in Bangladesh

Sultan Ahmed PhD

Department of Environment, Bangladesh

sulbul2002@yahoo.com

CCAFS Webinar

Traditional Paddy Rice Field Irrigation in Bangladesh

o Traditional irrigation is a flooded irrigation

practised in about 9.9 million ha of

T aman (transplanted wet season paddy)

and boro (dry season paddy)

o 3-6 inches depth of water in paddy fields

o Methane emission (SNC: 1.7 to 2.13 Tg/year; IPCC:

2.07 to 3.11 Tg/year)

(SNC: Second National Communication)

Intelligent Paddy Rice Field Irrigation

o Drought Assessment (DRAS) Model or Climate Mitigation Crop Model (CM2)

o Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) Method

o Model developed and validated

o Irrigation, fertilizer given as required based on crop suitability (DRAS)

o No standing water

o 40% less water, 30% less energy

o 30-40% more crop

o Less methane emission

o Need to up-scale all over the country

Alternate Wetting and Drying Programme in Bangladesh 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 (3 years)

Coordinator: Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Implementing Agencies:

1) Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) 2) Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) 3) Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) 4) Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA)

Cost: US$ 0.303 million (BDT 23.60 million)

Objective of AWD Programme

o Save irrigation water: 1000-1500 litre/kg of paddy (30-35%) o Save cost of fuel: US$ 20-30/ha

o Increase crop production

o Co-benefit: Improved environment, methane emission

reduction, climate mitigation

Activities under AWD Programme

o Establishment of exhibition farm (0.5 ha each): 1632 farms by BRRI, BADC, DAE, BMDA

o Field day: Conducted 346 field days at 83 centres by BRRI, BADC, DAE, BMDA

oResearch: (at BRRI) Weed control, fertilizer management, application of bead/granular urea, determination of the size and depth of the perporated pipe based on soil properties and region

o Training: 330 batches comprising farmers and Block Supervisors

oMonitoring, evaluation and workshop

Area Covered under AWD Programme

oBRRI: Head Quarter office plus 9 regional offices

oDAE: 25 districts (about 25% of the country)

oBADC: 25 seed production farms in 18 districts

oBMDA: 16 districts in 26 zones

Constraints for AWD in Bangladesh

oUnreliable supply of water and/or energy discourages farmers to adopt the technology, as it requires well-tuned irrigation intervals and measures.

oPayments for irrigation services are mostly based on fixed rates, traditionally often agreed prior to a season. Thus farmers do not receive any benefits from cost savings.

oBlock or schemes of minor irrigation systems are organized in groups, where decision making is often dominated by pump owners or operators or bigger farmers.

oWeed infestation as well as weed control cost high compare to always ponded irrigation

Bangladesh classified into 30 Agro-Ecological Regions (AEZ) and 84 Sub-regions

11 Clustered Agro-Ecological Zones

Suitable for AWD

Barind Agro-ecology X

Beel Agro-ecology X

Brahmaputra

Floodplains

X

Char lands (Active

Floodplains)

X

Ganges Floodplains X

Madhupur Agro-

ecology

X

Meghna-Surma

Floodplains

X

Piedmont Plains X

Tidal Floodplains X

Teesta-Karatoya

Floodplains X

Hill Agro-ecology

Seven Climate Smart Agriculture AWD Technology/Practice

Carbon Smart X

Energy Smart X

Knowledge Smart X

Nitrogen Smart

Off-farm Smart

Water Smart X

Weather Smart

AWD suitable for rice during Aus (pre-monsoon paddy) and Boro seasons

AWD Technology vs Climate Smart Agriculture

Thank you very much.