Quest to cut irrigation cost, increase yield

The technologies will also help farmers extract arsenic-free water from a depth of 250 to 270 feet by using shallow tube wells, which is not possible now. Farmers will get water both for irrigation and drinking at a cost of only Tk 8,500, according to BINA scientists.

BINA has also developed a method called 'bleaching technology's to remove salinity from lands. This will make uncultivated lands in the southern districts suitable for growing all crops including paddy, pulses and vegetables round the year, according to Dr A A Hasan, Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Agriculture Engineering Department of BINA.

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A farmer can reduce his irrigation cost by around 40 per cent by using the 'Alternate Flooding and Drying System' developed by BINA. In this system, a cropland is to be irrigated at regular intervals after drying it for five to seven days. This will reduce the irrigation cost and increase yield by about 30 per cent, Dr. Hasan said while talking to this correspondent recently.

Demand for irrigation water is increasing but the underground water level is falling, which is an alarming sign. The new system will help conserve the groundwater, he said.

This system will be very useful in Barind areas where rainfall is less and groundwater level is lower than in other areas. Farmers in Barina will be able grow crops round the year by using this method, he said.

He said more than 75 per cent of irrigation water on fields is now misused or lost due to seepage, percolation and evaporation as farmers do not know the appropriate level of irrigation water and how to make best use of it.