AWD technology gains momentum
in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi farmers harvest boro rice under AWD conditions. The potential of AWD to reduce water input and its effect on yield and water productivity depend on soil type, groundwater table depth, and climate.

After years of field tests, the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technology is now officially promoted by the Bangladeshi government and is being adopted by its farmers.

In December 2005, Dr. T.P. Tuong, head of the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), made a presentation on water-saving technologies at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute’s (BRRI) Department of Water Management. Dr. M.A. Sattar, department head, used some of the concepts, submitted a proposal to the government, and received funds to test AWD in fields.

Fast forward to February 2007, when Dr. Tuong conducted a seminar with nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to discuss the implementation of AWD in farmers’ fields. These initiatives led to the testing of AWD by the Asian Development Bank-funded project “Development and Dissemination of Water-Saving Rice Technologies in South Asia,” and the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation
(BADC).

On 14 May, a group of high-level professionals, policymakers, and farmers attended a crop-cutting ceremony at BADC’s Madhupur Farm, where AWD is being tested during the current boro (winter) season. The Irrigated Rice Research Consortium supported the attendance of Dr. Tuong.

Mr. Md. Abdul Aziz, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, inaugurated the harvesting. He asked the country’s Agriculture Information Service to be more active in promoting the technology, and stressed the need to work with NGOs and other countries. Since AWD can possibly aggravate weed problems, he discouraged the use of herbicides. He emphasized
that Bangladesh should save labor by using the drum seeder for direct seeding, save urea by using the leaf color chart, and save water by adopting AWD to make rice cultivation more profitable.

Mr. Md. Abdul Aziz, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture (middle), observes the crop grown under AWD conditions.        Dr. Hamid Miah, IRRI liaison scientist for Bangladesh (with white hat), and BADC staff look on.

The crop was transplanted on 8 February and grown under AWD technology. It needed only 5 irrigations, while conventional practice needed 9 irrigations. Under AWD, paddy yield was 8.4 tons per hectare, while the conventional practice produced 8.1 tons per hectare.
After learning about the yield and water savings, Mr. Aziz directed the BADC to validate this method on 1% of land on its 23 farms all over the country. He also asked research and development organizations of the country to prepare an action plan to validate AWD on a wider scale for the boro season next year.

The Barendra Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA), a government organization, was asked to adopt AWD more intensively, because their clients are farmers who have to pay for water. Therefore, the BMDA is the perfect body to test the benefit of the technology. The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) was asked to be the lead agency in different parts of the country to expose farmers to the technology, while BRRI was directed to monitor the profitability for farmers and their level of acceptance.

During the conference, Dr. M. Zainul Abedin, IRRI representative for Bangladesh, highlighted the background and need for water-saving technologies in the country.

Keynote speaker Dr. Tuong described the details of water-saving technology through AWD, and presented impressive statistics that highlighted the advantages of saving water and the associated irrigation costs. The technique was quite new for many of the 90 participants from BADC, DAE, BMDA, and the other NGOs present. After Dr. Tuong’s presentation,
a discussion was facilitated by BADC Chairman
Mr. Abdur Razzaque. The ceremony created awareness among the participants, who expressed optimism
about the technology. Special guests included Dr. Nur-E-Elahi, BRRI director general, Dr. Rahim Uddin Ahmed, DAE director general, and Mr. Abdul Mannan, BMDA executive director.

Dr. M.A. Hamid Miah, IRRI liaison scientist for Bangladesh, synthesized the points of discussion:
a) AWD has reduced the frequency of irrigation without affecting yield, and yield was even a little higher in AWD-treated fields. Water saved through this technique can help increase the irrigation
command area, or the area served by a specific tube well, by at least 10%.

b) The cost of irrigation decreased, reducing farmers’ production cost. This has positive effects for shortages in diesel fuel and groundwater
depletion.

c) AWD is an easy technology for farmers to use. Farmers buying water by volume are likely to be fast adopters of this technology.

d) The extra cost of weeding is compensated for by saving on fuel cost and extra yield. Thus, farmers may not receive cash benefits immediately, but large-scale adoption has a positive environmental impact nationally.

Dr. Hamid Miah suggested that partnership be developed with BADC, BRRI, BMDA, DAE, IRRI, the Bangladesh Water Development Board, Rural Development Academy, Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED), electronic media, and NGOs.

In another event, Dr. Tuong presented an invited seminar for the scientific community on technologies for efficient use of water in rice production at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council on 15 May. It drew around 60 scientists and managers in the water and agricultural sectors, and was well covered by the media. The seminar promoted further awareness on water management issues and presented the Water-Saving Work Group’s efforts to help solve them.

A training course on AWD is being planned for August this year at BRRI, to be facilitated by Dr. Ruben Lampayan (IRRC Water Saving WG leader) and scientists of BRRI’s Department of Water Management.
 

M.A. Hamid Miah (h_miah@irribd.org) and
T.P. Tuong (t.tuong@cgiar.org), photos by M. Abdul Mannan 

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