A drying up Teesta River and falling ground water levels have forced many Boro paddy growers in the north to switch to or consider crops such as maize, tobacco and potato, which require much less irrigation.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), around 10,000 hectares of paddy land have already switched to growing maize and tobacco in the northern Lalmonirhat district in Teesta basin.
This correspondent came across many farmers in the northern districts who had to redig or shift their shallow irrigation pits because they had not been getting the amount of water they used to get a few years ago.
Mokbul Hossain, a farmer from the Sadar upazila in Lalmonirhat, said: “I had a 40-foot deep hole.
But that hole had not been fetching me much water these days. So, I had to dig a new 65-foot deep hole. That cost me an extra Tk8,000.
The Teesta is only 300 metres away from my 1.2 hectare paddy field though.
“I have been having this trouble with the shallow pump for a few years now. That is why, I have cultivated maize in another 1.2 hectares.”
Farmer Hazrat Ali from Hatibandha upazila of the same district has not yet dug a new pit. As a result of the falling ground water level, he is now having to spend much more time to lift water. That is adding to his fuel cost for running the shallow pumps.
Two years ago, he used to spend Tk5,000 for irrigation. This year, his expenditure rose to Tk8,000.
“Cultivating maize or tobacco is comparatively less expensive because they need much less irrigation. Only Tk1,000 is enough as irrigation expenses for these crops on the same stretch of land,” Hazrat said.
“If this trend continues, it will surely cast negative impacts on our food security because Boro is a major source of the country’s food stock,” said agro-economist Dr Asaduzzaman, professional fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
Water experts said the shortage of water in the Teesta River – the lifeline of the country’s north – has in fact resulted in falling ground water levels in the basin.
“The reserve of ground water could go further down if minimum water flow in Teesta during the dry season could not be ensured,” said water resources expert Ainun Nishat.
By now, this year has seen the worst scarcity of water in recent history. In February, March and April, Bangladesh has received only 409, 500 and 550 cubic feet per second (Cusec) water on an average respectively.
January-April is generally the cultivation time of Boro, the largest cereal crop in Bangladesh. It is during this time of the year that the crop needs constant irrigation.
“Up until last year, the normal flow in the Teesta during January-April was around 6,000-7,900 cusec. Things have changed drastically this year. India is using up more water for irrigating their expanded farmlands,” said Mir Sajjad Hossain, a member of the Joint Rivers Commission of Bangladesh and India.