In the paddy fields of Jhenaidah’s Kaliganj upazila, farmers are grappling with rising irrigation costs, erratic rainfall, and depleting groundwater levels. As traditional farming methods strain under the weight of climate change and economic pressure, many are turning to a sustainable solution: Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) technology.
This modern irrigation method, which allows fields to periodically dry instead of remaining constantly flooded, is emerging as a game-changer for rice cultivation. Not only does AWD reduce water usage and energy costs, it also helps curb methane emissions—a major contributor to agricultural greenhouse gases.
Across villages like Maheshwarchanda and Purulia, farmers who once irrigated daily now water their fields every five days, reporting healthier crops, lower expenses, and better yields. Yet, widespread adoption is still limited, as farmers struggle with access to resources and awareness.
Farmer Maqbul Hossain of Maheshwarchanda village in Kaliganj upazila of Jhenaidah district was sitting in the aisle of his land, observing the condition of his paddy crop. This year, he is cultivating BRRI Dhan 49.
Holding a bunch of paddy in his hand, he showed it to this Dhaka Tribune correspondent, explaining that the profit margin in farming is decreasing day by day.
When asked why, he looked up at the sky and said: "Rain is good, but excessive rain can reduce the paddy yield by half. There are no guarantees here. Many times, the paddy is affected by various diseases and pests. Vermicompost is good, and although there is demand for it, the supply is low. So, we buy pesticides at high prices and apply them to the land."
Maqbul said that after storing a year’s worth of rice for his family and selling the remaining half, the profits—after deducting irrigation costs, electricity bills, and other expenses—are limited to the straw obtained from the paddy plants, which is used as cow feed and for various other purposes.
He added that there are farmers in every household in the village. Everyone cultivates, and those who do not own land cultivate on others’ land.
Cost cutting
Another 60-year-old farmer, Helal Uddin, said: “We used to farm using traditional methods passed down from our ancestors and based on our experience. We could predict the yield just by looking at the clouds. But times have changed, and so have the challenges. We now need to find new solutions. These days, most farmers are growing paddy varieties that mature in 90 days. The shorter the harvesting period, the less irrigation is required.”
Komlesh Sharma, a farmer from Purulia village in the same upazila, has cultivated Boro rice on 7 acres of land this season. Every year, he grows Banglamoti rice, BRRI Dhan 50, and, like many others in the region, BRRI Dhan 49 and 63. Like every year, he is irrigating the land on a contract basis this season too. Each crop requires 60–70 rounds of irrigation.
He explained that the amount of irrigation varies based on land type and region. “Everyone in our area irrigates like this. As a result, I have had to pay electricity bills of up to Tk25,000.”
Talking to about 30 farmers from Maheshwarchanda and Purulia villages revealed that over the last five years, they have become increasingly interested in modern methods to reduce costs.
Rice farming faces various challenges each season, the most significant being the cost of irrigation and water shortages. Farmers often struggle to meet the water requirements of their paddy fields.
Yields increasing
According to the Agriculture Department, to produce one kilogram of paddy, 3,500 to 4,000 liters of water are needed—drawn from underground using deep and shallow tube wells. This causes the water table to drop significantly over the course of the season, making it difficult to provide adequate irrigation.
To address this issue, for the past five years, a group of 35 farmers from Maheshwarchanda village have been cultivating paddy on 150 acres of land using AWD technology. They reported that over this period, their electricity consumption has halved, while paddy yield per acre has increased by about 5–6 maunds.
Agricultural experts consider AWD a revolutionary technique in modern farming. According to them, it can reduce irrigation costs in paddy cultivation by 15 to 35%
Kamlesh from Purulia village said that since adopting this method last season, he has been getting better yields. His land has a labeling issue, being uneven and hilly, but he has been irrigating it using baric pipes and benefiting from the AWD system.
When asked about the convenience of this method, Md Mahbubul Alam, principal scientific officer & head of the irrigation and water management division at BRRI, said: “The AWD irrigation method—also known as the wet and dry or magic pipe method—is a water-saving technique. Instead of keeping the land flooded all the time, it is irrigated in stages. Special techniques are used to manage the wet and dry phases.”
Dr Md Mozammel Haque, senior scientific officer, Soil Science Division, BRRI, explained that in AWD, a perforated pipe or observation tube is installed to determine the right time for the next irrigation. After irrigating once, water is withheld until the level inside the pipe drops to a certain point, at which irrigation is resumed.
He said: “A 12-inch plastic pipe is perforated around 6 inches and placed vertically in the field—9 inches buried, 3 inches above ground. The soil inside is removed so that water seeps in through the holes. When the water level inside drops, irrigation is applied accordingly.”
If water presence is high, the land is dried again. This method encourages better seedling growth and reduces the incidence of diseases and pests, according to Shibu Pada Biswas, Executive Director of the Sonar Bangla Foundation.
Since 2018, the local Sonar Bangla Foundation in Jhenaidah has worked with 600 farmers in four unions of Kaliganj upazila—Sundarpur, Durgapur, Jamal Niyamatpur, and Kula—promoting AWD with support from the Japanese organization Share The Planet. Over the past five years, these farmers have cultivated rice using the AWD method. Inspired by them, another 200–300 farmers have started using the method, some improvising with empty 2-liter water bottles.
Previously, farmers used to flood their fields continuously. In 2018, the foundation began advocating for staged irrigation based on wet and dry cycles. For the past year, they have distributed pipes that give accurate water level measurements, helping farmers achieve better results.
Methane gas reducing
Fazlur Rahman, a farmer from Mahadevpur village in Sundarpur union, was checking his field's pipes to see if irrigation was needed. When asked if the method felt troublesome, he replied: “Earlier, I irrigated every day. Now I irrigate every five days using the AWD method. Water use has dropped by 60%. Less diesel is used, electricity bills have gone down, and the soil health has improved. The paddy no longer rots due to stagnant water heating up.”
He also noted that agricultural officers taught them that stagnant water in fields releases toxic methane gas. Thanks to AWD, such emissions are now decreasing in the region.
Dr SM Mofijul Islam, senior scientific officer, Soil Science Division, BRRI, explained that submerged rice fields create oxygen-free conditions, causing organic matter to decompose and release methane gas. This gas escapes as bubbles in the water or through rice plant roots.
“Studies show that globally, rice fields emit between 20 to 100 Tg of methane annually, accounting for 6 to 29% of total atmospheric methane,” he said.
However, experts believe that AWD can greatly reduce these emissions. Without standing water, methane cannot be produced.
He added that even if fields are flooded during early stages, drying them mid-season significantly reduces methane emissions. Research by BRRI has shown that the AWD method maintains high redox potential, resulting in lower methane emissions.
Rice cultivation remains a major source of methane in Bangladesh due to flooded fields that promote methane-producing microbes. This accelerates climate change and heightens the country’s vulnerability to short-term warming, contributing to South Asia’s climate instability, said Dr Valantine Achancho, International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) country director for Bangladesh.
He added that through the Reducing Agricultural Methane Programme, Ifad is collaborating with stakeholders to raise awareness, build capacity, and support the government in adopting climate-smart agricultural practices.
“Alternate Wetting and Drying presents a transformative opportunity by simultaneously reducing methane emissions, ensuring more efficient water use, and maintaining rice productivity,” said Dr Achancho.
“Promoting these practices is essential to enhancing rural resilience, advancing Bangladesh’s climate agenda, and securing a more sustainable future for its agriculture sector,” he added.
