Groundwater Irrigation in Bangladesh: Changing Modalities, Resultant Policies

Despite being one of the key drivers of food production and food security in Bangladesh, diesel irrigation is responsible for a rising fiscal burden on the state exchequers and environmental costs to the country. For the country’s energy security and given the government’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), Bangladesh should shift away from diesel irrigation to clean and renewable energy like solar. However, this transition is also unavoidable given the rapid electrification in the country and the proactive introduction of solar irrigation pumps toward the government’s commitment to green energy. With an emerging change in the modality of groundwater irrigation in the country, it is critical to understand how access to cheap irrigation may affect farmers’ income and agricultural production, as well as the implications on groundwater sustainability in the future.

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Photo credit: IWMI