Presentation by Dr Sultan Ahmed, Director of Natural Resources Management and Research, Department of Environment, Government of Bangladesh at CCAFS webinar 'Exploring GHG mitigation potential in rice production' on 18 September 2014.

1. Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) Pilot Initiatives in Bangladesh
Sultan Ahmed PhD
Department of Environment, Bangladesh
sulbul2002@yahoo.com
CCAFS Webinar

2. Traditional Paddy Rice Field Irrigation in Bangladesh
oTraditional irrigation is a flooded irrigation practised in about 9.9 million ha of T aman (transplanted wet season paddy) and boro (dry season paddy)
o3-6 inches depth of water in paddy fields
oMethane emission (SNC: 1.7 to 2.13 Tg/year; IPCC: 2.07 to 3.11 Tg/year) (SNC: Second National Communication)

3. Intelligent Paddy Rice Field Irrigation
oDrought Assessment (DRAS) Model or Climate Mitigation Crop Model (CM2)
oAlternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) Method
oModel developed and validated
oIrrigation, fertilizer given as required based on crop suitability (DRAS)
oNo standing water
o40% less water, 30% less energy
o 30-40% more crop
o Less methane emission
oNeed to up-scale all over the country

4. Alternate Wetting and Drying Programme in Bangladesh
2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 (3 years)
Coordinator: Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Implementing Agencies:
1)Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE)
2)Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC)
3)Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)
4)Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) Cost: US$ 0.303 million (BDT 23.60 million)

5. Objective of AWD Programme
oSave irrigation water: 1000-1500 litre/kg of paddy (30-35%)
oSave cost of fuel: US$ 20-30/ha
oIncrease crop production
oCo-benefit: Improved environment, methane emission reduction, climate mitigation

6. Activities under AWD Programme
oEstablishment of exhibition farm (0.5 ha each): 1632 farms by BRRI, BADC, DAE, BMDA
oField day: Conducted 346 field days at 83 centres by BRRI, BADC, DAE, BMDA
oResearch: (at BRRI) Weed control, fertilizer management, application of bead/granular urea, determination of the size and depth of the perporated pipe based on soil properties and region
oTraining: 330 batches comprising farmers and Block Supervisors
oMonitoring, evaluation and workshop

7. Area Covered under AWD Programme
oBRRI: Head Quarter office plus 9 regional offices
oDAE: 25 districts (about 25% of the country)
oBADC: 25 seed production farms in 18 districts
oBMDA: 16 districts in 26 zones

8. Constraints for AWD in Bangladesh
oUnreliable supply of water and/or energy discourages farmers to adopt the technology, as it requires well-tuned irrigation intervals and measures.
oPayments for irrigation services are mostly based on fixed rates, traditionally often agreed prior to a season. Thus farmers do not receive any benefits from cost savings.
oBlock or schemes of minor irrigation systems are organized in groups, where decision making is often dominated by pump owners or operators or bigger farmers.
oWeed infestation as well as weed control cost high compare to always ponded irrigation

9. Bangladesh classified into 30 Agro- Ecological Regions (AEZ) and 84 Sub- regions

10. 11 Clustered
Agro-Ecological Zones
Suitable for AWD
Barind Agro-ecology
X
Beel Agro-ecology
X
Brahmaputra Floodplains
X
Char lands (Active Floodplains)
X
Ganges Floodplains
X
Madhupur Agro- ecology
X
Meghna-Surma Floodplains
X
Piedmont Plains
X
Tidal Floodplains
X
Teesta-Karatoya Floodplains
X
Hill Agro-ecology

11. Seven Climate Smart Agriculture
AWD Technology/Practice
Carbon Smart
X
Energy Smart
X
Knowledge Smart
X
Nitrogen Smart
Off-farm Smart
Water Smart
X
Weather Smart
AWD suitable for rice during Aus (pre-monsoon paddy) and Boro seasons
AWD Technology vs Climate Smart Agriculture

12. Thank you very much.