FOR millions of smallholder families, water remains a daily negotiation between hope and hardship. Whether tending boro rice on the dry soil of the Barind or collecting water for home use in flood-prone villages, such farmers balance survival against scarcity. Their water use reflects the resilience of rural Bangladesh and exposes systemic inefficiencies and an urgent need for smarter, equitable management.
During the dry-season boro harvest, groundwater remains the backbone of irrigation. Nearly 80 per cent of irrigation water comes from shallow and deep tube wells run with diesel and electric pumps. This reliance on groundwater comes at high cost. A USAID-funded analysis has found that Bangladesh鈥檚 boro production boom, from 18 million tonnes in 1991 to 33.8 million tonnes in 2013, has been driven by diesel pumps consuming 4.6 billion litres annually, costing $4 billion along with $1.4 billion in subsidies. Smallholders are trapped in this cycle, paying heavily to secure water while risking groundwater depletion.
Nowhere is this dilemma clearer than in the Barind region, where more than 90 per cent of rural households depend on groundwater for agriculture, leading to rapidly falling water tables. In Nilphamari, a small farmer had to delay his wife鈥檚 medical treatment to pay a water lord Tk 180 for an hour of irrigation. Such market-driven arrangements expose power imbalances as pump owners shift costs and risks onto the already vulnerable families.
Traditional irrigation practices further intensify inefficiencies. Most fields remain continuously flooded, wasting up to 30 per cent of water through evaporation and percolation. Alternate wetting and drying, which irrigates fields only when needed based on soil moisture, has shown promises. Trials in Bangladesh have demonstrated a 30鈥�38 per cent reduction in pumping-related electric use without yield losses. Yet, without reforms to ensure that cost savings benefit farmers, inequities persist as pump owners accrue the benefits while smallholders continue to pay high water prices.
Surface water could be a cheap alternative where canal systems exist, but now, only around 20鈥�25 per cent of irrigated land uses river or canal water. Large irrigation projects such as the Muhuri scheme have demonstrated gains by rehabilitating canals, installing pipelines and using prepaid meters, expanding service areas and increasing yields. Yet, smallholders often remain on the margins as private pumps and minor schemes dominate the rural water economy.
The complexity of water use extends into households, where drinking, cooking and hygiene water often come from the same sources used for irrigation. With arsenic contamination affecting nearly a half of shallow tube wells and microbial risks widespread, families are acutely aware of water safety. Promising interventions such as pond sand filtres and rainwater harvesting often face maintenance issues and women-headed households frequently bear the burden of fetching safe water.
This highlights a critical nexus: farm water decisions directly impact domestic water security. Programmes under multiple-use water supply models, which integrate irrigation, drinking and livestock water for clusters of households, offer an efficient pathway. These systems, at around $200 per household, can pay for themselves through income gains from horticulture and livestock but remain rare in Bangladesh.
Climate pressures are forcing a rethink. Solar-powered irrigation systems are expanding in remote areas, providing off-grid pumping without fuel costs. However, if not managed carefully, they risk accelerating groundwater depletion. In the Barind, proposals for increasing block tariffs, charging progressively higher rates for water use, have shown potential to reduce groundwater use while generating management funds. Coupling increasing block tariffs with canal expansion and alternate wetting and drying practices can align incentives for conservation while supporting productivity.
Institutional reform is central to this transition. Water user associations, often dominated by pump owners, need restructuring to represent actual users, including women and tenant farmers. Linking water use associations with training in alternative wetting and drying, water budgeting and governance, alongside integrating tariffs and pipeline grants, will foster equity and efficiency in local water management.
The private sector is emerging as a critical partner. Microfinance institutions are offering loans for efficient pumps, moisture sensors and drip irrigation systems, particularly for small horticulture and vegetable plots that deliver higher income per litre of water than rice. Research shows that water returns in high-value crops can be 5鈥�10 times greater than in paddy fields. However, challenges in awareness, market connectivity and infrastructure must be addressed to fully realise these benefits.
Technological innovations offer hope. Internet of Things-enabled pumps, moisture sensors and remote sensing for monitoring aquifer health and drone-assisted irrigation planning are on the horizon. Yet, their successful adoption will require public-private partnerships, cost-sharing models and community training to ensure smallholder farmers can benefit.
Bangladesh is at a pivotal moment in its irrigation journey. An estimated 3 per cent of the nation鈥檚 electricity is consumed by farm pumps, with smallholders bearing the brunt of energy costs. Smarter water use, linking surface water systems, groundwater controls, efficient pumping technologies and integrated domestic supply, can unlock significant productivity gains while enhancing rural resilience.
Every drop saved in the field represents safer water at home. Every taka invested in efficient pumping yields healthier families, increased food security and better livelihood. It is time for policy to view irrigation not only as an agricultural necessity but as a communal resource central to rural livelihoods and health.
Smallholder farmers, who account for more than 85 per cent of Bangladesh鈥檚 farms, are key to this transformation. Empowering them with equitable water access, information and technologies can turn water management from a burden into an opportunity for resilience and economic growth. Lessons from Pakistan and India on groundwater tariffs and canal rehabilitation can guide Bangladesh鈥檚 efforts while scaling up alternate wetting and drying, multiple-use water supply pilots, prepaid metering and rainwater harvesting can ensure water sustainability.
Water is no longer merely a natural resource. It is an economic asset, central to the survival and advancement of rural Bangladesh. By balancing agricultural needs with household water security, Bangladesh can build a more resilient, equitable and water-secure future for its smallholder farmers.
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Dr Makhan Lal Dutta, an agricultural engineer, is chair and chief executive officer of Harvesting Knowledge Consultancy.
