The Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) has had great success with a three-year "drip irrigation" programme in Jashore to help farmers grow flowers and vegetables all year round. Building on this success, a new project is being taken up in 26 upazilas of the country in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

BADC Jashore's irrigation wing is implementing the programme, named the "Drip irrigation programme to expand flower and vegetable production in Jhikargachha upazila of Jashore".

Under the programme, 15 dugwells and six sheds (poly houses) have been built at Gadkhali in Jashore, known as the country's flower capital.

Farmers say water is drawn from great depth through the dugwells, and rainwater from above is stored in the wells for use. This water has no arsenic. Because solar power is used, there is no need for electricity or diesel, and with controlled temperature and water supply in the poly houses, nothing is wasted. With no insect attacks, hardly any pesticide is needed. Altogether, the cost of producing flowers and vegetables here is low and yields are much higher.

Shahjahan Kabir of Haria village in Jhikargachha upazila has taken both a dugwell and a shed (poly house) and grows gerbera. "I adopted this technology when it arrived. Water is drawn from the dugwell by a solar-powered pump. In the rainy season, rainwater comes down into the well through a funnel above. From there, water goes through supply pipes straight to the flower and vegetable fields and falls drop by drop at the base of the plants," he said.

"Thirty farmers are involved in my irrigation system. Water drawn from great depth and collected rainwater are both arsenic-free. We are benefiting from this irrigation," Shahjahan Kabir said.

The programme's first customer was Ismail Hossain, who has been growing flowers and vegetables in rotation for about 20 years. "Twelve of my 24 bighas are under drip irrigation. I started on a small scale at first. One day BADC executive engineer Mahabub Alam came to the field and saw the success of the farming. Later the programme was expanded," he said.

"At the top of the poly house there is a fogger machine, which releases water like mist. The temperature is controlled by raising and lowering the polythene of the poly house. With this method there are almost no insect attacks, so no pesticide is needed," he added.

Flower grower Mokhlesur Rahman said: "I was the first to bring the long-stemmed China rose variety to Jhikargachha. This rose is quite sensitive; without measured irrigation and controlled temperature the plants are ruined. Last year I lost about Tk 5 lakh to excessive rain. I have applied for this drip irrigation system. If I don't get it, I will have to set it up on my own."

A grower named Asadul Islam said they had to pay a Tk 22,000 deposit to come under this irrigation scheme (dugwell and poly house). Doing it privately would cost about Tk 30 to 40 lakh. Since the security money is very small, adopting the system is very profitable for farmers, he said.

According to the BADC (irrigation) office in Jashore, the three-year drip irrigation programme to expand flower and vegetable production in Jhikargachha upazila began in the 2017-18 fiscal year with an allocation of about Tk 7 crore. The dugwells are 140 feet deep, and the poly houses are built from 1,010 square metres of white polythene on an iron frame. The polythene was brought from India and is made in Israel. The houses can withstand storm winds of 120 km an hour.

Abdur Rahim, president of the Bangladesh Flower Society, said flood irrigation wastes water. This programme is benefiting growers, cutting both the cost and the risk of growing flowers and vegetables, and it has caught on among farmers. Flowers are grown in 75 villages of Jashore, and he urged the government to bring them all under the programme in phases.

Abdullah Al Rashid, superintending engineer of BADC (irrigation) in Jashore, said: "This initiative needs no electricity or fuel and saves water. Farmers in the Jhikargachha area have benefited and have gladly adopted it. Following the programme's success, a new project has been taken up for 26 upazilas of the country where flowers and vegetables are grown year round. We hope work on that project can begin in the 2020-21 fiscal year."

Source: Dhaka Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.