Abstract
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated nations that nonetheless has largely achieved staple self-sufficiency. This development has been enabled in part by the rapid proliferation of small-scale irrigation pumps that enabled double rice cropping, as well as by a competitive market system in which farmers purchase water at affordable fee-for-service prices from private irrigation pump owners. Excess groundwater abstraction in areas of high shallow tube-well density and increased fuel costs for pumping have however called into question the sustainability of Bangladesh’s groundwater irrigation economy. Cost-saving agronomic methods are called for, alongside aligned policies, markets, and farmers’ incentives. The study assesses different institutions and water-pricing methods for irrigation services that have emerged in Bangladesh, each of which varies in their incentive structure for water conservation, and the level of economic risk involved for farmers and service providers. Using primary data collected from 139 irrigation service providers and 556 client-farmers, we empirically examine the structure of irrigation service types and associated market and institutional dimensions. Our findings demonstrate that competition among pump owners, social capital and personal relationships, and economic and agronomic risk perceptions of both pump owners and farmers significantly influence the structure of irrigation services and water pricing methods. Greater competition among pump owners increases the likelihood of pay-per-hour services and reduces the likelihood of crop harvest sharing arrangements. Based on these findings, we explore policy implications for enhancing irrigation services and irrigation sustainability in Bangladesh.
Highlights
Bangladesh faced considerable food shortage challenges in the early 1970s, its post-independence era with a population of less than 70 million (Dorosh, 2000; Hossain, 2009)
We hypothesize that irrigation water markets consisting of a pump owner and farmer-clients settle on an irrigation water payment method that tends to maximize the profit of the pump owner, while minimizing farmers’ costs for purchasing irrigation services
As the primary focus of this study is to examine the factors that affect the payment methods and amount of payment for irrigation services, we focus on the dry season boro rice farmers and the irrigation service providers in the completed 2013–14 season
Summary
Bangladesh faced considerable food shortage challenges in the early 1970s, its post-independence era with a population of less than 70 million (Dorosh, 2000; Hossain, 2009). In 2017-18, with a national average yield 3.0 ton/ha, total paddy production in Bangladesh was 36.3 MMT from 11.6 million ha of land This is 226% more than productivity levels observed in 1971-72, with the contribution of high-yielding and stress tolerant cultivars increasing to 94.3% (34.2 MMT) (BRRI, 2019b). Given the high population density and intensively doublecropped rice systems, these indications of declining groundwater tables are an increasing concern in parts of the country This calls for watersaving agronomic methods, alongside aligned policies, markets, and farmers’ incentives. We examine the factors that affect varying irrigation payment methods in Bangladesh in order to better inform incentives and policies to efficiently use irrigation water To our knowledge, this is the first empirical attempt to examine the factors that influence types of irrigation contract choice between irrigation service providers and client-farmers in Bangladesh
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