Adoption of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation as a water-saving technology in Bangladesh: Economic and environmental considerations

• Published in: Land use policy 2020-02, Vol.91, p.104430, Article 104430
• Main Authors: Alauddin, Mohammad, Rashid Sarker, Md. Abdur, Islam, Zeenatul, Tisdell, Clement
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access; Adoption of innovations; Agricultural economics; AWD technology; Bangladesh; Climate change; Crop yield; Drought; Drying; Education; Farmers; Groundwater; Groundwater depletion; Information dissemination; Information technology; Irrigation; Irrigation water; Land ownership; Land use; Meteorological data; Multiple regression models; Natural disasters; Quantitative analysis; Regression analysis; Rice; Support services; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable water management; Technology utilization; Topography; Water conservation; Water management; Water resources management; Water use; Wetting
• ISSN: 0264-8377; 1873-5754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104430

•Innovative application of sophisticated tools on AWD adoption in Bangladesh.•Explores determinants and effects of AWD adoption.•Socio-demographic, institutional and environmental factors affect AWD adoption.•AWD is environment-ameliorating and can contribute to sustainable water-use.•Suggests stronger institutional and scientific support, information technology use. Managing scarce irrigation water poses a major challenge globally because of changing climate and a rising population. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is widely regarded as a water-saving irrigation technology capable of contributing to sustainable water-use. Existing literature lacks rigorous quantitative analysis of the determinants and effects of AWD adoption. In contrast, applying logit, propensity score matching and multiple regression models to survey data from two drought-prone and groundwater-depleted areas in Bangladesh, this study identifies determinants and effects of AWD adoption and explores policy implications. Age and education-level of household head, access to prior weather information, landownership, topography, and soil-type are found to be significant determinants of AWD adoption. AWD is found to be water-saving, irrigation cost-decreasing and crop yield-increasing. However, AWD adoption in Bangladesh is not widespread. Major policy implications include information dissemination about the use and benefit of AWD through farmers’ education and training for widespread adoption and diffusion of water-saving technologies. A rationally coordinated system of policy measures including significant strengthening of institutional support services, scientific research, rethinking of the cropping-mix and greater use of information technology constitute a sine qua non for achieving sustainable water management.