Rice cultivation in many northwestern districts have long been facing greater difficulties for inadequate irrigation during the dry or Boro season due to the depletion of groundwater table, reveal some recent surveys, according to a news agency.
This depletion of groundwater is actually linked to the extraction of excessive groundwater for nothing other than the growing irrigation demand for Boro rice fields, observed agriculture officials and farmers.
Additional director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rajshahi Region M Nurul Amin said some 16,433 deep tube-wells and 3,53, 767 shallow ones are in operation to provide irrigation to rice cultivation in eight districts under his jurisdiction in the current Boro season.
DAE Naogaon district deputy director SM Nuruzzaman said Boro acreage in his district has reduced by 1,300 hectares compared to that of the previous season due to the difficulties in pulling up the groundwater.
According to records of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), groundwater extraction for irrigation through deep and shallow tube-wells stands at nearly 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) in recent years against the extraction of only 10-13 bcm surface water used in irrigation.
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
