ISSN 2756-3804
International Journal of Irrigation and Water Management ISSN 2756-3804 Vol. 9 (1), pp. 001-011, January, 2022. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Impact Evaluation of an Operational Satellite-based Integrated Rice Advisory System in Northeastern Bangladesh
Faisal Hossain1, Bilqis Amin Hoque2, Tofayel Ahmed2, Sufia Khanam2, Nishan Kumar Biswas3, Ali Shafqat Akanda4, Md. Shah Kamal Khan5 and Michiko Katagami6
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, USA.
2Environment and Population Research Center Bangladesh.
3Universities Space Research Association NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA.
4Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Rhode Island, Kingston, USA.
5Department of Agricultural Extension, Bangladesh.
6Asian Development Bank Philippines.
Accepted 18 December, 2021
Abstract
During the 2021 winterseason (January–May), locally known as Boro season, an Integrated Rice Advisory System (IRAS) was launched for Northeastern Bangladesh. IRAS transmitted text advisory to farmers on optimum ways to irrigate while safeguarding crop yield. These texts were generated on the basis of weather, satellite data, estimated water consumption by crops and modeled crop water need. To quantify the impact of IRAS, a survey was carried out for a cross sectional sample of 983 farmers and pump owners who were divided into control and experimental groups. On an average, experimental farmers receiving IRAS advisory irrigated 32% less than the control group during the Boro season. Experimental pump owners with greater control of irrigation irrigated 44% less than control pump owners. Ninety-four percent of experimental farmers and 97 percent of experimental pump owners reported IRAS to be either useful or very useful. Eighty percent of experimental farmers and 87% of pump owners reported the weather forecast to be the most useful component for making decisions to avoid unnecessary irrigation. IRAS advisory triggered a change in decision for 80% and 88% of experimental farmers and experimental pump owners, respectively. Experimental group of farmers on average reported 30% higher earnings than their control counterparts.
Keywords: Bangladesh, irrigation, rice, satellite, weather, advisory, impact evaluation.