The Barind region, a water-stressed areain northwest Bangladesh, had an underdeveloped agriculturaleconomy and high levels of poverty until two projectsrevitalized the area with enhanced groundwater irrigation.The Barind Integrated Area Development Project in 1985 andBarind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) in 1992used new water extraction technology and innovativemanagement practices such as deep tubewells (DTWs) fittedwith smart card–operated electric pumps to developdrought-resilient irrigation. Both projects have helped theBarind region reduce poverty and achieve self-sufficiency inrice. However, there are concerns about declininggroundwater levels in the Barind and nearby regions,resulting in a temporary halt in DTW expansion. Preliminaryevidence presented in this case study suggests farmersserved by shallow tubewells (STWs) may be losing access togroundwater in some parts of the Barind region, which canhave significant development implications because thesetubewells remain the predominant source of irrigation. Thisevidence provides grounds to question whether an irrigationmodel reliant on DTWs is sustainable and equitable in thelong term. Further research is needed to better establishgroundwater conditions and understand the risk to STW usersto inform future policy on DTW-driven agricultural development.
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