Farmers’ managerial issues under buried pipe irrigation system in tangail region

Abstract

This paper focuses on the agricultural water management issues of buried pipe irrigation system in Tangail. The system used underground pipelines distributing water from deep tubewells thereby irrigating diversified crops during the dry season. The membership of the Krishak Samabay Samity (KSS) or Farmers' co¬operative, their participation in the management of the system, financial arrangements for operating the tubewell, are described. Budgets were prepared each season, but not followed accordingly. The KSSs varying records of loan payments are also discussed. A co-operative of villagers (KSS) took out a loan to purchase a deep tubewell. In principle, the KSS owned and managed the tubewell, but in practice, it was dominated by a few prominent individuals. This study illustrates some of the difficulties of farmers' managed irrigation scheme where farmers resources are unevenly distributed, particularly in the complex technical and management aspects of deep tubewell irrigation.