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Table 5.18. Irrigation Method and Energy Type by Division Division (%) Method or Type Irrigation Mechanized Hand tube well Indigenous method None
Chittagong
Dhaka
Khulna
Rajshahi
All Divisions
52.0 1.1 10.1 36.8
78.5 1.2 15.0 5.3
53.4 0.9 19.8 25.9
91.5 0.8 1.1 6.6
68.1 1.0 11.2 19.7
50.0 19.2 2.6 34.2
93.3 6.7 — —
66.7 — 7.4 25.9
76.7 20.0 3.3 —
70.4 10.4 3.2 16.0
Energy Diesel Electricity Diesel and electricity Not applicable Source: BIDS Survey (2004).
Of the 1,459 farm households surveyed, only 62 percent irrigated their land (see Table 5.19). Of these, 97 percent used mechanized means. Only 130, or 9 percent of all respondents, owned mechanized irrigation sets.10 Ownership of mechanized pumps was concentrated in Rajshahi—77 out of 130 farming households—where 18 percent of such households owned modern irrigation equipment. But in Dhaka, half of non-farmers owned irrigation sets.
Fuel Choice for Irrigation As noted previously, mechanized irrigation equipment may be powered by electricity or diesel. According to available information, only 112 of current farm households use their machines for land under their control (i.e., self-cultivated owned land and other land under lease agreement or other form of user rights). Of these, 103 are operated by diesel and 9 by electricity (8 of which are in Rajshahi). It is also noteworthy that about 70 percent of diesel-pump users are in villages without electricity. Average electricity consumption per farm and the costs borne by farmers indicate an expense of nearly Tk 2.8 per kWh, far lower than for domestic purposes (Tk 7.7 per kWh in Rajshahi and Tk 5.5 for all divisions). Average
Table 5.19. Farmer Irrigation Method by Division Division Chittagong Method Manual Mechanized All
No. 1 159 160
% 0.3 40.3 40.5
Source: BIDS Survey (2004).
Dhaka No. 12 203 215
% 3.7 63.2 67.0
Khulna No. 9 158 167
% 2.8 48.5 51.2
Rajshahi No. 1 356 357
% 0.2 85.4 85.6
Total No. 23 876 899
% 1.6 60.0 61.6