Since 10 years Acacia Water has been working on the implementation of Managed Aquifer Recharge in coastal Bangladesh. In close cooperation with Dhaka University, UNICEF and the Department of Public Health and Engineering, a successful network of MAR schemes for drinking water has been created.
From the knowledge and experience of MAR for drinking water Acacia Water is now introducing ‘AgriMAR’ in the coastal zone. AgriMAR tends to harvest rainwater during the monsoon period and store it underground for later use as irrigation water in agriculture. Our experience with AgriMAR started in the Netherlands where the underground stored water is used to irrigate tulips and potatoes. In cooperation with Salt Farm Texel and ICCO the first AgriMAR is planned to be build in 2018.
Water for irrigation is strongly needed as coastal Bangladesh suffers from salinization. The groundwater, the soils and the rivers become more saline every year. The salinization affects the agricultural yields and results in farrow lands for six months a year on some places. Water for irrigation will increase the possibilities for agricultural activities, introduction of saline tolerant crops and a larger range and more yielding varieties.
Last week Acacia Water visited several sites in Satkhira and Khulna district to assess the feasibility of introducing AgirMAR.
