Performance evaluation of the rubber dam project for irrigation development

Rubber dam irrigation system for impounding surface water is a new technology in Bangladesh. It is important and priority in agricultural sector for sustainable irrigation water management due to scarcity of groundwater. The rubber dam project was evaluated to facilitate irrigation through proper use of water resources in the project area by conserving water for rabi crops. This study was evaluated by obtaining the values of some technical parameters like command area efficiency, management performance ratio, yield efficiency and benefit cost ratio and also the performance was evaluated the constraints to efficient water utilization and their remedy for irrigation development in the rubber dam project area at Nalitabari, Bangladesh. The rubber dam irrigation project was carried out by means of low lift pumps (LLPs) during the dry seasons. It was observed that water crisis was minimized during the dry seasons due to increased LLPs. It was found in the project area that command area efficiency ranged from 58.45 to 85.34% with an average value of 63.91%. Management performance ratio ranged from 0.012 to 0.114 with an average value of 0.028. Yield efficiency ranged 33 to 54 kg m-3 with an average value of 41.8 kg m-3. Agricultural benefit was increased. Benefit-cost ratio ranged from 1.26 to 1.39 with an average value of 1.34. It was also found in the study area that a considerable number of performance constraints of the rubber dam irrigation project were identified to achieve the targeted successful output such as, lack of supply of electricity, improper management, lack of farmer’s co-ordination and lack of technician and lack of farmers’ participation during the implementation of the project.   Key words: Irrigation development, performance evaluation and rubber dam.