World Bank supports Bangladesh irrigation-based agricultural productivity

The World Bank has approved $120 million to help Bangladesh improve food security by enhancing climate resilience and productivity of irrigated agriculture and fisheries.

The credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association, and has a 35-year term, including a five-year grace period. The Climate-Smart Agriculture and Water Management Project will rehabilitate and modernize public flood control, drainage, and irrigation infrastructures. 

This will help improve irrigation and drainage service over 115,000 hectares where flood damage to crops will be reduced by 60%. The project will help increase the incomes of 170,000 poor people who are vulnerable to climate change. Half of the beneficiaries will be women.

The project will also support the promotion of coastal aquaculture, including the integration of rice and fish/shrimp farming; setting up of cold storage facilities; and, improvements of local markets. This will improve the productivity of fisheries by almost 40% and rice by 7.5%.