Land use - Case study from Bangladesh for technology targeting

Urs SchulthessTimothy J. KrupnikAndrew McDonald

And many other partners

Workshop: Remote Sensing – Beyond Images

Dec 14 & 15, 2013Mexico City, Mexico

Rising food prices

Animal

Courtesy M. Banziger

Non- staple foods

Non-Food: education – health – housing – risk management

Staples: rice & wheat

Before 2008

Fish+ Meat

Effect of a 50% food price increase on household income use (Bouis 2011)After 2008

Non-staple foods

Fish + Meat

Staples: rice & wheat

Non-Food: education – health – housing – risk management

Bangladesh: Hot, flat and crowded (borrowing from Freidman 2008)

150.5 million people (WB 2011)

75% rural (Huq et al.

2008)

Climate change vulnerable (Rawlani et al. 2011) Low-intensity

cropping in South

Extreme poverty (UNDP 2011)

• Irrigation facilities least developed in the South.

• Shallow aquifers are

usually saline.

• Surface water alternative?

Abundant water, but little irrigation in the South

Deep and shallow

tube wells

Surface water irrigation to hedge risk

The Axial Flow Pump:

Up to 50% more fuel efficient for low-lift pumping

Surface water irrigation to hedge risk• Location and quantification of low intensity dry season

land (Following Maas and Rajan 2008)

• < 40% ground cover: Approximately 180,000 ha• After surface water buffering: 83,000 ha• Surface water salinity sampling stations (dots)

Krigged surface water salinity: 90th percentile Weeks 1-2

Krigged surface water salinity: 90th percentile Weeks 5-6

Krigged surface water salinity: 90th percentile Weeks 9-10

Krigged surface water salinity: 90th percentile Weeks 13-14

Identification of water ways

Identification of water ways

Identification of water ways

Identification of water ways

Open research topics

• Perennial water way detection – Landsat too coarse

• Soil moisture status in critical period before planting of winter crop

• Irrigation scheduling– Contribution from ground water table– Crop water use estimation

Thank you!