Abstract:
The Kawraid River Rubber Dam Project (KRRDP) of Gazipur District was
commissioned by the Local Government Engineering Department in 2000-0 I and has
been in operation since 2002-03 Boro season. The project has the total irrigation
coverage of 1232 ha for Boro rice cultivation. The objectives of this study were to
evaluate the impact of the KRRDP on the agricultural performance and to assess the
impact of this project on poverty. The impacts are evaluated following a With Project
(WP) and Without Project (WOP) approach and considering 2000-01 Boro season as
base year (without intervention) and 2006-07 as current year (with intervention). The
agricultural performance is evaluated using some agricultural indicators and the
poverty level of a household is assessed using the self-assessment method which is
modified in this study. A multiple linear regression analysis is done to find out the
relationship between poverty and its predictors. Results of the study show that the
average yield of Boro rice per ha in current year is about 30% higher than that of base
year in the WP area; whereas, the yield is only 7% higher in the \yap area. The
production performance of the WP area is also higher in 2006-07 (0.87) than that of
2000-0 I (0.42); but it is not much different in the WOP area (0.54 and 0.6 I in 2000-
o I and 2006-07, respectively). The net income (Tk.lha) is 180% higher in the WP
area; whereas, it is only 3.6% higher in the WOP area in the Current year compared to
that of the base year. The irrigation intervention with the KRRDP has reduced povel1y
by 4.5%. For each percentage increase in irrigated area, poverty reduction is found to
be about 0.2% in the WP area. Multiple regression results show that the increased
income from Boro rice cultivation has a large influence on poverty reduction of the
WP area. Both the WP and' WOP areas also exhibit a strong relationship between
education and poverty. It thus appears that the irrigation intervention with the KRRDP
has played an important role in enhancing agricultural production and income, which
have contributed to the reduction of poverty and improvement in living condition of
the rubber dam beneficiaries .
