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Farm-level Opportunities for Increasing Productivity and Income in the High BARInd Tract: a Synthesis

A. Orr
Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK

C. Riches
Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK

M. Mortimer
School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK

D. Harris
CAZS Natural Resources, Bangor University, UK

M. A. Mazid
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Regional Station, Rangpur, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

This paper synthesizes recent research by two projects to develop new technology for the High Barind Tract in Bangladesh. Farmers in this complex drought-prone ecosystem usually grow a single crop of transplanted aman rice. The research strategy was to expand the area that could be planted to rabi crops using residual soil moisture by introducing new technology that advanced the harvest of rice and improved yields of chickpea. Direct-seeded rice (DSR) with long-duration variety Swarna and introduced varieties of short-duration rice (SDR) gave earlier harvesting without reducing rice yields. Higher-quality seed, seed priming, and improved crop management also improved the profitability of chickpea. Because the farming system is complex, SDR and DSR should not be seen as prescriptive recommendations but as choices that allow timely rice establishment with variable monsoon rainfall. Dissemination of these technologies requires local partnerships to build a reliable supply chain to deliver knowledge and inputs to farmers.

Keywords: Higher productivity, Household, Food security, High Barind Tract, HBT

Location: High Barind Tract, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Commodity: Rice, Soil Physical Properties

Objectives:

To design technology that can somehow squeeze higher productivity and income from these systems without compromising household food security.

Methodology:

The workshop brought together two projects funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) working on different components of the same system. One project, funded by the Crop Protection Programme, worked on direct-seeded rice (DSR) and weed management. A second project, funded by the Plant Sciences Programme, worked on rabi cropping with chickpea and on short-duration rice (SDR). Although they shared results and collaborated in on-farm demonstrations, the two projects operated independently. A joint workshop was held at the end of these projects to see what new technology was available for the system as a whole and, with representatives from the extension service that had been a partner in much of the original research, to explore how this technology could be promoted and disseminated to farmers. Complexity is a defining characteristic of the High Barind Tract (HBT), an area of 0.7 million ha where two-thirds of the cultivated area grows only a single crop of transplanted rice (TPR). This complexity arises because of a unique set of interactions between the rice ecosystem and the agrarian structure. These interactions create a farming system that is designed for survival rather than for maximizing income and where land tenure acts as a “built-in depressor” that discourages risk-taking and innovation. Drought can either delay or damage TPR. The optimum time for transplanting is mid-July, but, once every two years, erratic rainfall delays transplanting until after mid-July, and twice every 10 years transplanting is delayed until after mid-August. Moreover, a two-week period without rain during the grain-filling stage occurs once every two years (Saleh et al 2000). The HBT has a distinctive topography with pronounced differences in land height. Higher land holds water for less time and dries out more quickly, making it more risky for rice and less suitable for rabi crops that rely on residual soil moisture. Medium land is more favorable for both rice and rabi. Rice planted on low-lying land may be submerged by rainwater and rabi sowing may be delayed if the soil remains too wet after the rice harvest. Soil patterns are complex, often varying within the same field (Brammer 1997). The gray terrace soils of the High Barind have low organic matter (0.8–1.2%). The combination of silty-loam and clay-loam soils with low moisture-holding capacity and a strong plow pan that prevents root penetration by dryland crops limits the potential for rabi cropping without irrigation. Many farmers in the Barind remain unaware of the potential these technologies offer to raise productivity and income. There is therefore a need to create demand by demonstrating the technologies in villages throughout the region. The DAE and PROVA, an NGO, have successfully collaborated on a program of demonstrations for chickpea in all thanas in the HBT.

Source of Information: A Report of Improving Agricultural Productivity in Rice-Based Systems of the High Barind Tract of Bangladesh, IRRI, 2008

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The complexity of the farming system means that it has taken several decades to develop new technology for the HBT. That investment now seems to be paying off and several technologies are now available that have demonstrated good potential to raise farm productivity and income. The strategy behind these interventions has been to expand the area planted to rabi crops by promoting new technology to improve yields of chickpea, and by bringing forward the time of the rice harvest. Earlier maturity can be achieved by transplanting short-duration rice or by direct-seeding long-duration cultivars such as Swarna. Either way, farmers gain extra time to take advantage of residual soil moisture, which increases the potential for successful chickpea cultivation, although this depends on the ability to harvest rice early. These interventions have been tested over several seasons, are profitable, and now deserve wider dissemination to farmers so that they can assess their potential for themselves. Dissemination of these technologies cannot be left entirely to the market because they are public goods that will primarily benefit resource-poor small farmers rather than private firms. Instead, dissemination will require partnerships between the state-run extension service, farmer groups perhaps working with NGOs, and private-sector suppliers of the seed, herbicides, and equipment that are needed if they are to be adopted. Dissemination will also require technical backstopping from researchers, in both providing the right kind of information for extension agents and working closely with farmers to fine-tune these technologies as they are adapted to fit local conditions.

Knowledge Management: Journal