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Direct-seeded Rice in the High BARInd Tract: Economics and Farmer Evaluation

M. A. Jabbar
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, Bangladesh

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

B. Karmakar
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Regional Station, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Farmers’ experience with direct-seeded rice (DSR) was explored through both formal economic and informal farmer evaluations of on-farm trials (OFTs). Although yields were almost identical, net returns from DSR were higher because of lower costs, chiefly for seedbed preparation and crop establishment. DSR reduced labor requirements by 30 days ha^–1 for transplanted rice (TPR) with herbicide and by 50 days ha^–1 for TPR without herbicide. Farmers saw the prime advantages of DSR as allowing earlier planting of rabi crops and savings in labor costs. The main perceived disadvantages were more weeds if herbicides were not used effectively, more damage from pests, and lower yields. Sharecroppers were reluctant to adopt DSR because they feared eviction if yields were lower than with TPR. The economic rationale for DSR in the High Barind Tract is strong but adoption among OFT farmers has been limited by erratic premonsoon rainfall, pest damage to early-maturing rice, and land tenure.

Keywords: Weed management, Profitability of DSR, Transplanted rice, Farmer perceptions, New technology

Location: Nachole, Godagari, and Nawabganj Sadar thanas of Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-00-2000

End Date: 00-00-2002

Program Area: Seed Technology

Non-commodity: Cost of production, Income generation

Objectives:

The specific objectives are to:

1. Describe farmers’ current weed management practices,

2. Compare the profitability of DSR and transplanted rice, and

3. Identify farmer perceptions of the new technology.

Methodology:

Information was collected through a structured questionnaire survey in Nachole, Godagari, and Nawabganj Sadar thanas. Households were listed and stratified according to three farm size groups, using Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) categories for large, medium, and small, with sampling proportionate to each size group. Information on farm management was collected for a subsample of plots stratified according to land type. The survey was conducted in January 2001 after the harvest of the aman crop in November/December 2000, and results refer to the 2000-01 agricultural year (Orr and Jabbar 2002). Information was collected through a structured questionnaire survey in Godagari, Tanore, and Nachole thanas. Households were listed and stratified according to three farm size groups, using Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) categories for large, medium, and small, with sampling proportionate to each size group. Of 352 households listed, 88 (25%) were selected for survey. Of these, 48 farms were purposively selected since they had participated in OFTs, while the remaining 40 were randomly chosen. In addition, one village in Godagari thana (Edulpur) was selected from outside the project area and 25% of the rice farmers from that village were sampled for crosschecking. This gave a total of 113 farmers selected for survey. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire during the T. aman season in 2005. Table 2 shows the socioeconomic profile of the sample farms. Average farm size for OFT farmers (1.40 ha) was higher than for non-OFT farmers (0.92 ha). Average aman yields were also slightly higher among this group. Bigger farms, higher yields, and a higher proportion of owner-operators meant that OFT farmers were more likely to be self-sufficient in rice. Fewer OFT farmers had received education beyond the primary level, however. Evaluations were conducted in 2003 and 2005. The 2003 evaluation was made with 19 farmers in six thanas in three districts (Rajshahi, Naogaon, and Chapai Nawabganj) who had participated in OFTs in the 2003 aman season (Orr et al 2004). The 2005 evaluation was made with 20 farmers from the same three districts who had participated in OFTs in various years since the 2002 aman season. Information was collected using a structured questionnaire. Farmer perceptions in 2003 were obtained using open-ended questions, whereas in 2005 perceptions were captured mostly through closed questions that reflected our greater knowledge of what farmers thought about DSR. In addition, farmers were asked to rank the three most important advantages/ disadvantages of DSR. OFT farmers from the 2005 evaluation are profiled in Table 3. Eight farmers (40%) had no education, ten had primary education, and two had been educated to the secondary level. Average farm size was 2.5 ha and most households were self-sufficient in rice. Only five farmers (25%) were owner-cultivators, while eight were owner-tenants and seven were pure-tenants. Socioeconomic indicators placed OFT farmers in the medium (majari) category.

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:

This evaluation of DSR in the High Barind Tract has given mixed results. On the credit side, DSR will improve farmers’ weed management, particularly the problem of late and less frequent weeding caused by shortages of cash and labor. DSR is also more profitable than TPR and gives farmers a means of cutting costs without sacrificing yield. Finally, the earlier harvest of DSR may allow farmers to expand the area planted to rabi crops. On the debit side, experience with OFTs has revealed practical problems with DSR in a drought-prone ecosystem. Supply-side problems have been overcome as researchers have learned more about the technology, but wider access to herbicides, lithaos, and drum seeders remains a precondition for DSR adoption. On the demand side, farmers have been slow to adopt DSR because of erratic premonsoon rains that prevent dry seeding, pest damage to early-maturing rice, and (among sharecroppers) the risk of lower yields. Wet seeding with long-duration varieties offers a way forward.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings