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Resource Use Efficiency and Productivity of Potato Farms in Selected Areas in Bangladesh

S.C.Barman
Senior Scientific Officer
Agricultural Economics Division, BARI, Gazipur

Rafiqul Islam
Scientific Officer
Agricultural Economics Division, BARI, Gazipur

Dr. Md. Ismail Hossain
Chief Scientific Officer and Head
Agricultural Economics Division, BARI, Gazipur

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Potao (Solanum Tuberosum) is an important tuber vegetable crop grown in Bangladesh during winter season calls for scarce resources competing with other competitive crops. However, potato yield/ha in Bangladesh is very low compared to other countries resulting from inefficient use of technological inputs and lower management at farmers’ level. As such was to investigate into the level of resource use efficiency and productivity of potato farms study was conducted at farmers’ level in two districts with a sample of 90 potato growers applying Cobb-Douglas production function model. The functional analysis revealed that some technological inputs such as urea, TSP and manure were over utilized whereas other factors like human labour seeds power tiller and animal power, irrigation facilities and MP and Pesticides were under utilized and applied in potato production more rationally. Uneconomic utilization of factors on potato farms, resulted in decreasing productivity in scale with less than unit production elasticity. So, the potato farmers in Bangladesh will have to make adjustments in the existing use of various input factors and directing to an optimization for increasing their income from potato production.

Keywords: Resource, Use efficiency, Productivity , Potato

Location: Bogra and Munshigonj districts

Start Date: 00-11-1999

End Date: 00-02-2000

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Non-commodity: Efficiency

Objectives:

i. To determine the economic rationale of the farmers in resource use in potato production with available technologies

ii. To determine resource productivity in potato production at farmers level

iii. To Judge the economic efficiency of potato farmers

iv. To identify the sustained potato varieties at the farmers’ level.

Methodology:

The required data for this study were collected through survey method from a sample of 90 farmers from two areas: Gabtali and Mohespur areas in the district of Bogra and Munshigonj respectively. These two districts are featured with two geographical areas having different soil textures and PH. The soil texture in Bogra is silt loam, grey floodplain soils having PH 6.4 while in Munshigonj it was loam and clay loam, grey floodplain soils having PH 6. However, potato has been growing extensively in both the districts. Before drawing the sample, a list of 1000 potato farmers was prepared for two areas, 570farmers from Gabtali under Bogra and 430 farmers from Mohespur under Munshigonj districts respectively. Out of this list, 90 farmers were randomly selected, taking 45 from each study area irrespective of farm size groups. Then the sample farms were classified into three groups, small, medium and large farms according to their actual holdings. Small farmers were those having land area less than or equal to one hectare, large farmers were those having land area more than two hectares and the medium were having land area between one and two hectares. Thus, there were 63 small, 17 medium and 10 large potato farmers for this study. Data required for this study were collected during last potato growing season from November 1999 to February of 2000, with pre-designed interview schedules and analyzed as per objectives of the study. Cobb-Douglas production function model was chosen to analyze the data and to estimate the potato production function of potato farms and work out the coefficients of different inputs used.

Source of Information: Annual Research Report 2001, Agricultural Economics Division, BARI, Gazipur

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

In this study the average per farm potato growing area was 0.41 ha in 2000 growing season. But a positive relationship was found between area under potato and farm size groups. It is also apparent from this study that Diamant and cardinal were two major potato varieties adopted by 99 percent farmers in potato cultivation in study areas. Diamant varieties gave the highest yield compared to other varieties, Cardinal and Patrones at farmers’ field. The average per hectare yield of potato was found to be 232.13 quintal on study farms. Results of the study also inferred that the potato farmers, although economically more rational in some case were not using resources at an optimum level. Uneconomic use of Urea, TSP and manure implied that potato farmers were lacking technical knowledge about appropriate does of fertilizers and irrational thinking about subsequent effects of imbalance fertilizer application on potato field and it led to a decreasing return to scale with less than unit in production elasticity. So, the farmers in study areas could have to reallocate by reducing the use of Urea and TSP fertilizers and manure with more rational consideration in potato production.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings