Participatory Videos: A New Media for Promoting Organic Farming in Northern Bangladesh

Significance of agricultural extension to eliminate poverty, vulnerability, hunger and pollution is well-established in the perspective of developing countries. However, extension services in Bangladesh missed the opportunity to reduce poverty and pollution in a cost-effective way. This is due to lack of innovative ways to support farmer-to-farmer learning process. This paper presents the thoughts, empirical evidences and vision about approaches of video-mediated learning to enhance household food security and reducing pollution caused by agro-chemicals used in the field of agriculture. Following a model of participatory video (PV) supported women farmers’ capacity building process for preparation and use of botanical pesticide and vermin-compost in organic vegetables production. Findings of the study showed that PV has unexploited potentials to promote farmers’ innovation and adoption of organic farming by the farmers in the study area

Accumulation of arsenic in tissues of rice plant (Oryza sativa L.) and its distribution in fractions of rice grain

A study was conducted to investigate the accumulation and distribution of arsenic in different fractions of rice grain (Oryza sativa L.) collected from arsenic affected area of Bangladesh. The agricultural soil of study area has become highly contaminated with arsenic due to the excessive use of arsenic-rich underground water (0.070 ± 0.006 mg l-1, n = 6) for irrigation. Arsenic content in tissues of rice plant and in fractions of rice grain of two widely cultivated rice varieties, namely BRRI dhan28 and BRRI hybrid dhan1, were determined. Regardless of rice varieties, arsenic content was about 28- and 75-folds higher in root than that of shoot and raw rice grain, respectively. In fractions of parboiled and non-parboiled rice grain of both varieties, the order of arsenic concentrations was; rice hull > bran-polish > brown rice > raw rice > polish rice. Arsenic content was higher in non-parboiled rice grain than that of parboiled rice. Arsenic concentrations in parboiled and non-parboiled brown rice of BRRI dhan28 were 0.8 ± 0.1 and 0.5 ± 0.0 mg kg-1 dry weight, respectively while those of BRRI hybrid dhan1 were 0.8 ± 0.2 and 0.6 ± 0.2 mg kg-1 dry weight, respectively. However, parboiled and non-parboiled polish rice grain of BRRI dhan28 contained 0.4 ± 0.0 and 0.3 ± 0.1 mg kg-1 dry weight of arsenic, respectively while those of BRRI hybrid dhan1 contained 0.43 ± 0.01 and 0.5 ± 0.0 mg kg-1 dry weight, respectively. Both polish and brown rice are readily cooked for human consumption. The concentration of arsenic found in the present study is much lower than the permissible limit in rice (1.0 mg kg-1) according to WHO recommendation. Thus, rice grown in soils of Bangladesh contaminated with arsenic of 14.5 ± 0.1 mg kg-1 could be considered safe for human consumption. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Unbalanced fertilizer use in the Eastern Gangetic Plain: The influence of Government recommendations, fertilizer type, farm size and cropping patterns

Intensive cropping systems with diverse cropping patterns present a challenge for nutrient management on smallholder farms. Government-endorsed recommendations for crop fertilizer use are designed to assist farmers achieve profitable and balanced nutrient inputs, but it is unclear how closely farmers follow these recommendations. We identified farmers’ current nutrient use gaps (overuse or underuse) relative to the Government-endorsed recommended nutrient doses in two cropping patterns in three representative Agro-ecological Zones of Bangladesh. A total of 330 farms were surveyed in 2019 from three farm size categories (referred to as large-, medium and small-scale) and their gaps in nutrient use were assessed relative to Government-endorsed Fertilizer Recommendation Guides (FRG) published in 2012 and in 2018: FRG-2012 and FRG-2018. The large- and medium-scale farms used 11–16%, 80–90% and 21–30%, respectively, over-doses of NPK in the cropping season under fully rice-based cropping pattern relative to FRG-2012 recommendations, while the over-dose levels were much lower for small-scale farms. Small-scale farms used much less than recommended S, Mg, Zn, B and organic manure (OM) rates relative to FRG-2012. The FRG-2018, which increased N and K recommendations but decreased the P recommendation for rice crops relative to FRG-2012, shows that all farms can decrease the dose of P (by 50%) while small-scale farms need to increase the dose of N (7%), K (16%), S (20%) and to apply Zn in the fully rice-based cropping pattern. On the other hand, the farms could greatly reduce NPK (19%, 86% and 44%, respectively) use while increasing S (14%), Mg, Zn, B and OM use relative to FRG-2018 in the pattern with the high-value potato crop. To increase crop profitability, enhance food security and save Government treasury in the Eastern Gangetic Plain enabling approaches are needed to effectively communicate the benefits of balanced nutrient use practices to farmers

Arsenic accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties of Bangladesh: A glass house study

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科物質情報解析A glass house study was conducted to investigate the accumulation of arsenic in tissues of five widely cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties of Bangladesh namely BRRI dhan 28, BRRI dhan 29, BRRI dhan 35, BRRI dhan 36, BRRI hybrid dhan 1. Arsenic concentrations were measured in straw, husk and brown and polish rice grain to see the differential accumulation of arsenic among the rice varieties. The results showed that the concentrations of arsenic in different parts of all rice varieties increased significantly (p BRRI dhan 35 > BRRI dhan 36 > BRRI dhan 29 > BRRI hybrid dhan 1. The order of arsenic contents in tissues of rice was: straw > husk > brown rice grain > polish rice grain. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Conservation agriculture for rice-based intensive cropping by smallholders in the Eastern Gangetic Plain

We review the recent development of Conservation Agriculture (CA) for rice-based smallholder farms in the Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP) and the underpinning research on agronomy, weed control, soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions being tested to accelerate its adoption in Bangladesh. The studies are based mostly on minimum soil disturbance planting in strip planting (SP) mode, using the Versatile Multi-crop Planter (VMP), powered by a two-wheel tractor (2WT). One-pass SP with the VMP decreased fuel costs for crop establishment by up to 85% and labour requirements by up to 50%. We developed strip-based non-puddled rice (Oryza sativa) transplanting (NPT) in minimally-disturbed soil and found that rice grain yield increased (by up to 12%) in longer-term practice of CA. On farms, 75% of NPT crops increased gross margin. For non-rice crops, relative yield increases ranged from 28% for lentil (Lens culinaris) to 6% for wheat (Triticum aestivum) on farms that adopted CA planting. Equivalent profit increases were from 47% for lentil to 560% for mustard (Brassica juncea). Moreover, VMP and CA adopting farms saved 34% of labour costs and lowered total cost by up to 10% for production of lentil, mustard, maize (Zea mays) and wheat. Effective weed control was obtained from the use of a range of pre-emergent and post-emergence herbicides and retention of increased crop residue. In summary, a substantial body of research has demonstrated the benefits of CA and mechanized planting for cost savings, yield increases in many cases, increased profit in most cases and substantial labour saving. Improvement in soil quality has been demonstrated in long-term experiments together with reduced greenhouse gas emissions

Czynniki determinujące zrównoważony poziom życia kobiet z terenów zalewowych Bangladeszu

The main purpose of the study was to determine the contribution of variables to the sustainable livelihood status of char women. The sustainable livelihood status of a char woman was measured by computing a “sustainable livelihood status score” which is considering six major aspects of her livelihoods: food security, ability to provide family education, health and sanitation, shelter and family assets, clothing condition and social upliftment. Data were collected from 200 randomly selected char women by using interview schedule in two Upazilla of Jamalpur district in Bangladesh during November 2006 to March 2007. More than two-fifths (67.5 per cent) of the char women were found under “medium sustainable livelihood status” compared to more than one-fifth (20.5 per cent) of them belongs to ‘low sustainable livelihood status’ and only 12 per cent to “high sustainable livelihood status”. Pearson correlation test depicted that out of 16 variables, 13 had significant positive relationships with the sustainable livelihood status. Results of stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that five variables namely, annual income, agricultural knowledge, income generating activities, family education and organizational participation contributed significantly which combindly explained 76.3 per cent of total variation to the sustainable livelihood status. Path analysis indicated that these variables had both direct and indirect effects to the sustainable livelihood status. Women who had more annual income, better agricultural knowledge, participation in income generating activities, more family education and more organizational participation were found to better sustainable livelihood status in char area. Government or concern other authorities need to give attention to these variables for any sustainable livelihood upliftment programme.Głównym celem badania było określenie udziału zmiennych wpływających na zrównoważony poziom życia kobiet z terenów zalewowych. Pomiaru zrównoważonego poziomu życia dokonano w oparciu o wskaźnik, który uwzględniał sześć zmiennych: bezpieczeństwo żywnościowe, zdolność do zapewnienia edukacji rodzinie, zdrowie i warunki sanitarne, schronienie i majątek rodziny, stan odzieży oraz poprawę sytuacji społecznej. Dane do badania pochodzą z wywiadu przeprowadzonego w okresie od listopada 2006 roku do marca 2007 roku wśród 200 losowo wybranych kobiet z terenów zalewowych z dwóch dystryktów Bangladeszu: Upazila i Jamalpur. Ponad połowa (67,5%) kobiet z terenów zalewowych określiła swój poziom życia jako średni, podczas gdy według 1/5 (20,5%) poziom ich życia był niski. Tylko 12% określiło swój poziom życia jako wysoki. Współczynnik korelacji Pearsona wykazał, że spośród 16 zmiennych 13 miało dodatni, istotny statystycznie, wpływ na badane zjawisko. Wyniki analizy regresji krokowej wykazały, że pięć zmiennych: dochód roczny, wiedza rolnicza, działalność generująca dochód, wykształcenie rodziny oraz uczestnictwo w organizacjach w 76,3% wyjaśniło zmienność w ocenie poziomu życia. Analiza ścieżkowa wykazała, że zmienne te wywierają zarówno bezpośredni, jak i pośredni wpływ na badane zjawisko. Grupa kobiet o większych rocznych dochodach, lepszej wiedzy rolniczej i wykształceniu, uczestniczących w działalności generującej dochód oraz częściej uczestniczących w organizacjach, charakteryzowała się wyższym poziomem życia. Konieczne jest, aby rząd i inne instytucje, odpowiedzialne za prowadzoną politykę, w programach mających na celu podniesienie poziomu życia zwracały uwagę na te aspekty, które, zgodnie z wynikami przeprowadzonego badania, przyczyniają się do poprawy poziomu życia kobiet na terenach zalewowych w Bangladeszu

IMPACT OF MAIZE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION IN BANGLADESH

The study was undertaken during 2001-02 to evaluate the past investment on research and extension of maize in Bangladesh. For the purpose, Economic Surplus Model with ex-post analysis was used to estimate the returns to investment on composite varieties and hybrids of maize that have replaced the local varieties. The growth rate of area, production and yield of maize were increased dramatically after the release of maize varieties. The internal rate of return (IRR) to investment was calculated at 23%. During 2000-01, about 65.70% more maize production was made available because of the farmers' adoption of composite varieties and hybrids of maize. The yield of composite varieties of maize ranged from 40 to 65% and hybrids ranged from 73 to 79% higher over the local varieties. Under various assumptions about the research and extension expenditures, the IRR ranged from 17 to 28% and benefit cost ratio from 9 to 19. The accumulated foreign exchange saving since 1992-93 was Tk 291.59 billion. The study indicates that the funding of maize research and extension is a good investment. Therefore, both government and donor agencies should come forward to invest in maize research and strengthen extension activities in the country

Farmers’ fertilizer use gaps relative to government recommendations in the saline coastal zone of the Ganges Delta

Overuse or underuse of nutrients relative to recommendations is a likely cause of crop yield gaps and an impediment to the achievement of food security. Government-endorsed recommendations are developed to deliver the best evidence-based advice on balanced fertilizer; however, deviations of farmers’ nutrient use from the recommendations are rarely examined. This study chose the salt-affected coastal zone of the Ganges Delta, where low crop productivity and cropping intensity by smallholders limit their income, to determine current nutrient use gaps for the first time of three cropping patterns in two representative districts of Bangladesh. A total of 246 farms were surveyed from three farm sizes. Farmers’ nutrient use gaps were compared with Fertilizer Recommendation Guides published in 2012 (FRG-2012) and 2018 (FRG-2018). Relative to FRG-2012 recommendations, farmers used 12%, 70%, and 11% overdoses of N, P, and K, respectively, under two fully rice-based cropping patterns, but the level of overdoses increased with farm size. Rates of K (14%), S (28%), and Zn use were below the FRG-2012 recommendations, especially for the smallest category of farms. However, the FRG-2018, increased recommended N (5%), K (62%), S (12%), and Zn rates but reduced P (25%) rates for fully rice-based cropping patterns. In contrast with rice, regardless of farm size, farmers applied overdose nutrients to watermelon but compensated with underdoses in the subsequent monsoon rice implying that farmers prioritized fertilizer expenditure on the most profitable crop. For the cropping pattern with watermelon, farmers could reduce the use of N (69%) and P (46%) and increase the use of K (48%), S (5%), and B. Reducing NPK use gaps can save treasury for both the farmers and the governments by 39.1 and 73.8 USD ha-1, respectively, under fully rice-based cropping patterns. Finally, our findings suggest there is scope to promote crop yields and sustainable intensification through balanced fertilizer use in a vulnerable saline region