Determinants of Structural Change in the Dairy Sector

Even though the dairy products are not a staple food item, but they are necessary for humans as an excellent source of protein. The consumption of dairy commodities began a long time ago, and over time there has been an improvement in the processing to match the changes in the tastes. Small scale dairy production was the root of today’s dairy sector. However, now it is going on a large scale. This changed gradually through a process accompanied by different factors. This study aimed at identifying and understanding existing determinants and their role behind the change in the dairy sector. For this, peer-reviewed articles published by researchers around the world were obtained with all possible search combinations from reputed online databases. Statistical data were collected from reliable statistical data providers, and all activities were done focusing on the determinants of changing the dairy sector. The regulatory policy framework of dairy-producing countries, change in farm size, shift in consumption pattern, etc. were found as the most crucial factors behind the change. Possible suggestions required to keep pace with this massive change were discussed

Assessment of Gender Priority on Groundwater Utilization in Northwestern Bangladesh

The present study was undertaken to find out gender-specific priorities in groundwater utilization for crop production and domestic uses, and also to identify various problems and constraints faced in groundwater utilization. A total of 60 farm households were selected randomly for empirical investigation from two northwestern districts of Bangladesh. Among these selected households, both husband and wife were interviewed separately. Both descriptive and econometric (logistic regression) analyses were performed. Groundwater is the main source of irrigation and household water and it is supplied by both public and private enterprises. The availability of water is scarce in the study location hence people use irrigation water for most of their domestic activities. Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (state-run) operated tube wells that contributed 87% of the domestic water uses in the study area. Logistic regression results confirm that priorities of groundwater utilization vary across gender. Females have a greater preference for domestic uses of groundwater while males have a preference for crop irrigation. One of the major factors of preference variation is that female has to spent a good amount of time in fetching water for domestic uses. Water management policies should consider these utilization preferences to avoid extra burden on women in fetching water from away. The study suggests better institutional arrangements for groundwater availability for crop production and domestic uses towards ensuring food security and health benefits

Impact of income diversification on rural livelihood in some selected areas of Bangladesh

Diverse set of income generating activities may have varying effect on household?s welfare situation. This study intends to assess the extent of different income diversification strategies on rural household welfare. A total sample of 153 households from three districts of Bangladesh was randomly selected. Considering simultaneous causality between different livelihood strategies and welfare indicators, the Two Stage Least Square (2SLS) methods with instrumental variable was applied to estimate impact of the strategies on household welfare. Household per capita expenditure was treated as the welfare indicator which includes both food and non-food expenditures. The findings show that involving in any type of non-farm activities jointly with farming has a significantly positive effect on the household?s welfare. Among different non-farm activities, participation in wage employment and migration along with agricultural activities ensured significantly higher per capita household expenditure. On the other hand, the impact of currently participation in only agricultural activities on household expenditure is insignificant. Besides, Farm size, higher education and infrastructural facilities also play an important role in improving household?s welfare. Therefore, policy should be directed to create opportunities to participate in non-farm activities through establishment of small and medium industries, especially agro-based industries in the rural areas

Freshwater pond fish farming in Bangladesh: A micro level land use analysis

Market-oriented farming has been started in Bangladesh over last two decades. As a consequence, diversified agricultural products are now produced which changing the land use pattern. This study conducted in Trishal upazila of Mymensingh district, a major freshwater pond fish farming area of Bangladesh. Secondary data from different relevant government offices (Upazila Agriculture, Fisheries, and Statistical office) were collected to find out how much cropland has been converted to pond fish farming and what will be the future trend of land use in the afore mentioned area. Total land area of Trishal sub-district is 33876 ha and since last three-decade cropland has been converted to commercial freshwater fish farming. As a consequence, the area under commercial fish farming is now 4542 ha (13.41 per cent total area of Trishal upazila); which was only 1920 ha in the year of 2010. The commercial fish farming land area was converted mostly from cropland area and then a little portion came from Khas (Government owned fallow land) and fallow land area. Within six years (2010-2016), agricultural cropland area had decreased by 6.68 percent (1.11 per cent per year) and pond fish farming area had increased by 7.74 percent (1.29 percent per year). By 2021, following non-linear (quadratic) trend projection model, about 2000 ha more land will be occupied by pond fish farming

Small-Scale Turkey Farming in Bangladesh: Farming Practices, Profitability and Supply Chain Mapping

The study was conducted to know the existing turkey production system, supply chain mapping, and identifying the prospects and problems of turkey rearing in some selected areas of Bangladesh during October 2019 to December 2019. A total of 100 turkey raisers were surveyed following convenience method of sampling technique. The primary data were collected, analyzed accordingly and tabular presentation method was applied with the help of simple descriptive statistical measures e.g. frequency distributions, percentage, sum and means to illustrating the results. Profitability analysis was done on the basis of variable cost, fixed cost, return by using arithmetic means and percentages. The study revealed that 87 male and 13 female respondents were surveyed, of them cent percent found educated. About 56% turkey keeper’s main occupation was business, 27% service and 12% in farming while 88.57% involved with farming as secondary sources of income. Average landholding for homestead, cultivable and non-cultivable was 24.40, 129.71 and 29.47 decimal, respectively. About 59% farms started for commercial purpose, 32% for non-commercial purpose and 9% for both. About 60% respondents kept less than 50 turkeys and only 2% kept 501-1000 turkeys. Among the surveyed farms55% stopped their operation and 45% farms found running their business. Among the running farms cent percent were small-scale group. The average feed intake was 192.13 grams per day per bird at 20 weeks of age. Turkey laid on an average 139 eggs a year irrespective of variety and for hatching poults, the fertility and hatchability rate found between 65 to 100% and 50 to 90%, respectively. About 28% farmers experienced the deaths of turkey because of Cold, Pox, Ranikhet, Bird flu and unknown cases and 69.47% farmers took veterinary advice from Upazila Livestock Hospital and rest from other sources. Farmers to consumers were the most common and widely used marketing channel for egg, chick and adult turkey. The market intermediaries of turkey farm carried out different marketing functions e.g. buying and selling, pricing, transportation, sorting, distribution and market information. The average net return and benefit-cost ratio was BDT 127838.04 and 1.38, respectively for 50 turkeys per year. In the study, turkey rearing found some comparative benefit over chicken and ducks e.g. higher weight gain, forage eater, lower diseases rate and suitability for the country. The main problem of turkey rearing identified as market instability, lack of quality turkey feed, higher feed price, lack of proper marketing facility and training on turkey farming. In conclusion, the small-scale turkey farming could be a viable source of income for the rural people of Bangladesh after taking some remedial steps by the Government of Bangladesh for the aforesaid hindrances faced by the turkey farmers

Land-use decisions of rice/fish farming in Northern Bangladesh: use of PROMETHEE analysis

Some influential variables that are import to farmers in Northern Bangladesh regarding land use decisions for farmlands, where such options are possible, were explored in this study. A multi-stage sampling procedure was followed to select the study area and the sampling unit. We selected four sub-districts in Mymensingh district, a suitable area in Bangladesh for freshwater fish farming: Mucktagachha, Trishal, Phulpur, and Bhaluka. The PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations) method was used to remove the problem of simultaneously selecting all criteria for land use decision-making, hence revealing the effects of some important variables on decisions on land use made by farmers. PROMETHEE model gave equal preference to rice over fish farming after all criteria were considered simultaneously. Although fish farming total return was about 6 times higher than rice farming, farmers were more interested in rice farming because of three major influential criteria: it requires less labor, operates at lower costs, and has zero conversion cost associated with rice farming

Diversification of Farmland use in Bangladesh: Land Allocation Impacts on Farm Profitability

Smallholder farmers in Bangladesh face many difficulties. A trend towards fish farming has opened new opportunities in recent years. This research focuses on the concern, whether smallholders could improve their gross margins by improving the allocation of the available physical and non-physical resources. Combinations of the participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods were used for primary data collection. A linear programming based modelling approach shows that farmers can increase the farm gross margin by reallocating the land in the model solution. Essential requirements, e.g. determined by household consumption requirements, determine parts of the resource allocation. The remaining land is in tendency allocated to fish farming; where one specific fish farming alternative is dominant to others. In the scenario analysis, all farming groups keep the same proportion of land use pattern until a certain level of price change, beyond that crop farming is selected. Scenarios modifying the available fish feed show the significant sensitivity of this resource on the land allocation

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE USE OF MOBILE PAYMENT SERVICES IN SELECTED AREAS OF BANGLADESH

Mobile payment services are spreading in Bangladesh like a spider net with the development of information and communication technology (ICT) and ubiquitous internet access. The present study was conducted to explore the influencing factors of e-commerce transaction through mobile payment services and to investigate the customer experiences with the services where sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction were identified. Data were collected from 240 users of mobile payment services through field survey during March to April in 2020 by purposive sampling method from Mymensingh and Sylhet Districts. The main satisfaction sources those emerged from the content analysis were, in descending order of incidents: convenience, problem solving, offer and discount, security and trust, and efficacy. On the other hand, complexity and network failure were the main reasons of customer dissatisfaction with mobile payment services. The findings of the multiple linear regression models revealed that age, education, monthly income and residential area had statistically significant effect on monthly e-commerce transaction over mobile payment services. Young people were more prone to use mobile payment services than older. People with higher education transacted less money over mobile payment services. Higher income earner transacted more money over mobile payment services. People live in urban area used the services frequently and transacted more money. The service providers should increase their availability and more advertisements are required to be placed at every possible means of medium in order to aware people about mobile payment services. Building trust among the users and feel them secured are also crying need to develop this sector at a faster way in near future

Fed Cattle Market Integration in Mandatory Price Reporting Era

Spatial market integration ensures price discovery, market efficiency and market competition. Price integration in fed cattle markets is a significant subject of research due to perishable nature of fed cattle, geographical distance between production and consumptions areas, and considerable transportation cost. This study examines United States fed cattle market integration using weekly price series of live steer and heifer for five major fed cattle markets in the era of Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act. Results indicate that all markets are cointegrated with sharing a common stochastic trend suggesting the Law of One Price. Causal relationship was found among most of the regional markets in case of steer prices, while the relationship was absent among most of the markets for heifer prices

Profitability of Selected Winter Vegetables and Its Market Outlet for Commercial Farmers: Evidence from Mymensingh District

This study has attempted to examine the profitability of commercially grown cauliflower and cabbage and its market outlet. The study is based on primary data collected in January 2021 from vegetables producers through face-to-face interview method using structured interview schedule. In total 80 commercial farmers (i.e., 40 farmers from each vegetable) were selected purposively from Sadar upazila of Mymensingh district. Tabular and descriptive analyses were used to determine the cost and returns of vegetables cultivation by commercial farmers. Least significant difference (LSD) of multiple comparisons of mean was applied to determine profitable market outlets for cauliflower and cabbage. The study found that both cauliflower and cabbage cultivation were profitable. The per hectare gross costs of cauliflower and cabbage production and marketing by farmers were Tk. 1,93,535 and Tk. 1,95,864, respectively and the corresponding net returns were Tk. 90,329 and Tk. 90,981. Three different market outlets (farm gate, local market, and district market) were found where farmers sold their cauliflower and cabbage. Farmers who sold their cauliflower and cabbage from district market outlet gained maximum net returns, which were Tk.1,31,093 and Tk. 1,07,221, respectively. The results of LSD test established that among the three market outlets, the mean net return earned by selling cauliflower and cabbage to district market is higher than the mean net return earned by selling to farm gate market. Therefore, district market outlet is significantly more profitable outlet for both cauliflower and cabbage. However, most of the farmers chose farm gate market for selling their cabbage and cauliflower because they feel comfortable to sell their vegetables from farm gate area. [J Bangladesh Agril Univ 2023; 21(2.000): 186-194