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FARMING SYSTEMS RESEARCH AND ITS IhIPACT ON FARM FAMILIES
IN W'O SELECTED SITES IN BANGLADESH
M. R. Siddiqui, M. R. Islam, N. P. Magor, N. U. Ahmed, and A. H. ~han'
The study was conducted to determine the extent of adoption of rice
cropping systems technologies suitable to lowland rainfed areas, its
impact on resource use, productivity, and income-expenditure
patterns of selected farmers in two sites in Bangladesh. The sites are
Kamalganj in the northeast and Sitakund in the southeast. The
Kamalganj site which has rice surplus produces infrastructural
facilities. Although Sitakund has access to major markets and off-farm
employment, it is deficit in rice. Ninety farm families were randomly
drawn from 6-7 villages in each site. Crop production per season and
weekly income expenditure data were collected. Critical crop
production factors such as planting time, varietal sequence, intensity
of cropping, and fertilizer dosage were used in determining
technology adoption. Aggregated scores of all these factors were
divided into three class intervals and the farmers were divided into
low, medium, and high adopters. Results showed that the farmers
adopted the technology. The productivity of the land and other
resources varied positively in relation to the extent of adoption. Poor
farmers (on the basis of farm size) were high adopters of the cropping
systems technology and have invested more on required inputs. The
extent of resource use in the production process was almost the same
at both sites. But the yield was lower at Sitakund compared with that
in Yamalganj due to variations in natural factors. The adoption of
cropping systems technologies has generated more employment
opportunities. The study suggests that infrastructural development at
the initial stage and diversity in sources of income are essential in
maintaining and improving the standard of living of the farming
communities in the study areas.
Bangladesh is primarily an agricultural country. More than 90% of its population is
rural and about 75% of its total labor force is engaged in agriculture. Agriculture
contributes approsim:ttely 56% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and provides a
number of the raw materials required by the industrial sector. Altho~~gh agriculture
is the most important economic activity in the country, Bangladesh does not produce
enough food for its large population nor earn sufficient fore~gn exchange to allow
importation of the needed food. Productivity per unit area of cultivated land is low
because of the use of traditional production systems (e.g., use of local cultivars).
This is a major constr;iint to attaining food self-sufficiency (Hoque 1978).
'~an~ladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, Joydehpur, Dhaka.