systems research - the IDRC Digital Library - International ...

labor, capital, and draft power spread the harvesting of aus and transplanting of
aman over several weeks.
The socioeconomic constraints limit the adoption of the BR1 - BR1 1
cropping pattern by farmers. The aman crop is very sensitive to the date of
establishment and to moisture stress. If the BR1 variety is not transplanted by 25
May (either because of the delayed onset of wet season or socioeconomic factors),
the cropping pattern BR1 - BR11 may not be adopted in the central and eastern
parts of Bangladesh. This feedback provided scope for further refinement of the
technology and led to the establishment of cut-off dates for the various target areas.
Accordingly, cut-off dates were suggested for the northeast area (target area 1)
based on a predictive model (Magor et a1 1990) and for the southeast area based on
observations (Fig. 1). Alternative cropping patterns were offered to farmers who
failed to establish their aus crop by the cut-off date (Table 1).
THE PROBLEM
BRRI has recommended 26 high-yielding rice varieties suitable all over Bangladesh
for specific seasons. The technologies generated by the Rice Farming Systems
Division have been tested and proven to be productive and have been adopted in
many target areas. For example, in Jamalpur, 100% and 85% of the farmers
adopted modern rice varieties in the boro and transplanted aman seasons,
respectively (Hoque et a1 1985). Farmers of Bhogra Village in the Gazipur District
adopted recommended cropping systems technologies in more than 60% of their
land and obtained 1 t/ha more per year than the nonadopters. Similar adoption
studies were reported by Asaduzzaman (1979), Herdt and Garcia (1982), Hossain et
a1 (1984), Dalrymple (1986), and Hossain (1987). All these studies investigated only
the rate of adoption of agricultural technologies and the factors that contributed to
the adoption process. None attempted to determine the impact of adoption on
income, consumption, and other expenditure patterns.
This study attempted to determine the extent of adoption of the farming
systems technology and its impact on income, consumption, and other expenditure
patterns related to production in the farming community. The results were expected
to provide basic information that would guide researchers and policymakers in the
efficient allocation of research resources.
OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of the study are to determine the extent of adoption of
improved cropping systems by farmers; to evaluate the impact of improved cropping
systems on resource use and productivity; and to assess the impact of improved
cropping systems on farm income, consumption, and other expenditure patterns.
In view of the problems and objectives of the study, the following hypotheses
were tested: most farmers are adopters of improved cropping systems; the extent of