Empowering Community Organizations:A Village Perspective in Bangladesh

Abstract

The prevailing agricultural system, enormously called “conventional farming”. Conventional farming systems vary from farm to farm, from region to region and from country to country. However, they split into much distinctiveness: rapid technological innovation; huge resources investments in order to apply production and management technology; large-scale farms; single crops/row crops grown continuously over many seasons; uniform high-yield hybrid crops; extensive use of pesticides, fertilizers, and external inputs (green house); high labor e ciency; and dependency on agribusiness. In case of livestock, most production comes from confined and concentrated systems. This study aimed to find a strategy for empowering the community. Diversification and integration of farm enterprises may be feasible in economic and ecological terms. However, the switch to integrated farming specifically rice-cum livestock is constrained by high initial startup costs, high fixed costs, and small farm sizes in the northern region of Bangladesh. Improved information provision, through better sharing of experiences among progressive farmers, is required for its successful adoption. In addition, a well-functioning micro-credit system and policies supporting integrated resource management are necessary for integrated farming to become widely adopted and to contribute towards reducing poverty in northern Bangladesh. The use of improved seeds and fertilizers is the predominant production choice in this region. This choice is characterized by the cultivation of a few high-value crops (maize, potato, chili, onion and garlic) and maximization of yield by following the recommended amounts of improved seeds, mineral fertilizers, and other agrochemicals. However, the expected high crop yields were never obtained in many cases in this region during last two decades, as the resource-poor farmers could not a ord the input levels necessary. This is due to limited market information; to inadequate transportation, storage, and delivery; to fertilizers and other inputs, which are costly on account of the risk of crop failure caused by floods and droughts, and di cult to use; and to unfavorable inherent soil properties in the region. Ine cient use of pesticides may adversely a ect the environment and farmers’ and consumers’ health. However, since , the marginal and small farmers’ livelihoods and food security have been suboptimal because farmers have preserved their traditional farming practices instead of adopting the more advanced techniques of modern integrated agriculture. Thus, farming activities must diversify in order to reduce unemployment and to provide a living income and community strength for those households that operate their farms as a full-time occupation. A remarkable feature of the study area is that many of the rice fields are now used for maize production. Maize provides year-round cash income. Farmers in northern Bangladesh now prefer to grow high-value crops because of the new marketing opportunities made available by the opening of the Bangabandhu Bridge over the River Jamuna in . Maize is popular because farmers can earn an average net profit of Tk. , (US$ ) per hectare of maize against only Tk. , , ($ $ ) for rice. At the same time, it costs only Tk. , , ($ $ ) per hectare of maize against Tk. , , ($ $ ) for rice. Maize is also highly pest and drought-resistant, its green leaves can be used as fodder, and its dried stalks, de-seeded cobs and husks can be burned as fuel. Although, some farmers use de-seeded cobs as cattle feed. The grain is used mainly as Samir Kumar Sarkar Journal of Developments in Sustainable Agriculture : ( )