Crop selection and water management of non-rice crops by farmers

Abstract

This study was carried out to understand the farmers' decision process regarding selection of non-rice crops and to find OlI1lhcir water managemenl practices. The study was conducte<.! during the Rabi season of 2008-09 at Shibchar Upazila of Madaripur district. Two descriptive models; onc on the decision to grow a Rabi crop and the other on what Rabi crop would be grown. WeTCdevelope<.! on the basis of a queslionnaire survey and discussions with lhe farmcrs. Waler usc by non ncc crops in six selected fields wa~ estimated on thc basis of depicted average moisture in the crop root zone. A general (non-selectcd) farmers' survey was conducted to collect infOlmation on yield, input usc, benefit- cost ratio (BCR) and farmer;' awareness of crop management practices of BAR!. From the farmer's dccision model, it was found that some fanners do not cultivate Aman ncc because they want to start early in the Rabi seasnn and grow onion/garlic or HYV wheat. Basically, they are the oWllcr of high land and they believc that early Rabi crops are more profitable than the Aman ncc. If the preceding Arnan crop is harvested within Novembcr then the farmcrs with no access to capital and irrigation grow a mixed crop of mustard and lentil. On !he other hand. farmers who have access to capital and irrigation, grow a mixed crop of onion and garlic. From the watcr management analysis by tarrncrs, it was found that the total crop water use of onion, garHc and wheat were 55.9 mm, 74 mm, and 107.8 mrn, respectively. On thc other hand, thc potential crop water requirements were calculated for onion, garlic, and whcat as 165.8 mm, 276.2 mm. and 258.4 mm, respectively. It was evident from the research thai lhc actual waler use by onion, garlic and wheat lIS practiced by the fanners arc almost one third, one fourth and two-fifths of the potential requirement. It was also evident from the research that the actual waler usc by onion, garlic and wheat as practiced by the Humcrs is almost 20%, 28% and 37% of lhc watcr requirement recommended by BARI. From the yield and profitability analysis, it was fOWldthat the yields of onion, garlic and wbeat under farmers' practice were 6.65 tlha, 0.92 tJha and 1.9 tlha, respectively. The BeR of growing onion, garlic and wheat were 2.46, 0.65 and 1.33, respectively. From the research it was observed tbat the farmers do nol follow lhe BARI recommended irrigation and fertilizer as inputs. As a result, their yields weTClowcred by almost 26%, 81% and 53% of the yields of onion, garlic and wheat obtained by BAR!, IC5pectively. It was also evident from the general survey that the farmers are aware of lhe impacts of irrigation and input use on yield. But they do not know when and how much of irrigation and oth<-'l"inputs to apply. The pnce of non-rice crops in the preceding year strongly influenced the use of in.puts and a pre-set price of non-rice crops would encourage the usc of inputs and increaw the yields.