Direct-seeded rice in the High Barind Tract: economics and farmer evaluation
2008
Jabbar, M.A., Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, Bangladesh | Orr, A., Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK | Karmakar, B., Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Regional Station, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Farmers' experience with direct-seeded rice (DSR) was explored through both formal economic and informal farmer evaluations of on-farm trials (OFTs). Although yields were almost identical, net returns from DSR were higher because of lower costs, chiefly for seedbed preparation and crop establishment. DSR reduced labor requirements by 30 days ha¯¹ for transplanted rice (TPR) with herbicide and by 50 days ha¯¹ for TPR without herbicide. Farmers saw the prime advantages of DSR as allowing earlier planting of rabi crops and savings in labor costs. The main perceived disadvantages were more weeds if herbicides were not used effectively, more damage from pests, and lower yields. Sharecroppers were reluctant to adopt DSR because they feared eviction if yields were lower than with TPR. The economic rationale for DSR in the High Barind Tract is strong but adoption among OFT farmers has been limited by erratic premonsoon rainfall, pest damage to early-maturing rice, and land tenure.
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