Feasibility and financial viability study of an intensive mustard-mungbean-transplanted aus rice-transplanted Aman Rice cropping system in a non-saline ecosystem of Bangladesh

Even as Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in food production, especially rice production, there is growing concern about how to feed its increasing population in the future since natural resources such as agricultural land and water are shrinking and undergoing degradation due to climate change. With the country's limited agricultural land area, horizontal expansion from crop production is hardly possible; on the contrary's vertical expansion is possible through increase in crop yield per unit area and reduction of production losses. Such expansion is only possible in the non-saline coastal areas where overall cropping intensity is lower compared with other parts of the country. To test this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted in a non-saline coastal ecosystem of Bangladesh on 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 to evaluate the feasibility and financial viability of a four-crop-based cropping pattern, i.e., Mustard-Mungbean-T. Aus-T.Amanagainst the farmers' three-crop-based pattern 'Mustad-Dibbling Aus-T.Aman'. After 2 yr, it was observed that the improved cropping pattern produced 19.4 t/ha of rice equivalent yield compared to only 10.7 t/ha in the farmers' cropping pattern. Land use efficiency and production efficiency in the improved cropping patterns were 94.3% and 36.8 kg/ha/d, respectively, compared to only 79.7% and 28.3 kg/ha/d in the farmers; cropping pattern. Gross margin in the improved cropping pattern was 1914 US$/ha whereas it was 924 US$/ha in the farmers' cropping pattern. The marginal benefit cost ration of the four-crop-based cropping pattern was 2.38 over the farmers' cropping pattern. In both patterns, there was negative apparent nutrient balance for K but positive balances for N and P. Based on productivity and economic returns, the study suggests that the improved four-crop-based cropping pattern is feasible and financially viable in the non-saline coastal zone of Bangladesh. These results will also have implications for the adjacent coastal ecosystems in India.