Comparative Advantages of Conservation Agriculture Practice in Coastal Areas of Chattogram Division: A Productivity and Profitability Analysis

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess comparative advantages of the productivity and profitability for conservation agriculture practice in Chattogram. A total of 120 farmers (60 farmers adopting conservation agriculture (CA) and 60 farmers non-adopting CA) from two districts (Feni and Noakhali) of Chattogram division were selected. Descriptive statistics like sum, averages, percentages, and ratios were calculated to evaluate the nature and extent of use of advanced machinery and fertilizer data. Farmers were categorized on the basis of farm size (small, medium and large) and selected by multistage stratified sampling. Crop productivity was measured using the Enyedi’s crop productivity index. The profitability of crop production was measured in terms of gross return, gross margin, net margin and benefit-cost ratio (BCR). The crop productivity of rice, mustard and soybean were increased by 0.18, 26, and 0.19 percent, respectively in respect to non-practicing conservation agriculture.  BCR increased by 42.43%, 40.78% and 36.61% for rice, mustard and soybean cultivation respectively with respect to the entire region for adopting conservation agriculture practice. Ultimately, the farmers who adopted conservation agriculture were gaining more profit than the farmer whose were not adopting the conservation agriculture practice. As Bangladesh is a labour intensive country and the availability of capital is short. The expense of purchasing the machines cannot be afforded by the farmers. In Feni and Noakhali are located in the coastal region. Climatic problem is another problem of the people of this area. The uses of advanced machineries are still limited. The quality of soil is decreasing day by day because of excessive use of synthetic fertilizers.