Economics and adoption patterns of integrated rice-fish farming in Bangladesh.

Abstract

This chapter presents the costs and benefits of integrating aquaculture with rice farming in Bangladesh during the rainfed and irrigated seasons. The analysis is based on data collected from 256 farmer-implemented on-farm trials and a survey of 47 households that have independently adopted integrated rice-fish farming. On average, farmers obtained a fish production of 233 and 184 kg/ha-1 during the rainfed and irrigated seasons, respectively, with a net benefit of Tk4948 (US$1=Taka40.28) during the former season and Tk4799/ha-1 during the latter season. Rice yields were higher in 82.4% of the integrated farms compared to farms with only rice. The survey indicated that adoption was by the relatively well off farmers with larger land holdings, higher cropping intensity and higher literacy, as was the case in the early years of the green revolution.

Integrated rice-fish farming in Bangladesh: meeting the challenges of food security

“…Reduced fertilizer and pesticide use through the adoption of IPM is one long-term option to improve farm productivity in an environmentally friendly manner (Berg 2002;Gupta et al 2002). Reduced application of fertilizers and pesticides in rice-based ecosystems conserve a great variety of aquatic flora and fauna (Halwart 2008).…”

“…The natural aggregation of fish in rice fields inspired the combination of rice farming with fish to increase productivity (Gurung and Wagle 2005). However, the introduction of high yielding varieties (HYV) of rice and accompanying pesticides reduced fish yields (Gupta et al 2002).…”

Geographical Distribution of Investment in Small-Scale Rural Fish Ponds

“…Farmers wanting to adopt smallscale rural aquaculture face considerable barriers such as the high cost of land, poor access to fingerlings and low technical capacity (e.g., Gupta et al, 2002;Litdamlong et al, 2002). note that while both semi-intensive and extensive freshwater aquaculture in Asia are generally profitable, further growth is restricted by a range of socioeconomic and environmental factors that are rarely taken into consideration by policy makers.…”

Constraints to the Adoption of Rice-Fish Farming by Smallholders in Bangladesh: A Farming Systems Analysis

“…The share of fingerling cost, ranges from 30-50% and depends on the selection of fish species. In Bangladesh, the preferred species for stocking in rice fields is common carp (Cyprinus carpio) (Gupta et al, 2002). Other species include catla (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita), mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), silver carp (Barbodes gonionotus), silver barb (Barbodes gonionotus), and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) (Halwart & Gupta, 2004).…”

“…Some aquaculture researchers (Gupta et al, 2002) envision a massive adoption of the technology by smallholders once the economic viability of rice-fish farming and inputs and extension services become available. Such optimism about the economic benefits tends to ignore household labor constraints.…”