Farm mechanization in Bangladesh: A review of the status, roles, policy, and potentials

Rahman, M. M.; Ali, Rostom; Oliver, M. M. H.; Hanif, Abu Abdullah Mohammad; Uddin, Md. Zamil; Tamim-Ul-Hasan,; Saha, Khokan Kumar; Islam, Hamidul; Moniruzzaman,

doi:10.1016/j.jafr.2021.100225

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Agricultural machine rental service providers vary across different countries and regions. For instance, in Bangladesh, the agricultural machinery service provider is a lead farmer, one with a relatively high education level, credit availability, and risk-taking attitude [50]. This service provision system assists Bangladesh to cultivate more than 80% of its farmland.…”

Section: Factor 5 Agricultural Machinery Hiring Service Provision Mod...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanization of Small-Scale Agriculture in China: Lessons for Enhancing Smallholder Access to Agricultural Machinery

2022

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Developing countries with small-scale agriculture have yet to exploit the untapped potential of agricultural mechanization. This is because of the misconception that mechanization is often seen as unworthy in small-scale agriculture. The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of agricultural mechanization in China and to provide evidence on how smallholder farmers can access agricultural machinery. A narrative approach was employed to conduct an in-depth analysis of the policies, strategies, and trends associated with agricultural mechanization development. The findings showed that: (1) the establishment and development of mechanization for smallholder agriculture is an evolutionary process that strongly opposes leapfrogging (technocratic behavior) and making large jumps; (2) the foundation of mechanization development should rely on a self-reliance system; (3) an appropriate mechanization theory is the key to inducing the rapid growth of mechanization in small-scale agriculture; (4) the successful application of agricultural machinery requires strong, target-oriented, and pro-farmer policies with effective leadership strategies. We present the key lessons on policy and institutional aspects for countries with small-scale agriculture and who are in the initial stages of agricultural mechanization.

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Section: Factor 5 Agricultural Machinery Hiring Service Provision Mod...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanization of Small-Scale Agriculture in China: Lessons for Enhancing Smallholder Access to Agricultural Machinery

2022

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“…These results are broadly consistent with research in northwestern Bangladesh including Islam et al (2013); Hossen et al (2018), andGathala et al (2020) which reported that unpuddled transplanted rice reduced the time and fuel required for tillage by two-to threefold and by 50-70%, respectively, compared to CT. Alam et al (2015); Gathala et al (2016); Gathala et al (2020), andLaik et al (2014) also reported that full tillage in Bihar in northeastern India and in central and northwestern Bangladesh used more energy than unpuddled transplanting. Conversely, interest in rice transplanters in Bangladesh is growing, a consequence of governmental subsidies offsetting 50-70% of their cost (Rahman et al, 2021). While efforts are underway to assess the use of mechanical transplanters under unpuddled conditions cf.…”

Section: Crop and Cropping Systems Energy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Adapted Conservation Agriculture Practices Can Increase Energy Productivity and Lower Yield-Scaled Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Coastal Bangladesh

et al. 2022

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While numerous studies have documented the benefits of conservation agriculture (CA) in South Asia, most focus on favorable environments where farmers have reliable access to energy supporting irrigation and inputs. The performance of CA in South Asia’s under-developed coastal environments is comparatively understudied. In these environments, farmers are increasingly interested in growing a second crop to meet food security and income generation objectives in rotation following the predominant monsoon season rice crop, though labor, energy costs, and investment constraints limit their ability to do so. We hypothesized that rotating rice (Oryza sativa) with maize (Zea mays) using conservation agriculture, or CA (i.e., strip-tilled maize followed by unpuddled transplanted rice), or seasonally alternating tillage (SAT, i.e., strip-tilled maize followed by fully-tilled, puddled rice with residues retained across rotations) would reduce costs and energy use, increase energy-use efficiency, and reduce yield-scaled CO2-eq emissions (YSE) and total global warming potential (GWP), compared to farmers’ own practices (FP) and conventional full-tillage (CT) under the same rotation in Bangladesh’s coastal region. Starting with winter maize followed by summer rice, we evaluated four tillage and crop establishment treatments in farmer-managed experiments in partially irrigated and rainfed environments over three years in 35 farmer’s fields across Bangladesh’s coastal districts. Treatments included FP, CT, complete CA, and SAT under a rice-maize rotation. Across years, the full suite of CA practices and SAT were significantly more energy-efficient and energy-productive than FP or CT. The order of YSE in rice was CA< CT or FP < SAT while in maize, it was CA or SAT < FP < CT. Across environments, CA and SAT resulted in 15-18% higher yield at the cropping systems level (maize and rice yields combined) and 26-40% less manual labor than CT or FP. CA and SAT also reduced by 1-12% and 33-35% total production costs respective to CT and FP. This was associated with 13-17% greater grain energy output in CA and SAT, and 2-18% lower YSE, compared to CT or FP. While our data suggest that both CA and SAT can result in a range of positive agronomic, economic, and environmental outcomes compared to FP or CT, post-trial surveys and discussions with farmers revealed a strong practical aversion to use of the full suite of CA practices and preference for adapted practices due to logistical constraints in negotiating the hire of laborers for unpuddled manual transplanting.

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“…On a societal level, custom hiring services will also facilitate the adoption of farm machinery. This ensures that those who can afford to purchase a machine will do so, while marginal farmers will receive the service on a rental basis (Rahman et al 2021). Custom hiring is especially advantageous in light of the high cost of purchasing specialized machines, and it also prevents the liquidation of machines in the event that cultural practices change.…”

Section: Multi-level Action Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A substantial amount of crop planting and harvesting is still performed manually. Despite some positive performance indicators, the country's agricultural output is still quite low (Rahman et al 2021). Over the past two decades, a sizable portion of the rural population has relocated to urban areas in search of high-paying jobs and a break from farm work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges towards raising agro-machinery industries in Bangladesh: Conceptualizing a multitasking framework for action

Islam

Rahman

Rana

et al. 2022

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This paper investigates the obstacles to expanding and developing Bangladesh's agricultural machinery manufacturing and production industry. Due to its fertile soil and hospitable climate, Bangladesh is primarily an agricultural country where many crops are grown in large quantities. For food production to be secure and sustainable in the foreseeable future to meet future demand, mechanization is an indispensable factor. However, the agro machinery industry faces obstacles such as research facilities, financial support, qualified workers, technical support, double taxation, and storage facilities. Government policy can play a crucial role in fostering the growth and expansion of the agro-machinery industry and related communities. The article clearly describes how far away the agro machinery industry in Bangladesh is, discusses recent challenges, and encourages support for promoting mechanization throughout the country and strategies for overcoming future obstacles.

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Farm mechanization in Bangladesh: A review of the status, roles, policy, and potentials

Cited by 24 publications

References 15 publications

Mechanization of Small-Scale Agriculture in China: Lessons for Enhancing Smallholder Access to Agricultural Machinery

Mechanization of Small-Scale Agriculture in China: Lessons for Enhancing Smallholder Access to Agricultural Machinery

Adapted Conservation Agriculture Practices Can Increase Energy Productivity and Lower Yield-Scaled Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Coastal Bangladesh

Challenges towards raising agro-machinery industries in Bangladesh: Conceptualizing a multitasking framework for action

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