Growing more food for less in Bangladesh

One of the projects, ‘Nutrient management for diversified cropping in Bangladesh (NUMAN)’ (LWR/2016/136), has shown that yields and profits can be increased with a balanced approach to fertilisers and reducing overall inputs.

Led by Murdoch University’s Professor Richard Bell, the project tapped into a network of more than 4,000 smallholder farmers through the local Conservation Agriculture Service Providers Association (CASPA).

The project found that farmers were over-applying fertilisers, particularly nitrogen, to maximise production of high-yielding rice crops and high-value produce such as potatoes and watermelon.

But Professor Bell said that with a more balanced mix of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and micronutrients, farmers could spend less for a greater return.

‘We found that farmers were not optimising nutrients, but if they did, there were savings in costs and gains in yield,’ said Professor Bell. ‘Farmers could increase their profitability and produce more food for less.’

Assisted by a ‘research engine’ of 6 PhD candidates from Bangladesh universities, the project identified optimal nutrient application rates across several sites based on soil type and cropping pattern.

The project demonstrated ‘fairly simple’ farming practices around nutrient management that are more environmentally sustainable, improve productivity and reduce costs.

Reduced fertiliser use also saves the Bangladesh Government money. To improve food security, the government currently subsidises fertilisers for farmers, and when fertiliser prices skyrocketed at the start of 2021, its annual outlay of US$700 million jumped to US$3 billion in 18 months.

To translate the project’s nutrient use findings into a change of practice, the project team produced a one-page information card listing optimal fertiliser rates according to particular agroecological regions.

The information card was distributed to more than 33,000 farmers and the researchers have received ‘highly positive feedback’. Professor Bell said that farmers who used it generally saw a reduction in fertiliser costs and greater crop yields.

The task now, he said, is to broaden the scope of the extension so more farmers can benefit from the findings.

Bangladesh collaborator Dr Emanul Haque is working with private enterprise to stock the information cards in fertiliser outlets. And work is underway with CASPA to hold peer-to-peer sessions among farmers on how to use the card. Information is also being spread through direct messaging and social media using smartphones.

Mrs Shuli Ray is one such farmer. She was initially sceptical about cultivating crops on her family’s small plot of saline-affected land, which had never provided enough food even for themselves. But in 2019, a watermelon crop she grew based on the project’s research returned A$1,150.

This was enough to lease more land and convince her husband to join her working on-farm. Since then, she has made improvements to her home, acquired cows and agricultural equipment including an irrigation pump, paid for one daughter’s wedding and another’s college education, while saving a ‘modest’ amount of money in the bank.

Dr Mainuddin says phase two of the project is working to extend such economic impacts across more of the region.

The researchers are building a more complete picture of the landscape beyond their initial test sites using remote sensing image analysis to detect water stores. This will help determine which crops will be suitable for specific areas.

Resilience to climate change impacts is also being strengthened by encouraging farmers to build channels that will drain run-off from the more frequent dry-season downpours that can destroy non-rice crops.

‘One way of convincing farmers is not by speaking, but showing the benefit through demonstration sites,’ said Dr Mainuddin. ‘Once they see the benefits, they are easily convinced and they share their learning with friends, relatives and neighbours.’

Dr Mainuddin said impact is growing every year as more farmers, witnessing the benefits, take up the technology. Adoption has also been encouraged through media and government extension activities in West Bengal and Bangladesh, where funding has been provided to in-country partner research organisations, institutes and universities to demonstrate the technology.