Wheat and maize production is not increasing as per the country’s demand, though farmers have shifted their focus to inter-cropping alternate grains other than rice. However, there has been a marginal rise in wheat production — from 2.2 tonnes per hectare in 1998-99 to 2.8 tonnes per hectare in 2011-12 — experts said. Demand for wheat and maize is increasing due to changes in the lifestyle of Bangladeshis, they noted. The amazing transformation is taking place as the production cost of Boro rice is higher than that of wheat and maize, which can be grown along with vegetables on the same land. This is becoming popular as it is cost-effective too.
“Demand for wheat is increasing by three per cent per year. But wheat production in Bangladesh is only 12 lakh tonnes against the demand of 40 lakh tonnes,” said Dr Thakur Prasad Tiwari, cropping system agronomist and country liaison officer for Bangladesh for the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
A total of 28 high-yielding varieties of wheat have so far been released by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) with the help of the CIMMYT, he said. Dr Tiwari also said that farmers are cultivating the BARI-25 variety of wheat in saline areas of southern Bangladesh. “The CIMMYT has helped BARI develop the BARI-25, considering the availability of large tracts of fallow lands in the country’s southern regions,” he added.
“A total of 35,000 Bangladeshi farmers have received training from the CIMMYT on wheat and maize cultivation. Besides, 700 Bangladeshi scientists have been trained by the CIMMYT,” Dr Tiwari said.
The CIMMYT has been contributing to improve food security and livelihoods of millions of Bangladeshi farmers, he further said. About one million tonnes of maize are being produced in Bangladesh against the demand for 2.5 million tonnes, he added.
Maize production declined between 2008 and 2010 due to bird flu in Bangladesh, Dr Tiwari said. “Ninety per cent maize is used for animal feed, like poultry and fish, with the remaining maize going for human consumption,” he added.
Dr Frederick John Rossi, agricultural economist of CIMMYT, noted that Bangladeshi farmers are shifting to maize and wheat production from Boro rice due to production cost.
Major challenges for wheat and maize production are insects and diseases, climate change, water logging for kharif maize, weed management, degradation of soil fertility, competitive economic yields even at late sowing condition and water management.
“We are encouraging maize and wheat cultivation in char land areas. Besides, we are telling farmers to cultivate maize under ‘conservation agriculture’ (CA) based on profitable inter-cropping systems,” Rossi pointed out, adding that the maize cultivation is very profitable, because a farmer can raise three crops at the same time on his land. “A farmer can cultivate maize, vegetables and beans at the same time on his/her land,” Rossi added.
Dr Kh Shafiqul Islam, training and outreach specialist of CIMMYT, said the strip tillage system, using mechanical plough is viable in saline-tolerant areas of Bangladesh.
-With The Independent input
