Presented by Vara Prasad [Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab - Kansas State University] about improved production system in the polders of Bangladesh through community water management. This poster was presented on 5 - 8 February 2019 at the Africa RISING Program Learning Event.

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This poster is made possible by the support of the American
People provided to the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for
Sustainable Intensification through the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
views of USAID or the United States Government. Program
activities are funded by USAID under Cooperative Agreement
No.AID-OAA-L-14-00006.
Improved Production System in the Polders of Bangladesh through
Community Water Management
Manoranjan Mondal, SudhirYadav, S.V. Krishna Jagadish and Sirajul Islam
INTRODUCTION
CONCLUSIONS
• The people of coastal zone of Bangladesh are some of the world’s
poorest, most food-insecure and vulnerable. Most of the cultivable
lands are used to grow local landraces of rice during the rainy
season, followed a fallow season or a low input and low yielding dry
season crops. However, these crops are often damaged/destroyed
by pre-monsoon rains and cyclones in May prior to maturity.
• Coastal hydrology is mainly governed by the lunar cycle. It is
practically impossible for individuals to manage these huge water
resources for production system.
• Improved production systems, having 2-3 times higher productivity
than current farmers’ practice, can be adopted when the farming
communities are organized on the basis of hydrological units within
the catchment area of a regulator/sluice gate installed in the polder
embankment.
SYNERGIES ANDTRADEOFFS
• Despite tremendous efforts from different organizations, there has
been little change in production practices in the polders mainly
because of prevailing hydrology that has not been recognized as the
key determinant for the adoption of improved production systems
in the polder ecosystem by the policy makers, water management
and agricultural extension professionals, and the millions of farming
families living inside the polders of the coastal zone.
• The key to cropping intensification in the polder ecosystem are
o Community coordination on water management
o Shortening the duration of rainy season rice by introducing high
yielding varieties
o Intensifying the system with early establishment of high value dry
season crops
Domains Traditional cropping system Improved cropping systems
Productivity • Low productivity leads to
food insecurity and
vulnerable livelihood.
• Traditional aman rice
experiences more climatic
hazards due to longer crop
duration.
• Large area under
traditional system
therefore limited problem
of bird and rats.
• All proposed systems with
HYVs gives higher
productivity sustaining food
security, however, with a
tradeoff of high variability in
productivity.
• HYVs of rice are climate
resilient and can tolerate
submergence for 2-3 weeks
• Bird and rats attack due to
limited planted area
Economics • Gross margin is quite
stable in the traditional
system.
• High gross margin with high
variability in improves
system
• Maximum gross margin in
HYV rice- HYV maize.
• The gross margin of other
improved system was less
due to crop damage by
climatic hazard
Domains Traditional cropping system Improved cropping systems
Environment • Low/no pesticide and
fertilizer use
• High pesticide and
fertilizer use
• High chances of pest
outbreak
Human conditions • Traditional system with
mungbean can give similar
protein to improved
system with sunflower
• The energy output is less
• Intensive system with rice
and maize give maximum
protein and energy
Social • Traditional system not
much dependent on social
cohesion or collective
action
• Strong dependence on
social cohesion and
collective action for tidal
water management
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
HYV rice
Traditional system
Improved system
Traditional rice Fallow
Mungbean
Mungbean
Sunflower
Maize
Traditional rice
HYV rice
HYV rice
The improved production system in coastal zone of Bangladesh; a) study sites in polder 30 b) community engagement in
polder water management c) current vs improved cropping pattern and d) demonstration of dry season crops .
a)
b
d)
c)
System yield
(kg/ha/year)
min=0 max=14605
Variability in
production
(kg/ha/year)
min=0 max=1487
Profitability
($/ha/year) min=0
max=2866
Variability in
profitability
($/ha/year) min=0
max=461
Pesticide use
(a.i/ha/year)
min=0 max=1178
Fertilizer use (kg
N/ha/year) min=0
max=322
Nutrition
(kg/ha/year)
min=0 max=974
Food security
(kcal/ha/year)
min=0 max=40726
Social cohesion
(number) min=0
max=8
Collective action
(number) min=0
max=8
Traditional rice-Fallow Traditional rice- Traditional Mungbean
HYV rice- HYV mungbean HYV rice- HYV sunflower
HYV rice- HYV maize
Comparison of traditional and improved production systems in polder ecosystem across all five domains .