Farming may up by 7.0pc on weather forecast

Bangladesh can increase its crop production by at least 7.0 per cent through using weather forecast, experts made this point while talking to The Financial Express.

They also noted that farmers can raise their income by at least 30 per cent by using weather forecast in this direction.

Considering a very limited land area of the country, they urged the government to act properly to ensure that the peasantry get weather forecast easily.

They referred to a recent project styled 'Integrated Rice Advisory System (IRAS)' which conducted extensive research and experiment at field level and among farmers on the use of weather forecast.

Unfortunately, the usual weather forecast for farmers in Bangladesh is very low as only 5.0 per cent farmers generally use weather forecast during farming.

And the rest 95 per cent are totally unaware of such forecast made by different government agencies.

Climatic variability constrains farmers' ability to make tactical and strategic agricultural management decisions, substantially hindering rice output, agriculturist Dr Nazmun Nahar Karim said on Thursday.

The IRAS project aims to enhance practical understanding of the performance of forecast-based rice crop management in comparison to traditional management practices, she told the FE.

The project promotes the application of research outcomes on croplands with the potential for increasing rice yield, avoiding disease outbreaks and ensuring efficient agricultural water management, thus reducing overall production costs as well.

Full use of weather forecast will help create a resilient rice farming community, minimise livelihood risk and attain food security through sustainable rice production here in the face of a changing climate.

The project's preliminary analysis from experimental data shows the weather forecast-based advisory service (WFBAS) can contribute to food security by generating climate advisories and awareness.

Of all cereal crops in Bangladesh, rice plays the leading role by contributing 90 per cent of total food-grain production.

Almost cent per cent population eats rice as their staple food and about 25 per cent of the total rice crop is being fed to livestock.

Effective use of weather forecast reduces overall production costs and raises the income of farmers.

The adoption of this method by agricultural extension services will contribute to achieving sustainable development goals through enhancing productivity and return of small-scale food producers.

With almost 16.5-million farmers in Bangladesh, the use of weather-based advisories by farmers is very crucial, the experts felt.

From field experimentation, the preliminary analytical results show that the implementation of WFBAS has the potential to boost rough rice production through enhancing productivity in Bangladesh.

According to officials, IRAS was launched for north-eastern Bangladesh during the 2021 winter season (January-May), locally known as Boro season.

IRAS transmitted optimum text advisory to farmers to irrigate while safeguarding crop yield. It was based on weather, satellite data, estimated water consumption by crops and modelled crop water need.

To quantify the impact of IRAS, a survey was carried out for a cross-sectional sample of 983 farmers and pump owners who were divided into control and experimental groups, said a research report.

Ninety-four per cent of experimental farmers and 97 per cent of experimental pump owners reported weather forecast to be either useful or very useful.

Eighty per cent of experimental farmers and 87 per cent of pump owners reported forecast to be the most useful component for making decisions to avoid unnecessary irrigation.

The IRAS advisory triggered a change in decision for 80 per cent and 88 per cent of experimental farmers and experimental pump owners respectively.

An experimental group of farmers on average reported 30-per cent higher earnings than their control counterparts.

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