Abstract
The study is conveyed to compare the profitability of chickpea and boro rice in Rajshahi district, which is one of the most drought-prone areas of Bangladesh. In this study, a total of 180 farmers (90 chickpea growers and 90 boro rice growers) are used as sample respondents, and data were collected by using a structured questionnaire in 2019. A probit regression model is used to find out the determinants that affect the cultivation of chickpea and boro rice. The important finding of this study is that the Benefit-Cost Ratio for chickpea and boro rice production is 1.88 and 1.05, respectively. The results indicate that chickpea cultivation is more profitable than boro rice cultivation. Besides, the study reveals that occupation, farm size, and seed have a positive impact while family size, human labor, and irrigation have negative effects on farmer’s decision to cultivate chickpea cultivation rather than boro rice. It is, therefore, concluded that the farmers should be encouraged to grow more chickpea rather than boro rice as a means of increasing farm income through crop diversification program.
 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(2): 21-28, December 2020
Highlights
Agriculture in Bangladesh is primarily characterized by a rice monoculture, and boro rice is one of the major cereal food grains in Bangladesh (BBS, 2018)
Chickpea has a head start in this agricultural race (Merga and Haji, 2019), and in the drought-prone area, chickpea cultivation is comparatively more profitable for the farmers
The study reveals that chickpea cultivation is more profitable crop, in comparison to boro rice in the drought-prone areas of Bangladesh
Summary
Agriculture in Bangladesh is primarily characterized by a rice monoculture, and boro rice is one of the major cereal food grains in Bangladesh (BBS, 2018). Pulses fit well in the existing cropping systems of Bangladesh due to their short duration, low input, minimum care requirement, and drought-tolerant nature (Elias et al, 1986). Because of the low probability of the required amount of rainfall after mid-October, about 80% of the region remains fallow in the rabi season (Riches et al, 2008). These circumstances make the area drought-prone, as well as no residual moisture is available for crop emergence but it can support short-duration crops such as chickpea. Because chickpea is a suitable crop for the farmers that can be grown on residual moisture without irrigation, following the harvest of transplanted main season (aman) rice
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