CROP LIVESTOCK INTERACTION PATTERNS IN FOUR SELECTED UPAZILA OF KHULNA DISTRICT

Abstract

Traditional crop-livestock interaction patterns were investigated in four different Upazila under Khulna District of Bangladesh during the period from March to April, 2002. Data on different parameters viz. number of livestock and poultry, medium of cultivation, use of fertilizer and pesticides for crop production, type of integrated farming system, rate of production, quantity and use of cowdung, etc. were collected from randomly selected 117 farm family heads and were analyzed using statistical package SPSS. Most of the farmers had integrated farming approaches of which crop-ruminant-poultry (39.3%) and crop-ruminant-poultry-fish (33.3%) were remarkable ones. The average number of cattle, goats, chicken and ducks per farm family were 5.66, 2.42, 18.34 and 6.47, respectively. The average rice yield was 5.37 t ha-1. Annual milk and egg production per farm family were 140.52 kg and 110.51 respectively. On average, 81.4% and 59.1% farmers used chemical fertilizer and pesticides respectively in crop production. Per cent of farmers practiced artificial insemination and vaccination for their livestock were 29.8% and 6.8% respectively. Forty six percent of families used cowdung as fuel and 1% as manure, whereas 53% used as both fuel and manure. The maximum crop and livestock productivity from available resources was achieved through integrating crops, animals and plants. Cowdung is recommended to apply more to crop fields instead of using as fuel. Proper utilization of crop residues and products as animal feed is also emphasized.