Moringa-based homestead to achieve Sustainable Development Goals: A case study from Jaintiapur of Sylhet, Bangladesh

Abstract

A study was conducted in Sylhet at Jaintiapur Upazila to determine the prospects of Moringa-based homestead concerning Sustainable Development Goals. A household survey was conducted following a simple random sampling of 135 farmers and following a semi-structured questionnaire and interview schedule with 100 farmers (40 identified Moringa-based adopters and 60 non-adopters). The final questionnaire was prepared after pilot testing, which contained data on common species diversity, and the perception of farmers regarding SDGs indicators of “no poverty, zero hunger, good health, and well-being, gender equality, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth”. The extent of agreement was recorded following the points Likert scale high (3) to no change (0), and the SDG index (SDGI) value was calculated. The 10 key informant interviews were conducted with non-adopters to get insights into their perception regarding Moringa-based homesteads. The findings revealed that the status of plant species diversity such as betel nut (100 %), mango (100 %), bean (99 %), and arjun (90 %) was higher in comparison to non-adopters where the status of the respective species was 92 %, 99 %, 89 %, and 73 % respectively. The perception assessment revealed that 100 % of adopters and 90 % of non-adopters believed that Moringa-based homesteads had the potential to increase access to food, nutrition, and medicinal resources. While the majority of 70 % of adopters, and 90.5 % non-adopters disagreed that it had the potential to ensure government access and non-government credit resources. Among the Moringa-based homestead adopters, the gross income derived from Moringa sales was 2828.57 ± 1481.45, where 55 % of homesteads were identified to have Moringa plants between 3 and 5, and homesteads solely supplied fuel materials for 40 % of households. Gender participation was quite evident for homestead farming activities, where female participation was higher in planting, weeding, irrigation, and fencing. Homesteads provided both on-farming and off-farming income opportunities where major responses were found for poultry farming (96 %), vegetable farming (95 %), and day labor (97 %). Farmers were found to practice climate-smart practices of homestead agroforestry (100 %), rainwater harvesting (99 %), weeding (98 %), and management of debris (95 %) in their respective homesteads. The results disclosed that Moringa-based homestead in Sylhet can be a potential option for attaining SDGs indicators of escalation of household income (SDGI = 90), access to food, nutrition, and medicinal resources (SDGI = 103.6), facilitation of natural treatment of diseases (SDGI = 104.6), de-escalation of gender discrepancy in terms of production activities (SDGI = 103.64), own source of fuel (SDGI = 58.44), both off-farm and on-farm income opportunity (SDGI = 100.52), ecosystem health maintenance by resilient practices (SDGI = 104.6). Farmers ranked food security capacity as a major motivational factor, while the low economic return was a major demotivational factor. The escalation of Moringa-based homesteads needs to be prioritized while facilitating credit, and institutional support to extend encouragement to non-adopters for wider integration of Moringa-based homesteads, and appropriate utilization of the existing resources for greater profitability.