PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS OF BORO RICE FARMING: THE CASE OF NAOGAON DISTRICT OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the major sectors in the economy of Bangladesh, because of its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, and its interconnection with other sectors of the economy. This study was conducted to examine the measurement of farm profitability in Boro rice cultivation in the Naogaon district of Bangladesh. A total of 45 farmers were selected randomly from 4 villages in Naogaon District. Data were collected through a well-structured questionnaire with a simple random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, cost-benefit analysis, and Cobb-Douglas production function were used to analyze this study. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) is applied to the data set of all farmers. Empirical results obtained from production function analysis considering hired labor, pesticides, planting, harvest and transport, and machinery costs positively affect Boro rice production while seed, fertilizer, plowing, and irrigation cost negatively affect Boro rice production. It is found that Boro rice cultivation is profitable in the study area. The average per bigha net return of Boro farming was Tk. 1694.11. The study also found some challenges to cultivate Boro rice in the study area. In the end, the study suggests some policies to enhance profitability in Boro rice cultivation in the Naogaon district and overcome the challenges