Crop Interventions and Farmers Livelihood Outcomes: A Case of Specific Wetland Areas in Bangladesh
Crop Interventions and Farmers Livelihood Outcomes: A Case of Specific Wetland Areas in Bangladesh
Mohammed Nasir Uddin1, Maimona Monir Jhilam1, Most Zannatun Nahar Mukta1, Zujaja Wahaj2, Mohammad Maruf Hasan1* and Samiha Khan3
ABSTRACT
Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System (BAURES) projects provide crop interventions such as training, suitable cropping patterns, and input provisions for the wetland farmers. This study was conducted to assess the extent to which the practice of those crop intervention influences farmers’ livelihoods in Netrokona district of Bangladesh. It also identified the factors that impacted the livelihoods changes, and the challenges faced by the farmers when implementing crop interventions. The study was conducted in two villages under Mohanganj upazila (sub-district) of Netrokona district where 100 farmers were interviewed from April to May 2022 using a structured interview schedule. The primary focus variable i.e., the extent of changes in the livelihood of wetland farmers was assessed using a 3-point Likert scale. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors that made significant impacts on the livelihood changes of wetland farmers. The findings indicated that 64% of the farmers had a moderate change in their livelihood while about 36% had high changes. None of the farmers reported low changes in their livelihoods due to the practice of crop interventions. Among the selected characteristics of the farmers, level of education, annual family income, organizational participation, and media contact were identified as the influential factors affecting the livelihood change of the wetland farmers and these factors accounted for 65.8% of the observed variation in the study’s focal issue. In terms of problems problems faced during the implementation of the crop interventions, 53% of the respondents reported facing medium-level problems. The most prominent problem reported by the respondents was ‘lack of technical knowledge’. It is recommended that necessary steps, such as providing credit and training, to resolve these problems should be taken to ensure an improved quality of life for wetland farmers.
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