Fertilizer use gaps of women-headed households under diverse rice-based cropping patterns: Survey-based evidence from the Eastern Gangetic Plain, South Asia

Md Shofiqul Islam; Mohammad Jahangir Alam; Richard W Bell; Davina Boyd; Jane Hutchison; M A Monayem Miah

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14139

Fertilizer use gaps of women-headed households under diverse rice-based cropping patterns: Survey-based evidence from the Eastern Gangetic Plain, South Asia

Heliyon. 2023 Feb 28;9(3):e14139. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14139. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Md Shofiqul Islam^{1

2}, Mohammad Jahangir Alam¹, Richard W Bell³, Davina Boyd³, Jane Hutchison⁴, M A Monayem Miah⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh.
² Agricultural Economics Division, Bangladesh Sugarcrop Research Institute, Ishurdi, 6620, Pabna, Bangladesh.
³ Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia.
⁴ College of Arts, Business, Law and Social Sciences, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia.
⁵ Agricultural Statistics and Information & Communication Technology Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh.

Abstract

Women-headed households (WHHs) have limited access to agricultural inputs and extension services relative to male-headed households (MHHs) which may lead to yield gaps, poorer livelihoods and greater food insecurity. Since lower fertilizer use by WHHs will restrict crop yield, we examined how limited access to fertilizer inputs and extension services was reflected in nutrient use gaps relative to Government recommendations. A total of 80 WHHs were randomly selected for interview from four Agro-ecological Zones (AEZs) covering five representative districts of Bangladesh to assess, for the first time, nutrient use gaps of WHHs under five rice-based cropping patterns. Data collected from 576 MHHs (reported elsewhere) was also utilized to examine nutrient use gaps, crop yields and farm income between MHHs and WHHs. The nutrient use rates were compared with the government Fertilizer Recommendation Guides (FRG): FRG-2012 and FRG-2018. The WHHs underuse N, P, K, S and Zn under fully rice-based cropping patterns, while MHHs overuse those nutrients, but WHH tend to overuse N, P, and K for patterns with potato and watermelon crops. WHHs seem to prioritize high-value crops for fertilizer use, but even yield was 14%, 11%, 17% and 15% lower for irrigated rice, maize, potato and watermelon, respectively compared to smallholder MHHs under diverse rice-based cropping patterns. Overall, WHHs had 10% and 14% lower farm incomes than MHHs under fully rice-based and high-value cropping patterns, respectively. Financial losses for both WHHs and the government due to overuse of NPK on high-value potato crops were estimated at around 63 and 115 USD ha^-1, respectively. However, the socio-demographic information suggested that effective extension services targeted to WHH, easing of social restrictions on their mobility, access of WHHs to fertilizers at Govt. fixed price and improved financial capability through better credit access could bring WHHs towards balanced fertilizer use practices in the EGP.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Potassium; Rice.