How to Help Small Farmers in Bangladesh

In the sixth volume of his collected works on agriculture in Bangladesh, the author brings together selected papers, updated by footnotes, which describe the country's agricultural environment, crops, cropping systems and a wide range of practical methods to help small farmers to increase soil fertility, crop yields and annual agricultural production. This book is aimed particularly at government and NGO agricultural extension workers, agricultural teachers and students, and visiting foreign consultants. It provides practical training models and material, and makes available information in reports and papers which previously had a limited circulation. Part I comprises three chapters which describe the diversity and complexity of Bangladesh's physical and farming environments and the implications for organizing agricultural extension activities. The three chapters in Part II show how to use soil survey information, particularly for selecting sites for trial and demonstration plots in farmers fields. Part III includes four chapters which describe methods to increase extension efficiency by identifying specific ways to help small farmers, making use of farmers own experience, preparing work calendars and identifying progressive areas. The six chapters in Part IV describe crops and cropping systems for Bangladesh's diverse environments and simple ways to increase crop yields, while Part V comprises nine chapters describing Bangladesh's soil characteristics and various ways to increase and sustain soil fertility through better use of organic manure, fertilizers and soil management practices. The four chapters in Part VI cover a wide range of topics relating to agricultural production, culminating in a final chapter which describes seventeen simple, practical ways to help small farmers to increase their yields, production and incomes.