Conservation agriculture: A farm level practice in Bangladesh

Conservation agriculture (CA) is one of the alternative practices of agricultural development in Bangladesh. In the present study is investigated to determine the extent of practice of conservation agriculture by the farmers and to explore the factors related to practice of conservation agriculture. Eighty (80) farmers of four villages of Gurudaspur upazila of Natore district, Bangladesh were interviewed. Maximum farmers belonged to medium practice of conservation agriculture while very few of them had low or high practice. Zero tillage found to be the most practiced conservation technique. Out of nine independent variables, only level of education, extension media contact and organizational participation of the farmers had showed positive significant relationship with conservation agriculture practice. Extension media contact and organizational participation influence the extent of CA practices at farmers' field as confirmed by the backward linear regression model. Growing more weeds in case of zero and/or minimum tillage and lack of available information about conservation agriculture at block level were the major problems hindering conservation agriculture practice. To popularize the CA practices, Government should organize more training and demonstration activities on CA involving block level extension workers as well as farmers plus strengthening research-extension-farmers linkage.