We review the recent development of Conservation Agriculture (CA) for rice-based smallholder farms in the Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP) and the underpinning research on agronomy, weed control, soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions being tested to accelerate its adoption in Bangladesh. The studies are based mostly on minimum soil disturbance planting in strip planting (SP) mode, using the Versatile Multi-crop Planter (VMP), powered by a two-wheel tractor (2WT). One-pass SP with the VMP decreased fuel costs for crop establishment by up to 85% and labour requirements by up to 50%. We developed strip-based non-puddled rice (Oryza sativa) transplanting (NPT) in minimally-disturbed soil and found that rice grain yield increased (by up to 12%) in longer-term practice of CA. On farms, 75% of NPT crops increased gross margin. For non-rice crops, relative yield increases ranged from 28% for lentil (Lens culinaris) to 6% for wheat (Triticum aestivum) on farms that adopted CA planting. Equivalent profit increases were from 47% for lentil to 560% for mustard (Brassica juncea). Moreover, VMP and CA adopting farms saved 34% of labour costs and lowered total cost by up to 10% for production of lentil, mustard, maize (Zea mays) and wheat. Effective weed control was obtained from the use of a range of pre-emergent and post-emergence herbicides and retention of increased crop residue. In summary, a substantial body of research has demonstrated the benefits of CA and mechanized planting for cost savings, yield increases in many cases, increased profit in most cases and substantial labour saving. Improvement in soil quality has been demonstrated in long-term experiments together with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The Haors in Bangladesh are saucer-shaped, low-lying land depressions that form deep basins; they remain submerged for approximately half of the year, typically from June onwards. This fragile ecosystem spans over 2.0 million hectares in the northeastern region of the country, accounting for roughly 14% of the total areas, where approximately 19.4 million people reside. Factors including floods, flash floods, and low winter temperatures constrain agricultural productivity in the haor areas. It is a great challenge to change the haor areas from less productive to more productive land. This is a comprehensive analysis of the biophysical and socioeconomic characteristics of haors which also highlights the constraints and opportunities in agricultural production. It explores strategies for significantly increasing crop, livestock, and fish production within the haor ecosystem, in alignment with government policies. Some of the proposed agricultural development strategies for the haor areas include the development of short-duration, cold-tolerant crop varieties, such as Boro rice, utilizing relatively flood-free elevated lands and homesteads for vegetable production and promoting agricultural mechanization, livestock rearing, fisheries, and agribusiness development. The recommendations presented in this paper focus on enhancing crop yields, increasing cropping intensity, and boosting livestock and fish production; ultimately, they contribute to food security, poverty reduction, and improved livelihoods for the inhabitants of the haor areas.

Globally a huge amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) is being produced which is very difficult to dispose. Composting of MSW is one of the options of solid waste recycling, but its use by the farmers is limited because of its low nutrient status. This study has considered some organic amendments to increase nutrient status of MSW compost for its potential use as an organic fertilizer in rice cultivation. We prepared three types of amended compost by mixing 20% mustard oil cake (MOC) and 30% poultry manure (PM) or cow dung (CD) or sugarcane press mud (SPM) with 50% MSW compost. The inoculum of Trichoderma viride was used to accelerate the composting process. The use of different amendments improved the nutrient level of MSW compost. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performances of amended MSW composts alone and in combination with chemical fertilizers on yield, nutrient content and balance in rice (var. BRRI dhan28). The experiment was conducted in 2018 at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) farm, Mymensingh having silt loam texture, pH in water of 6.7 and 2.79% organic matter; the soil was Aeric Haplaquept under the order Inceptisols. There were 10 treatments consisting of chemical fertilizers (urea, triple superphosphate, muriate of potash, gypsum and zinc sulphate) and four types of MSW compost (three amended and one unamended). Based on the results of yield and N, P, K and S concentration of rice grain, the treatment containing 50% fertilizers +10 t ha⁻¹ of amended compost (MSW + MOC + SPM in a ratio of 5:2:3) performed the best. There were apparent negative balances for N (11–45 kg ha⁻¹) and K (6–48 kg ha⁻¹), and positive balances for P (8–71 kg ha⁻¹) and S (4–46 kg ha⁻¹) in soils, across the treatments. Results of this study have significant value in fertilizer management strategies for rice cultivation in sub-tropical countries.