Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh

The use of quality seeds is crucial to improve rice yield, food security, and farmers’ livelihoods. The large informal seed system, limited access to quality seeds, and low seed replacement rate challenge increasing rice yield. Despite robust government initiatives to support the seed system, progre...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf, Habib, Muhammad Ashraful, Sarker, Mou Rani, Rahman, Md. Mahbubur, Alam, Sultanul, Manik, Md. Nazmul Islam, Nayak, Swati, Bhandari, Humnath
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163788
_version_ 1855518965019705344
author Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf
Habib, Muhammad Ashraful
Sarker, Mou Rani
Rahman, Md. Mahbubur
Alam, Sultanul
Manik, Md. Nazmul Islam
Nayak, Swati
Bhandari, Humnath
author_browse Alam, Sultanul
Bhandari, Humnath
Habib, Muhammad Ashraful
Manik, Md. Nazmul Islam
Nayak, Swati
Rahman, Md. Mahbubur
Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf
Sarker, Mou Rani
author_facet Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf
Habib, Muhammad Ashraful
Sarker, Mou Rani
Rahman, Md. Mahbubur
Alam, Sultanul
Manik, Md. Nazmul Islam
Nayak, Swati
Bhandari, Humnath
author_sort Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The use of quality seeds is crucial to improve rice yield, food security, and farmers’ livelihoods. The large informal seed system, limited access to quality seeds, and low seed replacement rate challenge increasing rice yield. Despite robust government initiatives to support the seed system, progress has been slow. Besides, the need for farmers’ behavioural change, enhanced coordination, and communication at the local level has not received adequate attention. We investigate rice farmers’ preferences for quality seed, packet sizes, types, and sources, and assess the impact of utilizing good quality seed. We collected quantitative data from 1196 rice farmers in northern Bangladesh in 2019. To identify major factors influencing farmers’ preferences regarding quality seed, packet sizes, packet types, and seed sources, we employed ordered logit and multinomial logit models. Additionally, we used the propensity score matching procedure to assess the impact of good quality and formal seed sources on the rice yield. The findings revealed that farmers strongly prefer using seeds from formal sources despite limited accessibility. Of the total farmers, 34% use public source seeds, 33% use private source seeds, and the rest rely on their own saved seeds. The use of good quality seeds increased rice yields from the base yield by 0.07–0.28 t/ha. We found about a 48% gap in accessing good-quality seeds, indicating significant potential for scaling up the seed systems. Farmers using formal seed sources yielded 0.03–0.15 t/ha more than informal seed users. Farmers strongly prefer 5 kg packets due to their cost-effectiveness, easy storage, and handling convenience. Additionally, farmers prefer polycoated jute sacks for their versatility, multi-purpose applications, and resistance to pests. The econometric model results showed that farmers’ preferences were significantly influenced by gender, farm type, crop yield, seed price, market distance, various stakeholders’ advice, and seed supply systems’ constraints. The government should implement policies and programs to strengthen a well-connected seed network in rural areas, promoting inclusivity, and enhancing rice productivity. Besides, farmers’ needs and preferences should be considered in designing and implementing seed-related initiatives to foster sustainable agricultural development.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace163788
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
publishDateSort 2024
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1637882025-10-26T12:54:33Z Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf Habib, Muhammad Ashraful Sarker, Mou Rani Rahman, Md. Mahbubur Alam, Sultanul Manik, Md. Nazmul Islam Nayak, Swati Bhandari, Humnath seed quality seed systems food security farmers farmers' behavior agricultural productivity agricultural policies supply chain The use of quality seeds is crucial to improve rice yield, food security, and farmers’ livelihoods. The large informal seed system, limited access to quality seeds, and low seed replacement rate challenge increasing rice yield. Despite robust government initiatives to support the seed system, progress has been slow. Besides, the need for farmers’ behavioural change, enhanced coordination, and communication at the local level has not received adequate attention. We investigate rice farmers’ preferences for quality seed, packet sizes, types, and sources, and assess the impact of utilizing good quality seed. We collected quantitative data from 1196 rice farmers in northern Bangladesh in 2019. To identify major factors influencing farmers’ preferences regarding quality seed, packet sizes, packet types, and seed sources, we employed ordered logit and multinomial logit models. Additionally, we used the propensity score matching procedure to assess the impact of good quality and formal seed sources on the rice yield. The findings revealed that farmers strongly prefer using seeds from formal sources despite limited accessibility. Of the total farmers, 34% use public source seeds, 33% use private source seeds, and the rest rely on their own saved seeds. The use of good quality seeds increased rice yields from the base yield by 0.07–0.28 t/ha. We found about a 48% gap in accessing good-quality seeds, indicating significant potential for scaling up the seed systems. Farmers using formal seed sources yielded 0.03–0.15 t/ha more than informal seed users. Farmers strongly prefer 5 kg packets due to their cost-effectiveness, easy storage, and handling convenience. Additionally, farmers prefer polycoated jute sacks for their versatility, multi-purpose applications, and resistance to pests. The econometric model results showed that farmers’ preferences were significantly influenced by gender, farm type, crop yield, seed price, market distance, various stakeholders’ advice, and seed supply systems’ constraints. The government should implement policies and programs to strengthen a well-connected seed network in rural areas, promoting inclusivity, and enhancing rice productivity. Besides, farmers’ needs and preferences should be considered in designing and implementing seed-related initiatives to foster sustainable agricultural development. 2024-06-21 2024-12-19T12:53:01Z 2024-12-19T12:53:01Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163788 en Open Access Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf; Habib, Muhammad Ashraful; Sarker, Mou Rani; Rahman, Md. Mahbubur; Alam, Sultanul; Manik, Md. Nazmul Islam; Nayak, Swati and Bhandari, Humnath. 2024. Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh. PLoS ONE, Volume 19 no. 6 p. e0306059
spellingShingle seed quality
seed systems
food security
farmers
farmers' behavior
agricultural productivity
agricultural policies
supply chain
Sarkar, Md. Abdur Rouf
Habib, Muhammad Ashraful
Sarker, Mou Rani
Rahman, Md. Mahbubur
Alam, Sultanul
Manik, Md. Nazmul Islam
Nayak, Swati
Bhandari, Humnath
Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh
title Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh
title_full Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh
title_fullStr Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh
title_short Rice farmers' preferences for seed quality, packaging, and source: A study from northern Bangladesh
title_sort rice farmers preferences for seed quality packaging and source a study from northern bangladesh
topic seed quality
seed systems
food security
farmers
farmers' behavior
agricultural productivity
agricultural policies
supply chain
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163788
work_keys_str_mv AT sarkarmdabdurrouf ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh
AT habibmuhammadashraful ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh
AT sarkermourani ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh
AT rahmanmdmahbubur ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh
AT alamsultanul ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh
AT manikmdnazmulislam ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh
AT nayakswati ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh
AT bhandarihumnath ricefarmerspreferencesforseedqualitypackagingandsourceastudyfromnorthernbangladesh