Abstract
The study was conducted from 1986 to 1989 in two villages of lowlying areas of Bangladesh, Jawar at the fringe of the haor basin (vast
depressed land that loses water in the winter season) and Taker Bhiteе
in the floodplain facing a bil (marshy land that never loses water).
The study tries to investigate the development of boro rice (winter
season planting rice) cultivation in the haor and bil areas. It tries
to clarify the relationship of the existing cropping patterns to the
features of the natural environment of the low-lying areas, measure the
productivity of boro rice and examine the conditions and technological
factors that brought about the changes in cropping patterns from
historical perspectives.
Fourteen major cropping patterns, of which 10 are rice-based exist
in both villages. The performance of the existing cropping patterns is
almost the same in the two villages and their distribution is found to
be closely related to toposequences, and hence to water regime. Aus and
aman rice-based cropping patterns are distributed in the kandhilla jami
(high lands), while the single crop of boro rice is the predominant
pattern over shail jami/boro jami (low lands) in Jawar.
Boro rice is most efficient in terms of productivity and economic
profitability despite its higher production cost. Therefore, all people
in the two villages including large, medium, small farmers and landless
agricultural labourers depend mostly on boro rice for their consumption
and economy.
Evolution of boro rice-based cropping patterns of Jawar reveals
that the establishment of existing cropping patterns particularly boro
rice-based cropping patterns have been performed by way of farmers'
adaptation to the given natural environment using traditional farming
techniques upto the early part of this century. The introduction of the
modern technologies in the last two decades have helped further
expansion.