Impacts of Vermi­compost Manure on MV Paddy Production in Bangladesh: A Case Study of Jessore District

Abstract

The study estimates impacts of vermicompost manure on modern varieties (MV) of paddy produced in Bangladesh. Primary data were used in this study. The findings of the study indicated that on an average, the sampled farmers who used vermicompost comparatively used less proportion of chemical fertilizers such as urea, triple super phosphate, zypsum, zinc and manure except muriate of potash. The yield of MV boro and the net profit of per hectare was significantly much higher (about 1.91 times) in the farms that used vermicompost compared to those farmers who did not use it. The household income of the farmers who used vermicompost with irrigation has risen significantly (about 1.19 times). The farmers had experienced constant return to scale in MV boro paddy farms in both techniques. The farm area, seed, pesticide, irrigation, urea cost and vermicompost cost were the main factors that significantly affected the MV boro paddy production in farms that used vermicompost. On the other hand, the farm size, urea, chemical fertilizers, manure and labour had significant impact on MV boro paddy production under the farms that did not use vermicompost. Vermicompost normally retains the moisture as well as organic matter in topsoil. As a result, comparatively lesser amount of chemical fertilizers and irrigations are required for per hectare MV boro paddy production. There was inefficient and non-optimal use of resources in both the farms which hindered production of maximum level of output in the study area.