12. Crop intensification with short-duration pulse crop (mungbean) using climate-smart agriculture technology in northeastern region of Bangladesh

Abstract

Despite the economic progress in Bangladesh, a hot spot of hunger remained within the rapidly growing population and even the Covid-19 Pandemic made the hunger more intensive. Increasing the cropping intensity by replacing fallow with a short-duration pulse crop using climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technology in the northeastern area of Bangladesh might increase food security and the livelihood of poor farmers. Therefore, the objective of the study was to investigate short-duration mungbean crop in between the two rice-based cropping systems following CSA technology. The study was conducted at two locations following Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in the farmers' field of Netrokona and Sunamganj Districts of Bangladesh during the period from March to May 2021. Results from both the study areas showed that CSA technology had substantially increased the total yield of mungbean, and BINA-8 variety performed the best results of 1061 kg/ha yield in the Sunamganj area. In mungbean cultivation, the lower tillage, 50% less fertilization, manuring, crop residues and efficient irrigation of CSA technology had a positive impact on water infiltration, soil nutrient status and water use efficiency of more than 40% compared to traditional cultivation systems. Nevertheless, the CSA in mungbean cultivation had enhanced carbon sequestration and reduces GHG emissions. The results also revealed that mungbean plant residues add an average 4.35 ton/ha green mass to the soil and saved more than 25% labor costs for mungbean cultivation. Therefore, crop intensification with mungbean using CSA technology in the disasters pruned area would be a good approach to combat food security and income generation of farmers. The study also argues that there is an immediate need for more intensive research to better quantify the mitigation effects of CSA technology.