What is the level of flooding that is not harmful to rice production in Bangladesh?

What is it about?

Flood is responsible for the agricultural production scheme and livelihood well-being in Bangladesh. It is the most frequent catastrophe that affects crop production in terms of area coverage and yield. However, a normal flood is beneficial for the ecology and environment. As rice is the most important crop for sustaining the food security of the country, this study identified the threshold level of flooding for rice area coverage and production. The study used the time series data of annual rice area coverage, production, and flooding area in a well-established threshold regression model. Both the rice area coverage and production showed increasing trends with the increase in flooding level in the last few years. The reasons behind this are- government supports, subsidies, incentives, and stress coping strategies towards accelerating national production to overcome the effects of the flood to sustain national food security; development of stress-tolerant and high yielding modern rice varieties by the research organizations; and replacing the local varieties with these modern varieties by the farmers and extension workers in Bangladesh.

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Photo by Simon Fanger on Unsplash

Photo by Simon Fanger on Unsplash

Why is it important?

It is important to know the threshold level of flooding for rice production in Bangladesh. Because flood visits Bangladesh every year and it is not always harmful for rice production. Knowing the threshold level will guide the nation to take effective measures for ensuring food security.