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Profitability of barley cultivation in selected areas of Bangladesh

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BOU J Agric Rural Dev 10 (2):57-67, December 2018 ISSN 1810-1860

BOUJARD
Bangladesh Open University Journal
of Agriculture & Rural Development

Profitability of barley cultivation in selected areas of Bangladesh

*1 1 1 2 1
M. Khatun , S. Khandoker , M. A. Rashid N. D. Kundu , M. A. Matin
1
Agricultural Economics Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur
2
Regional Pulse Research Center, Madaripur

ABSTRACT
The study was conducted in Pabna, Rajshahi and Tangail districts to assess the profitability of barley
cultivation in Bangladesh. A total of 150 barley cultivating farmers were randomly selected from these
areas. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data. Comparatively aged farmers were cultivating
barley by inherently. Nearly all farmers (99%) had agriculture as main occupation. Average farm size
of the sample farmers was 1.26 hectares (ha) and only 0.20 ha land were under barley cultivation
which was about 22% of total cultivable land. Per hectare average yield of barley was found 1.80
tonnes. Per hectare average total cost, gross return and net return were estimated at Tk. 50,251.00,
Tk. 79,531.00 and Tk. 29,280.00 respectively. Average undiscounted BCR was calculated as 1.58.
To increase area under barley cultivation researchers should encourage the farmers by giving high
yielding variety and arranging training about its nutritional value and cultivation.

Key words: Profitability, Barley, Production Problems and Marketing Constraints.

INTRODUCTION
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most significant cereal crops in the world. It is the fifth
cereal crops grown in the world after maize, wheat, rice and soybean (Miralles et al., 2001; Ofosu-
Anim and Leitch, 2009; Zeid, 2011; Soleymani and Shahrajabian, 2011). It is a winter season grain
crop and used as fodder which is also grown to improve soil fertility (Ghanbari et al., 2012). In the
last century barley was mainly cultivated and used for the purpose of human food supply but
nowadays, it is extensively cultivated as animal feed, malt products and human food (Aker et.al
2004). Sixty percent or more barley is produced for animal feed. Barley grain contains starch
(61.8%), protein (13.1 %), insoluble fibre (10.8%), moisture (7.55%), soluble fibre (4.85%),
pentosan (4.28%), β-D glucan (4.26%), lipid (2.92%) and ash (1.89%) (Helam et al., 1999). The
nutrient content of barley compares favorably with that of corn, oats, wheat, milo and field peas.
Barley also contains eight essential amino acids (Vasan et al., 2014).
Foods prepared from barley are useful for diabetic and high blood pressure patients. It is
suggested that barley could be therapeutic diet for diabetic patients, a good diet for kidney patients
and the referred diet after convalescence (Ikegami et al., 1991). Extensive research conducted by
public and private entities during the past two decades has clearly shown that human consumption
of barley can provide numerous important health benefits, including the reduction of bad cholesterol
and associated risk of cardiovascular disease; positive glucose control in diabetes management;
reduction of certain cancers; and enhancement of the human immune system.
Despite these health benefits, food barley consumption remains relatively low due to a lack of
knowledge of its unique health, processing and tasting qualities (Marshall and Olson, 2013). Barley
is grown on nearly sixty million hectares of land worldwide, with production of 140 tonnes of grain.
The top ten barley producing countries include Russia, Germany, Canada, Ukraine, France,

*
Corresponding author: morsalinak@gmail.com
 2018 School of Agriculture and Rural Development, Bangladesh Open University, All rights reserved.
M. Khatun et al.

Australia, the United Kingdom, Turkey, United States, and Denmark. It is well adapted to diverse
environmental conditions and thus it is produced across a broader geographic distribution than
most other cereals. In Bangladesh, barley is an old and minor cereal crop but it has the potential to
become one of the important crops and can play an important role in enhancing the food security of
the country and in earning of foreign currency. In the early and mid-nineties barley cultivation area
and production were about 35000 ha and 20000 tonnes respectively though the yield was very low
(Fig. 1). Over the time barley cultivation area and production are decreasing day by day. It may be
due to lack of knowledge about its health benefits and processing. It is necessary to identify the
reasons behind this.
Area and Production

40005
35005
0.81
30005

Yield
25005 0.61
20005
15005 0.41
10005
0.21
5005
5 0.01
1962
1965
1968
1971
1974
1977
1980
1983
1986
1989
1992
1995
1998
2001
2004
2007
2010
2013
2016
Area (ha) Production (ton) Yield (ton/ha)

Fig 1. Area, Production and yield of barley, 1962-2016 (Data source: faostat.fao.org).
The most important use of barley throughout the world is as malt for manufacturing beverages
or malt enriched food products. In fact, barley is used mostly as mixtures in flours for bread making
either due to lower price of barley compared to wheat or due to its nutritional value. Similarly, barley
malt and its extract are used in various types of commercial breads in Turkey and in many
developing countries. Such breads can include various ingredients. Saari and Hawtin (1977)
described various recipes containing barley products for human consumption in developing
countries in their studies. In Western countries, barley is getting increased popularity as a food
grain and is used in flours for bread making or other specialties such as baby foods, health foods
and thickeners (Akar et al., 2012). Intensive efforts are also made for promotion of barley as major
human food in developed countries because of its valuable nutrition properties. Barley is also used
for production of soft drinks in the form of barley juice in some developing countries such as in
India.
In Bangladesh, it is widely used as chhatu (barley flour mixed in sugar and water). Chapati
can also be made by mixing barley and wheat flour (Yesmin et al., 2014). Diluted soup made from
barley is used to feed the infants as horlicks, ovaltine, Robinson’s barley, Alberta barley, Hamilton’s
barley flour pancake mix, multova etc. These are the baby foods, for which in Bangladesh, several
industries and pharmaceutical companies have to import a large amount of barley grain and malt
extract for manufacturing patented baby food and medicine. Barley grain is also used in poultry
industries. So, huge amounts of barley were imported every year in Bangladesh from different
countries. The huge import could easily be cut through increasing domestic barley production that
can help to save foreign currencies. Therefore, this study was an attempt to state the pros and
cons of barley cultivation in Bangladesh by documenting the socioeconomic condition of the barley
farmers, by measuring the profitability of barley cultivation and identifying the production problems
and marketing constraints to barley cultivation.

58
 Profitability of barley cultivation in selected areas of Bangladesh

METHODOLOGY
Sampling technique and sample size
Multistage purposive random sampling technique was followed to collect sample farmers for this
study. At first, three districts namely Tangail, Pabna and Rajshahi were selected on the basis of
availability of barley farmer. In the second stage, concentrate barley growing upazila such as
Bhuapur from Tangail, Sadre from Pabna and Paba from Rajshahi were selected on the basis of
area and production of barley. Thirdly, 2-3 agricultural blocks were selected in consultation with
DAE personnel for selecting sample farmers. Finally, the samples were randomly selected from the
complete list of barley farmers for interview. A total of 150 barley growers taking 50 farmers from
each district were selected for the study.
Data collection
The study was mainly based on primary data that were collected through face to face interview
using a pre-tested interview schedule which was conducted through field survey during February to
April, 2018.
Analytical technique
The collected data were edited and tabulated for analysis to fulfill the objectives of the study.
Descriptive statistics such as averages and percentages were used in this study.
Profitability analysis
Measurement of cost and return from crop cultivation
Gross margin and net farm income analyses (budgeting techniques) were used to estimate cost
and returns per hectare. The model considered for estimation of cost and returns per hectare is
implicitly represented by the following equation (Gani and Omonona 2009).
n m k
NFI = P Y P
i 1
yi i
j 1
xj X j   Fk
k 1
Where,
NFI = Net farm Income
Yi = Gross Output (kg)
Py = Unit price of product Yi (Tk.)
Xj = Quantity of variable input
(where j= 1,2,3...n)
Pxj= Price per unit of variable input (Tk.)
Fk = Cost of fixed inputs (Tk.)
(where K = 1,2,3..k)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Farmers’ profile
Age
Age is an important factor that influences farmer’s production decision, efficiency and managing the
capital used in farming. Barley is an old crop in Bangladesh and half of the barley farmers (50%)
were 39 to 58 years old. It was also found that about 20% farmers of 59 to 78 years aged were
actively engaged in barley cultivation (Table 1). Approximately 28% farmers were 19 to 38 years
old. Most interesting thing was that there were 2% farmers who were 79 to 85 years old.
Literacy status
The sample farmers were classified into six categories based on their education level. Table 1
indicates that about 19% farmers were illiterate. Highest 26% farmers had secondary level of
education. Nine percent farmers had higher secondary level of education and only 4% farmers had

59
M. Khatun et al.

degree and above level education. About 21% farmers had primary level of education and another
23% farmers can sign only.
Occupational status
Main occupation of a farmer generally reflects his commitment in that particular field and
demonstrates his economic standing in the society. Nearly all of the farmers (99%) had agriculture
as main occupation. Only 2% farmers of Rajshahi were CNG three-wheeler drivers and in Tangail
2% farmers were shopkeeper (Table 1). A greater part of the farmers (87%) had no subsidiary
occupation. Only 1% farmer had agriculture and 8% farmers had business as their subsidiary
occupation. In Tangail district 10% farmers had secondary occupation as Carpenter (2%), Painter
(2%), service (4%) and deed writer (2%).
Table 1. Profile of the respondent farmers in the study areas
% farmers responded
Particulars
Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas
Age
19-38 years 28 32 24 28
39-58 years 58 46 46 50
59-78 years 12 20 28 20
79-85 years 2 2 2 2
Literacy status
Illiterate 48 2 8 19
Can sign 8 26 36 23
Primary (Class I-V) 26 16 22 21
Secondary (Class VI-SSC) 14 42 22 26
Higher secondary (HSC) 8 10 9
Degree and above 4 6 2 4
Occupation
Main occupation
Agriculture 100 98 98 99
CNG three wheeler driver - - 2 0.5
Shopkeeper - 2 - 0.5
Subsidiary occupation
No Profession 90 94 78 87
Agriculture - 2 2 1
Business 10 4 10 8
Others - - 10 4
Farm size (%)
Marginal (below 0.19 ha) - 4 2 2
Small (0.19-0.99 ha) 26 70 68 55
Medium (1.00-3.03 ha) 58 22 28 36
Large (above 3.03 ha) 16 4 2 7
Average farm size (ha) 2.08 0.86 0.83 1.26
Land under barley cultivation (ha) 0.31 0.16 0.13 0.20
% of cultivable land under barley cultivation 18.68 26.04 20.61 21.78

Farm size
More than half of the farmers (55%) had small farm. A good number of farmers’ farm size was
medium (36%) and 7% farmers had large farm size. In Pabna there was no marginal farmer and
over half of the farmers (58%) had medium farm size. A good number of farmers of Pabna (16%)
had large farm size (Table 1). Average farm size of the sample farmers was 1.26 ha and only 0.20
ha land were under barley cultivation which was about 22% of total cultivable land.
Farmers’ experiences
Highest 41% farmers had 2 to 11 years’ experience of barley cultivation. A good percentage of
farmers (33%) had also experiences within the year ranged from 12 to 21 years. Another 14%
farmers had 22 to 31 years’ experience. There were also 8% farmers who have 32 to 41 years’

60
 Profitability of barley cultivation in selected areas of Bangladesh

experience. A small number of farmers of Rajshahi and Tangail district (4%) also had 42 to 51
years of experience (Table 2).
Table 2. Experiences of the farmers in barley cultivation
% farmers responded
Experience (Years) Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All Areas
2-11 46 46 32 41
12-21 32 32 36 33
22-31 18 8 18 14
32-41 4 10 10 8
42-51 - 4 4 2
Total 100 100 100 100

Adoption of barley variety

All the farmers of Pabna and Rajshahi cultivated local variety and only 2% farmers of Tangail
cultivated BARI Barley-6 variety (Table 3). The adoption of BARI variety was not found in Pabna
and Rajshahi. The main reason of this non-adoption was unavailability of seed to the farmers. They
had interest to cultivate BARI variety if they got seed.
Table 3. Varietal adoption of barley in the study areas
% farmers responded
Name of the variety Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All Areas
BARI Barley-6 - - 2 1
Local 100 100 98 99
Total 100 100 100 100
Agronomic Practices
All the agronomic practices are shown in Table 4. The farmers ploughed on an average 1.67 times
followed by single laddering for land preparation of barley cultivation. In the study areas, farmers
cultivated barley without considering appropriate sowing time. This has the effect of shorter growing
period in the vegetative phase and steep rise in temperature at the grain filling stage (Nass et al.,
1975) which is the real cause of low yield. So, late sowing of barley is a major limiting factor in
Bangladesh. Farmers in the study areas sowed seed in first week of October to mid-December
following broadcasting method of sowing. Late-sown barley experiences low temperature at
seedling emergence and decreases physiological process and cause a greater yield reduction
(Korovin and Mamaev 1983). Later on high temperature reduces duration of tillering, grain growth
Table 4. Agronomic practices of barley cultivation in the study areas
Agronomic
Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas
practices
No. of ploughing 2 1 2 1.67
No. of laddering 1 1 1 1
Time of sowing Mid October- First week of First week of First week of
mid December October - First October -mid October -mid
week of November November December
Sowing method Broadcasting Broadcasting Broadcasting Broadcasting
No. of weeding 1.18 - 1 0.73
No. of irrigation 1.43 - 1.1 0.84
No. of spraying 1.38 - 1.5 0.96
Time of Mid-March-Last Mid-March-Last Mid-March-First Mid-March-First
harvesting week of March week of March week of April week of April
and crop productivity (Savin et al., 1997 and Wallwork et al., 1998 a,b). Alam et al., (2007) obtained
from their research that 17 November is the suitable time of sowing when most of the yield and
yield components were significantly highest. Sowing at an appropriate time is necessary for
ensuring maximum yield and that is why sowing time needs to be adjusted so that the crop
61
M. Khatun et al.

germinates well and utilize the soil moisture stored in the soil profile effectively. Farmers in the
study areas were reluctant to perform intercultural operations. They think barley is only the crop
which could be grown without weeding or irrigation. By keeping this fallacy in mind, farmers of
Rajshahi did not do any types of intercultural operations and they also cultivated barley with lentil or
chickpea as mixed crop. The farmers of Pabna and Tangail performed some degree of intercultural
operations like weeding, spraying, and irrigating the crop. The average number of weeding,
irrigation, and insecticide spraying per farm were 0.73, 0.84, and 0.96 respectively. The harvesting
time of barley started in the mid-March and continued up to first week of April. Yesmin et al. (2014)
found that harvesting time also had significant effect on yield and yield attributes and seed quality
parameters.
Inputs use pattern in barley cultivation
Barley is a minor cereal crop and it use by the farmers is very limited. As a result farmers had less
attention to its cultivation. On an average 60 man-days of labour is required to cultivate one hectare
of land. Farmers in the study areas used more family labour (36 man-days/ha) and a lot of women
labour also worked in post- harvest handling of barley. On an average 61 kg/ha seed of barley was
sown. Farmers of Rajshahi sowed 40.50 kg/ha lentil and 44.26 kg/ha chickpea by mixing with 33.65
kg/ha barley. Application of nutrients in the form of fertilizer is one of the important factors that
contribute to the yield of any crop. Yesmin et al.,. (2014) pointed out that application of 100kg
nitrogen per ha can give the maximum yield (BARI barley variety-5, 5.14 ton/ha). Farmers used
both bio and chemical fertilizer at a smaller amount (Table 5). Farmers of Pabna applied slightly
higher dose of TSP, MoP and DAP than that of Tangail. Farmers of Rajshahi did not apply any
types of fertilizer. They cultivated barley as a mixed crop without any care of it. As a result, they got
lowest yield and the quality of their product was poor. Only the farmers of Tangail applied Zypsum
(38.09 kg/ha).
Table 5. Per hectare input use pattern of barley cultivation
Inputs Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas
Human labour (man-day) 67 54 59 60
Family labour (man-day) 31 32 44 36
Hired labour (man-day) 36 22 15 24
Seed (kg)
Barley 76.47 33.65 73.85 61.32
Lentil 40.50 40.50
Chickpea 44.26 44.26
Bio-fertilizer (ton) 4616.28 4616.28
Urea (kg) 97.94 91.97 94.89
TSP (kg) 115.92 43.98 91.02
MoP (kg) 70.59 38.53 58.45
DAP (kg) 74.85 24.95
Zypsum(kg) 38.09 38.09
Cost of barley cultivation
The cost of producing barley included different variable cost items like human labour, seed,
fertilizer, irrigation, chemicals etc. Both cash expenditure and imputed value of family supplied
inputs (i.e. labour, land) were included in the analysis. Besides, interest on operating capital was
also considered for the estimation of cost of barley production. The fixed cost of barley cultivation
included cost of land use and family labour. The cost of land use was calculated on the basis of
lease value of land. Per hectare total cost of barley cultivation was estimated at Tk. 50,251.00 in
which share of fixed cost were about 60% and variable cost was about 40% (Table 6). A large
number of family labour (23.47% of total cost) was engaged in barley cultivation. Cost of fertilizer in
Pabna (Tk. 9388/ha) was highest due to more use of fertilizer. Cost of irrigation was also highest in
Pabna (Tk. 5958/ha).

62
 Profitability of barley cultivation in selected areas of Bangladesh

Table 6. Per hectare cost of barley cultivation

Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas

Cost Items
(Tk.) (Tk.) (Tk.) Tk. %
Land preparation cost 6689 5984 4942 5872 11.69
Hired labour 12688 5779 5597 7875 15.67
Cost of seed
Barley 2912 1407 2825 2381 4.74
Lentil - 2743 - 2743 5.46
Chickpea - 4476 - 4476 8.91
Cowdung 3357 - - 3357 6.68
Fertilizer 9388 - 3588 7918 15.76
Urea 1612 - 1472 1540 3.06
TSP 4125 - 1100 2613 5.20
MoP 1406 - 604 1108 2.20
DAP 2245 - 2245 4.47
Zypsum - - 412 412 0.82
Weeding cost (Spray) 885 - - 885 1.76
Cost of irrigation 5958 - 2868 4413 8.78
Cost of Insecticide 2259 748 948 1308 2.60
IOC@ 6% (4 months) 401 228 316 315 0.63
Total variable cost 29505 14563 16066 20035 39.88
Family labour 11024 8437 15894 11795 23.47
Land use cost 18388 18712 18163 18421 36.66
Total fixed cost 29412 27149 34058 30216 60.12
Total cost 58917 41712 50124 50251 100.00
Profitability of barley cultivation
Per hectare average yield of barley was 1.80 tonnes. There was a considerable yield difference
among the three districts. Farmers of Pabna obtained highest yield (2.85 tonnes/ha) because, they
performed different intercultural operation very carefully and also applied different fertilizer doses
and lowest in Rajshahi (0.93 tonnes) because, they did not do any types of intercultural operations
and they also cultivated barley with lentil or chickpea as mixed crop which strategy was responsible
for yield loss but for this farmers of Rajshahi obtained higher gross return. Per hectare average
gross return was estimated at Tk. 79,531.00 which was highest in Rajshahi (Tk. 100391) and
lowest in Tangail (Tk. 46120) this was because of having lower yield. In case of per kg price of
barley farmers of Rajshahi got lowest price (24.18 Tk. /kg) because of inferior quality. Per hectre
average gross margin was found Tk. 59,496.00 which was highest in Rajshahi (Tk. 85828) and
lowest in Tangail (Tk. 30054). Per hectare net return was estimated at Tk. 29,280.00 which was
highest in Rajshahi (Tk. 58679). Average undiscounted BCR was calculated at 1.58 which was
highest in Pabna (1.56) and lowest in Tangail (0.92) (Table 7). For Tangail district BCR value less
than unity indicates barley cultivation in this area was not profitable but if only variable cost for
barley cultivation is considered BCR was found high (2.87). Average cost of producing per kg of
barley was Tk. 28.32.
Production problems and marketing constraints of barley cultivation
Farmers in the study areas faced some problems to produce barley because they had no training
on barley cultivation. On an average 41% farmers reported that they had no access of high yielding
variety. They also faced the problem of transportation (13%), threshing (9%), lack of technical
knowledge (17%) etc. Exactly 90 % farmers of Rajshahi reported that the selling price of barley was
low, this may be due to the inferior quality of barley as they cultivated it with lentil or chickpea. Most
of the farmers of Tangail (78%) faced the problem of irrigation water (Table 8).

63
M. Khatun et al.

Table 7. Per hectare profitability of barley cultivation

Particulars Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas
A. Yield (Ton/ha)
Barley 2.85 0.93 1.61 1.80
Lentil 0.57 0.57
Chickpea 0.93 0.93
B. Barley Price (Tk./kg) 29.33 24.18 28.63 27.38
C. Gross return (Tk.) 92081 100391 46120 79531
D. Return from Barley 83778 22178 46120 50692
E. Return from by-product 8303 8303
F. Return from Lentil 31546 31546
G. Return from Chickpea 46667 46667
H. Total variable cost (Tk.) 29505 14563 16066 20035
I. Gross Margin (C-H) 62576 85828 30054 59496
J. Total fixed cost (Tk.) 29412 27149 34058 30216
K. Total cost (H+J) 58917 41712 50124 50251
L. Net Return (C-K) 33164 58679 -4004 29280
M. BCR on total cost basis
1.56 2.41 0.92 1.58
(C/K)
N. BCR on variable cost
basis (C/H) 3.12 6.89 2.87 3.97
O. Cost per kg (Tk.) 20.67 44.83 32.51 28.32
Table 8. Production problems and marketing constraints of barley cultivation
Problems % farmers responded
Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas
Lack of irrigation water - 6 78 42
Low yield - 38 - 19
Lack of transportation - - 52 26
Low price - 90 - 45
Problem in crushing 30 8 - 4
Lack of high yielding variety 90 52 30 41
Lack of capital - - 8 4
Low demand - 20 - 10
Lack of technical knowledge 45 2 4 17
Transportation cost is high - 2 24 13
Threshing cost is high 20 8 - 9
Power tiller is not available in time - 4 4 4
Farmers’ attitudes toward barley cultivation
Farmers of Pabna and Tangail were very much positive to cultivate barley. Just over half of the
farmers opined that, they had increased their land under barley cultivation. As the reason behind
increasing they pointed out comparatively profitable, less effort is required to cultivate barley and
low cost of production.
But farmers of Rajshahi district showed negative attitudes towards barley cultivation. Highest
percentage of them (56%) mentioned that, they had remained the same of their area under barley
cultivation (Table 9). A good number of farmers mentioned some reasons behind keeping the
cultivation area same. They mentioned low yield, lack of irrigation facilities, cultivating diversified
crop , man power shortage , problem of crushing , problem in threshing as the reasons of keeping
cultivation area same. A good number of farmers (38%) of Rajshahi also stated they had
decreased their cultivation area. They mentioned lack of high yielding variety, threshing cost is
high, problem in crushing as the reasons of decreasing land.
64
 Profitability of barley cultivation in selected areas of Bangladesh

Table 9. Changes appearing in barley cultivation area

Land under barley % farmers responded
cultivation Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas
Increased 70 6 84 53
Decreased 10 38 8 19
Remained same 20 56 8 28
Facilities needed for the barley farmers
Farmers in the study areas were cultivating barley without any type of training or knowledge about
it. As a result, they faced some difficulties to produce and market it. To overcome these difficulties
they demanded some facilities. Majority of the farmers (70%) mentioned that they wanted to
cultivate high yielding variety of barley. About 30% farmers demanded irrigation facilities, 37%
farmers wanted to get help in fertilizer (Table 10). About 23 % farmers in the study areas
demanded training. They also demanded fair price (10%), arrangement of special credit on barley
cultivation (3%) and machineries should be available on time (4%).
Table 10. Facility demanded by the barley farmers
% farmers responded
Facilities
Pabna Rajshahi Tangail All areas
High yielding variety 56 86 68 70
Irrigation 20 12 58 30
Fertilizer 76 24 12 37
Government support 32 14 32 26
Training 40 18 10 23
If get high price - 30 - 10
Machinery - 12 - 4
Credit 8 - 2 3
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Barley is a minor cereal crop because of its smaller amount of production and its cultivation is
primeval in Bangladesh. It was observed that, farmers cultivated barley only in the char land. Due
to its complicated husking procedure and lack of knowledge, the area under barley cultivation is
decreasing day by day. The farmers in the areas cultivated it by inheritance and most of them were
aged and nearly all the farmers had agriculture as main occupation. They have enough experience
to cultivate barley. All of the farmers except one (BARI-6) cultivated local variety of barley. Farmers
in the study areas cultivated barley without concentration about its intercultural operations, as a
result they could not get optimum yield and lost their actual profitability. Per hectare average yield
of barley was found highest in Pabna because, they performed different intercultural operation very
carefully and also applied different fertilizer doses and lowest in Rajshahi because, they did not do
any types of intercultural operations and they also cultivated barley with lentil or chickpea as mixed
crop. Per hectare average gross return was highest in Rajshahi though they got lowest yield. This
was happened because; they also got return from lentil and chickpea. Per hectare average total
cost was highest in Pabna and lowest in Rajshahi. Per hectare net return and benefit cost ratio
were also highest in Rajshahi and lowest Tangail. Farmers of Tangail and Rajshahi faced the
problem of irrigation. Farmers of all areas also mentioned lack of high yielding variety, threshing
cost is high, lack of transportation, transportation cost is high as problems they faced. The mostly
demanding issue to the farmers was getting high yielding variety, irrigation facilities, training and
government support in barley cultivation.
To increase area under barley cultivation and its productivity, the academic and research
institution should work with its HYV variety development and dissemination to the farmers’ field.
Researcher should encourage the farmers who are cultivating it not the new farmers by giving high
yielding variety and training about its nutritional value and cultivation process. Because it will be
easier to motivate the existing barley farmers to adopt their variety than the farmers who are not yet

65
M. Khatun et al.

cultivated barley. It is needed to reach BARI variety to the coastal and other low land areas with the
collaboration of BARI, DAE and BADC. By doing these, domestic production will be boosted and at
the same time imports will be turned down and foreign currency will be put aside. In the other
sense, as barley has huge demand in worldwide, by meeting domestic demand it can be possible
to earn foreign currency by exporting extra production.
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Akar G., Clifton K. J., and Doherty S. T. 2012. Redefining activity types: Who participates in which
leisure activity? Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 46(8):1194-1204.
Aker T., Avci M., and Dusunceli F. 2004. Barley: Post-harvest Operations. INPhO- Post-harvest
Compendium, The Central Research Institute for Field Crops, P.O.Box. 226, Ulus, Ankara,
Turkey, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
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