Sanzidur Rahman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Uploads

Papers by Sanzidur Rahman

Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in Bangladesh and its production is expanding rapi... more Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in Bangladesh and its production is expanding rapidly. However, wheat production is very sensitive to environmental production conditions and managerial practices. The present chapter first provides a detailed account of the profitability and production practices of wheat cultivation in Bangladesh using a sample survey of 293 households from three regions. The chapter then examines the effect of environmental production conditions and managerial factors on wheat yield using a reduced form regression analysis. Results reveal that wheat cultivation is profitable as indicated by Benefit-Cost Ratio of 1.41 with significant variation among regions. There are significant variations in production practices of wheat cultivation across regions as well. A host of environmental and managerial factors adversely affect wheat yield explaining a substantial 77% of variation in its yield performance. Wheat yield is significantly lower in low lying areas and poor soils. Also, yield is significantly affected by pest infestation and weather variations. Among the managerial factors, farmers' education and access to various sources of agricultural information significantly improves wheat yield, whereas a delay in sowing and fertilization significantly reduces yield. Farm size category as well as geography does matter. Productivity of wheat is significantly higher for large farmers whereas it is significantly lower in Jamalpur region. Policy implications include soil fertility improvement; development of wheat varieties that are suitable for low lying areas and are resistant to insect/pest attacks as well as can withstand weather variations; improvement in managerial practices through extension services; and investment in farmers' education.

Since the 1960s, the world poultry meat production has been growing faster than any other meat, i... more Since the 1960s, the world poultry meat production has been growing faster than any other meat, indicating its rising performance. Bangladesh poultry sector has emerged with great potential during the past two decades. Similar to other developing countries worldwide, Bangladesh also has a long historical record of poultry rearing under the scavenging system. The poultry sector in Bangladesh

Thailand is a leading producer and exporter of rubber in the world market. The interdependencies ... more Thailand is a leading producer and exporter of rubber in the world market. The interdependencies and volatility of Thai rubber price return with climatic factors (precipitation and temperature), exchange rate, and crude oil market returns are determined in this paper. Vector autoregressive moving average process with generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (VARMA-GARCH), VARMA with generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (VARMA-AGARCH), and copula-based GARCH models were employed for the analyses. The results demonstrated the interdependencies of Thai rubber price return with dollar and crude oil returns as well as with crude oil return and climatic factors in the VARMA-AGARCH and the copula-based GARCH models, respectively. We conclude that the volatility of Thai rubber price return is linked with volatility in the exchange rate and crude oil markets as well as climatic factors. Thus, stakeholders in the rubber industry should consider movements in those markets when forecasting Thai rubber price returns. Using a set of robust approaches is also recommended to obtain a complete picture of the volatilities and interdependencies of the asset markets.

The paper examines distribution, availability, output growth and planning performance of the live... more The paper examines distribution, availability, output growth and planning performance of the livestock sector in Bangladesh over the past sixty years. The livestock resources are relatively well distributed. Although availability per ha increased for all types of livestock, a count of 1.55 bovine per ha is seriously inadequate to support draught power requirements. Despite remarkable livestock product growth of 5.4% (dominated by poultry sector) and a stable GDP contribution of 2.1-3.6%, budget allocations remained <1% of total outlay in subsequent plan periods. A host of interrelated factors such as technical, institutional, and social, are affecting the development of the livestock sector. A comprehensive policy for the livestock sector was launched only in 2005 whose effective implementation and success remains to be seen. Government should encourage private investment in livestock sector but quality assurance of day old chicks, drugs, vaccines, feeds, and breeding materials through legal and regulatory framework is necessary for sustainable development of the livestock sector.

This study examines whether crop diversification provides economy in energy use and improves tech... more This study examines whether crop diversification provides economy in energy use and improves technical energy efficiency using a large survey data of 2,075 farms from 17 districts in Bangladesh by applying a stochastic input-distance function approach. The results reveal that cereal production significantly increases energy use by 0.14% for every one percent increase` in output. Renewable source of energy constitutes 59.6% of total inputs and labour energy alone constitutes 39%. Significant output complementarity exists between cereal and oilseed enterprises but competition exist between jute with pulse and/or oilseed enterprises. The mean technical energy efficiency is estimated at 68% implying that energy output can be increased by 32% by eliminating inefficiency. Diversification amongst enterprises is associated with energy inefficiency, implying that specialization into cereals improves efficiency. Large farms are inefficient whereas large family size improves efficiency.

This study is tailored to assess the financial and economic profitability of some major crops wit... more This study is tailored to assess the financial and economic profitability of some major crops with a view to update information that are already documented in the literature. It also tries to examine whether the financial (private) and economic (social) profitability vary in accordance with some additional dimensions (e.g. agro-ecosystem, technology, variety) affecting production of the crops. This research contributes to a better understanding of the factors that influence financial and economic profitability of agricultural crops. In addition, this study highlights how policy changes might affect profitability and production of different crops and how these factors can help to explain recent changes in agricultural land use in Bangladesh.

The paper explores the potential of Khao Dawk Mali expansion in Northern Thailand as well as pres... more The paper explores the potential of Khao Dawk Mali expansion in Northern Thailand as well as presents estimation of demand for variable inputs and choice of rice varieties as jointly determined by the profitmaximizing farmers. Results reveal that, Khao Dawk Mali provides economic advantage over glutinous varieties and can be conceived as a better alternative crop particularly in areas with inadequate irrigation and water control facilities. Consideration of the possibility of rice variety switching, that is, allowing the movement along a meta-production function, improved the elasticity estimates. A two-stage switching regression procedure which adjusts for selectivity bias is used to estimate the model. From the viewpoint of both costeffectiveness and distributional consideration, price policies for raising rice yields and farm income in Chiang Mai province should focus on rice prices and tractor power prices.

Environmental conditions significantly affect production, but are often ignored in studies analys... more Environmental conditions significantly affect production, but are often ignored in studies analysing productivity and efficiency leading to biased results. In this study, we examine the influence of selected environmental and managerial factors on productivity and efficiency in wheat farming in Bangladesh. Results reveal that environmental production conditions significantly affect parameters of the production function, technical efficiency as well as correlates

Geography Compass, 2014

The paper provides an overview of farmers' awareness and a typology of adaptation strategies unde... more The paper provides an overview of farmers' awareness and a typology of adaptation strategies undertaken in order to combat climate change at the farm-level in developing countries. The review suggests that the extent to which farmers are aware of climate change is uneven, and the link between perception and action, is often unclear.. Farmers adopt a range of strategies from financial responses, to agricultural changes, to religious and cultural strategies, to the use of local and wider support networks. However, whether these actions are adaptation or coping strategies is debatable. Response to climate change has both spatial and temporal dimensions. A host of socio-economic factors (e.g., lack of resources, gender or cultural identities) influence adaptation strategies. Finally, these adaptation strategies can be seen as nested within broadly defined livelihood strategies.

International Journal of Agricultural Management, 2013

Malaysian palm oil in the future, based on monthly futures price data for a 25 year period (mid-1... more Malaysian palm oil in the future, based on monthly futures price data for a 25 year period (mid-1986 to mid-2011). Model diagnostic has confirmed non-normal distribution of palm oil price data, thereby justifying the use of EVT. Two principal approaches to model extreme values -the Block Maxima (BM) and Peak-Over-Threshold (POT) models -were used. Both models revealed that the palm oil price will peak at an incremental rate in the next 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 year periods. The price growth level in Year-5 is estimated at 17.6% and 44.6% in Year-100 using BM approach. Use of the POT approach indicated a growth rate of 37.6% in Year-5 and 50.8% in Year 100, respectively. The key conclusion is that although the POT model outperformed the BM model, both approaches are effective in providing predictions of growth in prices caused by extreme events. The results could serve as a useful guide to farmers, exporters, governments, and other stakeholders of the palm oil industry informing strategic planning for the future.

Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 2014

ABSTRACT The paper measures the level of crop diversity and identifies factors influencing divers... more ABSTRACT The paper measures the level of crop diversity and identifies factors influencing diversification using a panel data of 17 regions of Bangladesh covering a 19 year period (1990–2008). Results revealed the trends that agricultural areas allocated to high-yielding variety rice, spices and vegetables has increased, while areas cultivating traditional rice, minor cereals, oilseeds, pulses, jute and sugarcane has declined at variable rates across regions with significant differences. The level of crop diversity is also significantly different across regions and has decreased in 2008 from its 1990 level in most regions except Faridpur, Khulna and Sylhet. Among the determinants, an increase in the relative prices of vegetables and urea fertilizer, extension expenditure, labour stock per farm, average farm size, irrigation and a reduction in livestock per farm significantly increase crop diversity. Price policies to improve vegetable prices and investment in irrigation infrastructure and extension services are suggested to promote crop diversity in Bangladesh.

Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in Bangladesh and its production is expanding rapi... more Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in Bangladesh and its production is expanding rapidly. However, wheat production is very sensitive to environmental production conditions and managerial practices. The present chapter first provides a detailed account of the profitability and production practices of wheat cultivation in Bangladesh using a sample survey of 293 households from three regions. The chapter then examines the effect of environmental production conditions and managerial factors on wheat yield using a reduced form regression analysis. Results reveal that wheat cultivation is profitable as indicated by Benefit-Cost Ratio of 1.41 with significant variation among regions. There are significant variations in production practices of wheat cultivation across regions as well. A host of environmental and managerial factors adversely affect wheat yield explaining a substantial 77% of variation in its yield performance. Wheat yield is significantly lower in low lying areas and poor soils. Also, yield is significantly affected by pest infestation and weather variations. Among the managerial factors, farmers' education and access to various sources of agricultural information significantly improves wheat yield, whereas a delay in sowing and fertilization significantly reduces yield. Farm size category as well as geography does matter. Productivity of wheat is significantly higher for large farmers whereas it is significantly lower in Jamalpur region. Policy implications include soil fertility improvement; development of wheat varieties that are suitable for low lying areas and are resistant to insect/pest attacks as well as can withstand weather variations; improvement in managerial practices through extension services; and investment in farmers' education.

Since the 1960s, the world poultry meat production has been growing faster than any other meat, i... more Since the 1960s, the world poultry meat production has been growing faster than any other meat, indicating its rising performance. Bangladesh poultry sector has emerged with great potential during the past two decades. Similar to other developing countries worldwide, Bangladesh also has a long historical record of poultry rearing under the scavenging system. The poultry sector in Bangladesh

Thailand is a leading producer and exporter of rubber in the world market. The interdependencies ... more Thailand is a leading producer and exporter of rubber in the world market. The interdependencies and volatility of Thai rubber price return with climatic factors (precipitation and temperature), exchange rate, and crude oil market returns are determined in this paper. Vector autoregressive moving average process with generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (VARMA-GARCH), VARMA with generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (VARMA-AGARCH), and copula-based GARCH models were employed for the analyses. The results demonstrated the interdependencies of Thai rubber price return with dollar and crude oil returns as well as with crude oil return and climatic factors in the VARMA-AGARCH and the copula-based GARCH models, respectively. We conclude that the volatility of Thai rubber price return is linked with volatility in the exchange rate and crude oil markets as well as climatic factors. Thus, stakeholders in the rubber industry should consider movements in those markets when forecasting Thai rubber price returns. Using a set of robust approaches is also recommended to obtain a complete picture of the volatilities and interdependencies of the asset markets.

The paper examines distribution, availability, output growth and planning performance of the live... more The paper examines distribution, availability, output growth and planning performance of the livestock sector in Bangladesh over the past sixty years. The livestock resources are relatively well distributed. Although availability per ha increased for all types of livestock, a count of 1.55 bovine per ha is seriously inadequate to support draught power requirements. Despite remarkable livestock product growth of 5.4% (dominated by poultry sector) and a stable GDP contribution of 2.1-3.6%, budget allocations remained <1% of total outlay in subsequent plan periods. A host of interrelated factors such as technical, institutional, and social, are affecting the development of the livestock sector. A comprehensive policy for the livestock sector was launched only in 2005 whose effective implementation and success remains to be seen. Government should encourage private investment in livestock sector but quality assurance of day old chicks, drugs, vaccines, feeds, and breeding materials through legal and regulatory framework is necessary for sustainable development of the livestock sector.

This study examines whether crop diversification provides economy in energy use and improves tech... more This study examines whether crop diversification provides economy in energy use and improves technical energy efficiency using a large survey data of 2,075 farms from 17 districts in Bangladesh by applying a stochastic input-distance function approach. The results reveal that cereal production significantly increases energy use by 0.14% for every one percent increase` in output. Renewable source of energy constitutes 59.6% of total inputs and labour energy alone constitutes 39%. Significant output complementarity exists between cereal and oilseed enterprises but competition exist between jute with pulse and/or oilseed enterprises. The mean technical energy efficiency is estimated at 68% implying that energy output can be increased by 32% by eliminating inefficiency. Diversification amongst enterprises is associated with energy inefficiency, implying that specialization into cereals improves efficiency. Large farms are inefficient whereas large family size improves efficiency.

This study is tailored to assess the financial and economic profitability of some major crops wit... more This study is tailored to assess the financial and economic profitability of some major crops with a view to update information that are already documented in the literature. It also tries to examine whether the financial (private) and economic (social) profitability vary in accordance with some additional dimensions (e.g. agro-ecosystem, technology, variety) affecting production of the crops. This research contributes to a better understanding of the factors that influence financial and economic profitability of agricultural crops. In addition, this study highlights how policy changes might affect profitability and production of different crops and how these factors can help to explain recent changes in agricultural land use in Bangladesh.

The paper explores the potential of Khao Dawk Mali expansion in Northern Thailand as well as pres... more The paper explores the potential of Khao Dawk Mali expansion in Northern Thailand as well as presents estimation of demand for variable inputs and choice of rice varieties as jointly determined by the profitmaximizing farmers. Results reveal that, Khao Dawk Mali provides economic advantage over glutinous varieties and can be conceived as a better alternative crop particularly in areas with inadequate irrigation and water control facilities. Consideration of the possibility of rice variety switching, that is, allowing the movement along a meta-production function, improved the elasticity estimates. A two-stage switching regression procedure which adjusts for selectivity bias is used to estimate the model. From the viewpoint of both costeffectiveness and distributional consideration, price policies for raising rice yields and farm income in Chiang Mai province should focus on rice prices and tractor power prices.

Environmental conditions significantly affect production, but are often ignored in studies analys... more Environmental conditions significantly affect production, but are often ignored in studies analysing productivity and efficiency leading to biased results. In this study, we examine the influence of selected environmental and managerial factors on productivity and efficiency in wheat farming in Bangladesh. Results reveal that environmental production conditions significantly affect parameters of the production function, technical efficiency as well as correlates

Geography Compass, 2014

The paper provides an overview of farmers' awareness and a typology of adaptation strategies unde... more The paper provides an overview of farmers' awareness and a typology of adaptation strategies undertaken in order to combat climate change at the farm-level in developing countries. The review suggests that the extent to which farmers are aware of climate change is uneven, and the link between perception and action, is often unclear.. Farmers adopt a range of strategies from financial responses, to agricultural changes, to religious and cultural strategies, to the use of local and wider support networks. However, whether these actions are adaptation or coping strategies is debatable. Response to climate change has both spatial and temporal dimensions. A host of socio-economic factors (e.g., lack of resources, gender or cultural identities) influence adaptation strategies. Finally, these adaptation strategies can be seen as nested within broadly defined livelihood strategies.

International Journal of Agricultural Management, 2013

Malaysian palm oil in the future, based on monthly futures price data for a 25 year period (mid-1... more Malaysian palm oil in the future, based on monthly futures price data for a 25 year period (mid-1986 to mid-2011). Model diagnostic has confirmed non-normal distribution of palm oil price data, thereby justifying the use of EVT. Two principal approaches to model extreme values -the Block Maxima (BM) and Peak-Over-Threshold (POT) models -were used. Both models revealed that the palm oil price will peak at an incremental rate in the next 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 year periods. The price growth level in Year-5 is estimated at 17.6% and 44.6% in Year-100 using BM approach. Use of the POT approach indicated a growth rate of 37.6% in Year-5 and 50.8% in Year 100, respectively. The key conclusion is that although the POT model outperformed the BM model, both approaches are effective in providing predictions of growth in prices caused by extreme events. The results could serve as a useful guide to farmers, exporters, governments, and other stakeholders of the palm oil industry informing strategic planning for the future.

Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 2014

ABSTRACT The paper measures the level of crop diversity and identifies factors influencing divers... more ABSTRACT The paper measures the level of crop diversity and identifies factors influencing diversification using a panel data of 17 regions of Bangladesh covering a 19 year period (1990–2008). Results revealed the trends that agricultural areas allocated to high-yielding variety rice, spices and vegetables has increased, while areas cultivating traditional rice, minor cereals, oilseeds, pulses, jute and sugarcane has declined at variable rates across regions with significant differences. The level of crop diversity is also significantly different across regions and has decreased in 2008 from its 1990 level in most regions except Faridpur, Khulna and Sylhet. Among the determinants, an increase in the relative prices of vegetables and urea fertilizer, extension expenditure, labour stock per farm, average farm size, irrigation and a reduction in livestock per farm significantly increase crop diversity. Price policies to improve vegetable prices and investment in irrigation infrastructure and extension services are suggested to promote crop diversity in Bangladesh.