Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Rice farming sustainability assessment in Bangladesh

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Sustainability Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 03 December 2013

Abstract

Farming sustainability is primordial to long-term socioeconomic development. This study assesses rice farming sustainability in Bangladesh by developing a composite indicator (CI) under the four pillars of sustainability and examines the main determining factors. The assemblage of top-down and bottom-up approaches were applied to generate an essential set of indicators and data were collected through a household survey from 15 villages of three major rice growing ecosystems. The results revealed that less than half of the rice growers were sustainable in terms of economical viability, ecological benefits, and quality of life. By category, Boro rice farming was found to be the most sustainable, followed by Aman and Aus rice farming. Human capital development, increasing land productivity, use of resource conserving practices and technologies, and information availability and accessibility were the main factors promoting rice farming sustainability. The findings indicated that the construction of CI by employing several methodologies such as normalisation provide straightforward and clear-cut policy inputs. The major policy implications that emerged from the findings of the study are outlined to actualise rice farming sustainability, which contributes to sustainable development in Bangladesh.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agriculture Census (1996) Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Division, Ministry of planning, Government of Bangladesh (GoB), Dhaka

  • Alauddin M, Quiggin J (2008) Agricultural intensification, irrigation and the environment in South Asia: issues and policy options. Ecol Econ 65:111–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babbie E (1995) The practice of social research. Wadsworth, Washington, pp 161–175

    Google Scholar 

  • BARC (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council) (2011) Research priorities in Bangladesh agriculture, final draft. In: Hussain G, Iqbal A (Eds) GoB, Dhaka

  • Barrow CJ, Chan NW, Bin Masron T (2008) Evolving more sustainable sustainable agriculture in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Int J Agric Resour Gov Ecol 7(6):450–468

    Google Scholar 

  • Barth M, Michelsen G (2013) Learning for change: an educational contribution to sustainability science. Sustain Sci 8:103–119. doi:10.1007/s11625-012-0181-5

    Google Scholar 

  • BBS (2010) Statistical yearbook of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Division, Ministry of planning, GoB, Dhaka

  • BBS (2011) Statistical yearbook of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Division, Ministry of planning, GoB, Dhaka

  • BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) (2008) Statistical yearbook of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistics Division, Ministry of planning, GoB, Dhaka

  • Bell S, Morse S (2008) Sustainability indicators: measuring the incommensurable?. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Binder CR, Feola G, Steinberger JK (2010) Considering the normative, systemic and procedural dimensions in indicator-based sustainability assessments in agriculture. Environ Impact Assess Rev 30:71–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Böhringer C, Patrick EP, Jochem PEP (2007) Measuring the immeasurable—a survey of sustainability indices. Ecol Econ 63:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond A, Morrison-Saunders A, Pope J (2012) Sustainability assessment: the state of the art. Impact Assess Proj Apprais 30(1):53–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd H, Charles A (2006) Creating community-based indicators to monitor sustainability of local fisheries. Ocean Coast Manage 49:237–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brand DA, Saisana M, Rynn LA, Pennoni F, Lowenfels AB (2007) Comparative analysis of alcohol control policies in 30 Countries. PLoS Med 4(4):752–759

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi HSC, Sirakaya E (2006) Sustainability indicators for managing community tourism. Tour Manage 27:1274–1289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chowdhury MT (2009) Sustainability of accelerated rice production in Bangladesh: technological issues and the environment. Bangladesh J Agric Res 34(3):523–529

    Google Scholar 

  • Costanza R (2000) The dynamics of the ecological footprint concept. Ecol Econ 32:341–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahal BD, Sitaula BK, Sharma S, Bajracharya RM (2007) Effects of agricultural intensification on the quality of rivers in rural watersheds of Nepal. J Food Agric Environ 5:341–347

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dantsis T, Douma C, Giourga C, Loumou A, Polychronaki EA (2010) A methodological approach to assess and compare the sustainability level of agricultural plant production systems. Ecol Indic 10:256–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) (2012) Global food security index 2012: an assessment of food affordability, availability and quality. The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, London

  • Emerson J, Esty DC, Levy MA, Kim CH, Mara V, de Sherbinin A, Rebotnjak T (2010) Environmental performance index 2010. Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • Esty DC, Levy MA, Srebotnjak T, de Sherbinin A (2005) 2005 Environmental sustainability index: benchmarking national environmental stewardship. Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy, New Haven

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2011) Climate change, water and food security. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Field A (2009) Discovering statistics using SPSS, 3rd edn. SAGE, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Freebairn DM, King CA (2003) Reflections on collectively working toward sustainability: indicators for indicators! Aust J Exp Agric 43:223–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freudenberg M (2003) Composite indicators of country performance: a critical assessment, OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers, 2003/16, OECD Publishing

  • Gafsi M, Favreau JL (2010) Appropriate method to assess the sustainability of organic farming systems. In: 9th European IFSA symposium, 4–7 July 2010, Vienna, Austria

  • Gasparatos A, El-Haram M, Horner M (2008) A critical review of reductionist approaches for assessing the progress towards sustainability. Environ Impact Asses Rev 28:286–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson RB, Hassan S, Holtz S, Tansey J, Whitelaw G (2005) Sustainability assessment: criteria and processes. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Limón JA, Sanchez-Fernandez G (2010) Empirical evaluation of agricultural sustainability using composite indicators. Ecol Econ 69:1062–1075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gowda MJC, Jayaramaiah KM (1998) Comparative evaluation of rice production systems for their sustainability. Agric Ecosyst Environ 69:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handoh IC, Hidaka T (2010) On the timescales of sustainability and futurability. Futures 42:743–748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris LM (2011) Modeling a cost-effective IPM dissemination strategy for vegetables and rice: an example in South Asia. MSc Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State, Blacksburg, VA University

  • Hueting R, Reijnders L (2004) Broad sustainability contra sustainability: the proper construction of sustainability indicators. Ecol Econ 50(3–4):249–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IRRI (2012) http://ricestat.irri.org/vis/wrs_quickCharts.php

  • Islam N, Rahman MM (2012) An assessment of crop diversification in Bangladesh: a spatial analysis. Appl Econ Lett 19:29–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Zhao Y, Zhao H (2008) Assessment indicators and methods for developing the sustainability of mining communities. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol 15:S35–S43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) (2005) Millennium ecosystem assessment ecosystems and human well-being. Island, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) (2008) Bangladesh climate change strategy and action plan 2008. MoEF, GoB, Dhaka

    Google Scholar 

  • Monroy-Ortiz C, García-Moya E, Romero-Manzanares A, Sánchez-Quintanar C, Luna-Cavazos M, Uscanga-Mortera E, Gonzalez-Romero V, Flores-Guido JS (2009) Participative generation of local indicators for conservation in Morelos, Mexico. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol 16(6):381–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morse S, McNamara N, Acholo M, Okwoli B (2001) Sustainability indicators: the problem of integration. Sustain Dev 9:1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munda G (2005) Measuring sustainability: a multi-criterion framework. Environ Dev Sustain 7(1):117–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munda G (2008) Social multi-criteria evaluation for a sustainable economy. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nardo M, Saisana M, Saltelli A, Tarantola S (2005) Tools for composite indicators building. EUR 21682 EN, European Communities, 2005, Italy

  • Nicoletti G, Scarpetta S, Boyland O (2000) Summary indicators of product market regulation with extension to employment protection legislation. Economics Department Working Paper No 226, ECO/WKP(99)18

  • OECD (2008) Handbook on constructing composite indicators: methodology and user guide. OECD, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedhazur EJ (1982) Multiple regression in behavioral research, 2nd edn. Holt, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Perfecto I, Vandermeer J (2008) Biodiversity conservation in tropical agro-ecosystems—a new conservation paradigm. N Y Acad Sci 1134:173–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pintér L, Hardi P, Martinuzzi A, Hall J (2011) Bellagio STAMP: principles for sustainability assessment and measurement. Ecol Indic 17:20–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty J (2003) Social capital and the collective management of resources. Science 302(1912):1915

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretty J (2008) Agricultural sustainability: concepts, principles and evidence. Phil Trans R Soc B 363:447–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty J, Noble AD, Bossio D, Dixon J, Hine RE, Penning De Vries FWT, Morison JIL (2006) Resource conserving agriculture increases yields developing countries. Environ Sci Technol 40:1114–1119

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam RD (1993) Making democracy work: civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman AM, Alam SS, Alam MR, Rashid MU, Rabbani M (2008) Risks, vulnerability, and adaptation in Bangladesh. Human Development Report 2007/08

  • Rasul G, Thapa GB (2004) Sustainability of ecological and conventional agricultural systems in Bangladesh: an assessment based on environmental, economic and social perspectives. Agric Syst 79:327–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raut N, Sitaula BK, Roshan M, Bajracharya RM (2010) Agricultural intensification: linking with livelihood improvement and environmental degradation in mid-hills of Nepal. J Agric Environ 11:2010

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed M, Fraser EDG, Morse S, Dougill AJ (2005) Integrating methods for developing sustainability indicators to facilitate learning and action. Ecol Soc 10(1):r3

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed MS, Dougill AJ, Baker TR (2008) Participatory indicator development: what can ecologists and local communities learn from each other? Ecol Appl 18:1253–1269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reig-Martínez E, Gómez-Limón JA, Picazo-Tadeo AJ (2011) Ranking farms with a composite indicator of sustainability. Agric Econ 42:561–575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossing WAH, Zander P, Josien E, Groot JCJ, Meyer BC, Knierim A (2007) Integrative modelling approaches for analysis of impact of multifunctional agriculture: a review for France, Germany and the Netherlands. Agric Ecosyst Environ 120:41–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy R, Chan NW (2012) An assessment of agricultural sustainability indicators in Bangladesh: review and synthesis. Environmentalist 32(1):99–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy R, Chan NW, Rainis R (2013) Development of indicators for sustainable rice farming in Bangladesh: a case study with participative multi-stakeholder involvement. World Appl Sci J 22:672–682

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy R, Chan NW, Uemura T, Imura H (2013) The vision of agrienvironmental sustainability in Bangladesh: how the policies, strategies and institutions delivered? J Environ Prot 4:40–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Saisana M (2008) 2007 Composite learning index: robustness issues and critical assessment. Joint Research Centre, EU, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  • Saisana M (2010) Tips and tricks, constructing composite indicators: from theory to practice. Joint Research Centre, EU, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  • Saisana M, Annoni P, Nardo M (2009) A robust model to measure governance in African countries, EUR 23773 EN 2009, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra

  • Sattar SA (2000) Bridging the rice yield gap in Bangladesh. In: Papademetriou MK, Dent FJ, Herath EM (eds) Bridging the rice yield gap in the Asia-Pacific Region. FAO, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Bangkok, Thailand

    Google Scholar 

  • Shahid S, Behrawan H (2008) Drought risk assessment in the western part of Bangladesh. Nat Hazards 46:391–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Calker KJ, Berentsen PBM, Romero C, Giesen GWJ, Huirne RBM (2006) Development and application of a multi-attribute sustainability function for Dutch dairy farming systems. Ecol Econ 57(4):640–658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Von Wirén-Lehr S (2001) Sustainability in agriculture-an evaluation of principal goal oriented concepts to close the gap between theory and practice. Agric Ecosyst Environ 84(2):115–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (2008) World development report 2008: agriculture for development. Washington, DC

  • Wright S (1934) The method of path coefficients. Ann Math Stat 5:161–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang BZ (2000) Sustainable agricultural development in China. Shandong Press of Sciences and Technology, People’s Republic of China

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhen L, Jayant K, Routray JK, Zoebisch MA, Chen G, Xie G, Cheng S (2005) Three dimensions of sustainability of farming practices in the North China Plain: a case study from Ningjin County of Shandong Province, PR China. Agric Ecosyst Environ 105:507–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the all respondents of the survey for their valuable time and input. Editorial support from Mr. Sibly Maros and financial support from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, School of Humanities, University of Science, Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

    Ranjan Roy, Ngai Weng Chan & Ruslan Rainis

  2. Department of Agricultural Extension and Information System, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Ranjan Roy

Authors
  1. Ranjan Roy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ngai Weng Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ruslan Rainis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ranjan Roy.

Additional information

Handled by Elias T. Ayuk, Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), Ghana.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Roy, R., Chan, N.W. & Rainis, R. Rice farming sustainability assessment in Bangladesh. Sustain Sci 9, 31–44 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-013-0234-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-013-0234-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation