Soil Condition in Nayakrishi Area

Soil and water management issues were discussed in the 17^th UBINIG staff member improvement meeting on the third day. Soil condition was discussed in the first session. Staff members of UBINIG and farmers of Nayakrishi movement of Arshinagor Biddaghor, Ishwardi, Nobopran Akhrabari, Kustia, Ridoypur Biddaghor, Tangail, Nonabari Biddaghor, Badarkhali, Cox’s bazar, and Shyamoli, Dhaka, Center discussed on the soil samples brought along with them.

They discussed the soil type, its attributes, and the crops grown. Seed germinates in the soil, plants yield crops. Soil is composed of mineral elements in a natural process. Nayakrishj kormi and Nayakrishi farmers are discussing soil condition when all other farmers across Bangladesh have been using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides for crop production. This has been done with a view to providing greater benefits regardless of soil health. The productivity of Bangladesh's soil has eroded to a great extent; all sorts of life forms, including microbes, biodiversity, soil, water, and the environment, have been exposed to great risk due to the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers.

On the other hand, the Nayakrishi farmers have been practicing biodiversity-based agriculture. With a view to maintaining soil health and increasing productivity, they have been practicing mixed cropping and crop rotation. They have been using their own, local varieties of seeds, organic manure and compost. The objectives of this discussion are to know status of soil and to decide the future course of actions.

Table 1. Description of soil collected from Nayakrishi centers area

 Arshinagor Biddaghor, in the Ishwardi region, is a plain formed by siltation from the great river Padma, yet it is a drought-prone area. Loam and sandy loam are the types of soil in this area. Major crops grown in this soil include rice, wheat, mustard, jute, shim, okra, brinjal, green chili, bitter gourd, ash gourd, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, carrot, etc.

Nayakrishi farmer Sanowara Begum presented her practical experience of soil. She highlighted the description of clay soil and loam soil.  In sandy soil with low water-holding capacity, only leafy vegetables, stem amaranth, and tuber crops grow well. Loam soil, being rich and well-balanced in nutrients, allows most crops to grow well, including cumin, potato, brinjal, green chili, tomato, water-gourd, cucumber, bitter gourd, lentil, mung, chickpea, and mustard. Rice also grows if there is water available. It appeared from her presentation that she follows Nayakrishi soil management principles with confidence.

On the other hand, soil from the Satoil beel has been described as clay soil. The clay soil is very soft when wet but very hard when dry. There is a higher quantity of mineral elements in this soil. Because rice plants love water, clay soil is very suitable for rice production.

Kumarkhali Upazila of Kushtia district is situated in the south-west of Bangladesh. This region is a plain land formed by silt carried by the great Padma River and its branches. Here, there is mainly loamy soil.

The soil of the beel area is mainly clay, and that char-land is sandy loam. Rice and vegetables grow in this locality. The Nayakrishi farmers have demonstrated loam, silty, sandy loam, and clay soils. Most crops grow well in loam and silty soil. Loam and silty soil are good for crop production because they have high water-holding capacity; at the same time, they can drain excess water.

There is sufficient organic matter and mineral content in silty soil, contributing to better crop yields. On the other hand, there is a balanced status of water and organic matter in loam soil, for which crops grow well in this soil. The farmers in the Kumarkhali region follow Nayakrishi principles for soil management.

Delduar Upazila and the Tangail district are the floodplain of the Jamuna River and its branches. The soil of this region is mainly loam and silty. Rice grows in three seasons. Jute grows in kharif-1 and mustard in rabi season. The major vegetables include water gourd, red amaranth, stem amaranth, ash gourd, sweet gourd, spinach, shim, okra, cauliflower and cabbage.

The Nayakrishi farmers of Tangial demonstrated and discussed three types of soil. These included sandy soil near the Dhaleshwari river, silty loam and clay soil. Tuber crops grow well in sandy loam soil. The farmers mentioned radish, potato, onion, garlic, wheat, barley, cheena, and groundnut for silty loam soil. Cereals and groundnuts for silty loam soil. Cereals and groundnut were mentioned for silty soil. Rice grows well in clay soil.

Sonatoni Char-land is in Shahjadpur Upazila, Sirajganj District. This is a charland of the Jamuna River. Ansar Ali, a Nayakrishi farmer of Sonatoni, mentioned that there are two types of soil in this char-land—sandy loam and clay soil. The char-land is annually flooded, and organic matter and mineral elements are added. As a result, there is good crop growth. Foxtail millet, groundnut, and sweet potato grow well. Pulse, vegetables including pointed gourd, brinjal, bitter gourd and okra grow here. Local varieties of rice and jute are grown here.

The Nayakrishi farmers here do not need to do anything extra for soil management in terms of organic ingredients or compost. In addition, the charland is over-flooded every year in the rainy season. Moreover, there is no need to prepare land for crop production.  They only need to sow seed by broadcasting and harvest the crop at optimum maturity.

Badarkhali center, Chokoria, Cox’s bazar district is at coastal region. In the recent past, it was part of Chokoria Sundarbon. Now it is eroded. The Matamohuri River passes from east to southwest and joins the Bay of Bengal. There are regular high tides and low tides in this river. Three types of soil have been reported from Badarkhali. These are clay soil, silty clay and silty soil. It is tough to grow crops here because of salinity, salt-tolerant rice varieties, and some vegetables are grown here. At present the farmers follow Nayakrishi principles, add organic manure and grow some selected crops and vegetables.

The Turag River, west of Dhaka City, is severely polluted by industrial and tannery waste, as well as waste from mechanized boats. The soil along the banks of the Turag River is polluted by the river's water.

Finally it was mentioned that the Nayakrishi farmers grow crops based on the type of soil. They also take care of the soil as needed to produce a good crop. On the other hand, conventional farmers apply chemical fertilizers regardless of soil type, with the objective of growing more crops and achieving higher yields. The application of chemical fertilizer will not contribute to high yield if there is no organic matter in the soil. Moreover, there will be heavy pest infestation and disc disease. It is the reality. Finding no alternative, conventional farmers have been increasing pesticide doses. They are not giving any importance to soil fertility and nutrient content. It has been reported that the organic matter content of most soils in Bangladesh has declined to nearly 1%. However, there is a need for at least 3% organic matter in soil for good crop production. Under these circumstances, the soils in Nayakrishi farmers’ fields are in good condition. It is expected that the soil in Nayakrishi farmers’ fields will continue to improve if they maintain the present trend. It is essential to take proper care of the soil to produce a good crop today and maintain healthy soil for posterity.

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