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Fertilizer System Revolutionizes Rice
Farming in Bangladesh
FrontLines - October 2010
By Mark Visocky
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Jahangir Howlader applies guti briquettes in his paddy field. The technology increases farmers’ rice
output and also saves them money in costly fertilizer.
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KASHIPUR VILLAGE,
Bangladesh—Jahangir Howlader
remembers it like it was
yesterday. In 2007, Cyclone Sidr
tore through southern Bangladesh’s
rice growing area, wiping
out his crops and those of his
family, neighbors, and friends.
His vegetable gardens were
washed away, large trees used for
timber were scattered, and his
house was badly damaged.
“After Sidr, when I saw that I
did not have any crops left on
my land, I thought that I lost my
life,” said Howlader. Rice plays
a key role in food security and
income generation for smallscale
farmers in Bangladesh.
Paradoxically, the devastation
caused by the cyclone opened
Howlader’s eyes and mind to a
new and more profitable way of
rice farming.
Howlader received a visit
from a team of extension agents
from the International Fertilizer
Development Center (IFDC)
who were promoting a fertilizer
method known as urea deep
placement (UDP). USAID,
IFDC, and Bangladeshi farmers
now are scaling up this technology
to smallholder rice farmers
as part of President Barack
Obama’s new Feed the Future
initiative, which calls
for collective global action on
agricultural development and
food security. The goal is to reach
2 million farmers in five years
and increase rice yields by 67
percent.
Using this method, farmers
place a mini-briquette, called a
guti, near the roots of the rice
plant, rather than spreading urea
over the surface of the soil as is
done in the conventional
method. The guti, which is the
size of a mothball, slowly
releases nitrogen throughout the
growing season.
The technology allows for
better absorption and efficiency
of the fertilizer while reducing
runoff, and decreases the release
of volatile greenhouse gas. Only
one application of guti briquettes
is needed, compared with three
applications of conventional
fertilizer.
Howlader listened to the
extension agents and decided to
give the UDP method a try. To his
surprise, his crop yields increased
by 25 percent—and he saved
money on expensive fertilizer.
Howlader is now spreading the
good news about guti fertilizer to
all his neighbors, and hosted a
field day promoting it to farmers
and local extension workers. Most
farmers in his area are now using
the technology on their own fields
and cultivating larger yields than
before. They are also saving the
environment from damaging pollution
and greenhouse gases, and,
to date, they have saved the government
$1.4 million on fertilizer
subsidies.
In two years, this USAIDsupported
project has reached
over 400,000 farmers. Using
UDP briquettes, fertilizer savings
can reach 40 percent, and
yields have increased by as
much as a ton per hectare, leading
to as much as $200 in additional
profits per hectare.
What started as a hopeless
situation in the aftermath of
Cyclone Sidr gave Howlader a
new lease on life. He has become
an “agricultural leader” in his
community and is eagerly teaching
others, especially women, so
they may become socially independent.
His farm now has livestock
and a fishpond, all resulting
from the larger income he has
earned from a little product the
size of a mothball.
“I cannot give money to others,
but I can give good advice to
help raise production. This advice
will benefit people now and in
the future. Maybe they will
remember me and my name for
this advice,” said Howlader. ★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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