Agroecological Aspects of Agricultural Research in Bangladesh

Based on the author's more than twenty years of experience in soils and agricultural development in Bangladesh, this fourth volume of his collected work brings together selected papers, updated by footnotes, describing the relationships between environmental factors and Bangladesh's unique agricultural systems. The book is aimed particularly at university and college teachers through whom the author hopes to pass on his accumulated experience to the next generation of agricultural research scientists. Part I provides background information on Bangladesh's physical environment and includes a chapter describing research needs in the country's drought-pone environments. Part II comprises chapters describing how farmers in different parts of Bangladesh have adapted, and are still adapting, their cropping practices to the micro-environments of their small and fragmented holdings. Part III deals with various issues in soil management which need research attention. Part IV describes environmental factors needing to be considered in siting and monitoring agricultural trials and demonstrations, and the methods used on three field studies. In Part V, the author reviews his experience of agricultural research and development in the country, emphasizing the need for research scientists and extension officials to become more deeply aware of the environmental factors influencing cropping systems, farmers' practices and agricultural development possibilities in Bangladesh.