Economic efficiency of land-use systems in the seasonally flooded areas of Comilla, Bangladesh

Abstract

This study aimed to justify the economic efficiency of existing land-use patterns in the seasonally flooded areas to estimate the socioeconomic contribution of fish culture in the seasonally flooded rice fields and to find out the tree plantation scope together with current land-use systems. The average net benefit of the fish farms was found to be US$48,645 (US$1 = 69 BDT). For the overall system on an annual basis, an additional average net income of US$1584/ha was achieved and for which the net benefit obtained from the unit area was raised to US$2734/ha. However, US$1150/ha from rice was the only return from the same land before the introduction of fish farming. It was estimated that about 1.4 million trees can be planted along the floodwalls of the farms which will ultimately increase the net return from per unit land to another fold and improve the environmental quality. Thus, this integrated land management system has high potential for the poverty alleviation in the rural areas and adaptation to the unavoidable climatic disturbances. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.