Cost, Profitability, and Risk Analysis of Rice Production in the BORO season in Thakurgaon District, Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a country with an agriculture-based economy. Rice is the main food among Bangladeshis. There are three seasons for rice cultivation: BORO, AMAN, and AUS. Our research area was the Thakurgaon district. The local farmers cultivate rice in only two seasons, BORO and AMON. We only considered the BORO season for this research. Our research objective was to find out if the farmers are making profit or a loss in rice cultivation; we also investigate the risk of cultivation for these seasons. We have collected data through direct interviews with the farmers using a structured questionnaire. We used a stratified purposive sampling technique for collecting data. We cover the five upozilas in this district. For analyzing the data, we have used the chi-square test, as well as regression and factor analysis, to determine the risk and profitability of rice production. We found that most of the farmers benefit from rice cultivation, but the percentage of farmers who are making a loss is also not that low. One of the reasons for this is that the farmers do not have their own land, and so they have to spend extra money for the land they use for cultivation. We also found that the yield, investment cost, and return are higher for the BORO season, because farmers have to irrigate their land in the BORO season. The yield from BORO is high; as such, farmers acquire much more money in the BORO season. The risk is also high in the BORO season, because there is a risk of drought and the land has to be irrigated manually. The cost of fertilizer and pesticide is very high in this season. All the farmers suggested that the government should take necessary steps to lessen the cost of fertilizer and pesticides.