Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
ccastro@uady.mx
ISSN (Versión en línea): 1870-0462
MÉXICO
2008
Ahmed Imtiaj / Syed Ajijur Rahman
ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF MUSHROOMS CULTIVATION TO POVERTY
REDUCTION IN BANGLADESH
Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems,
, año/vol. 8, número 001
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
Yucatán, México
pp. 93-99
Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y el Caribe, España y Portugal
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx
Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 8 (2008): 93 - 99
93
SHORT NOTE [NOTA CORTA]
ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF MUSHROOMS CULTIVATION TO POVERTY
REDUCTION IN BANGLADESH
[VIABILIDAD ECONÓMICA DEL CULTIVO DE HONGOS COMESTIBLES
PARA LA REDUCCIÓN DE LA POBREZA EN BANGLADESH]
Ahmed Imtiaj
1
and Syed Ajijur Rahman
2*
1
Department of Botany, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh.
1
Department of Biology, University of Incheon, Incheon 402-749, Korea.
2
Department of Sociology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh.
2
Poverty Environment Network (PEN), Center for International Forestry Research
(CIFIR),Jl Cifor, Situ Gede,Sindangbarang, Bogor Barat 16680, Indonesia.
E-mail: sumonsociology@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author
SUMMAR Y
Mushroom is an important vegetable usually grows
in the forest with i ts nutritive and medicinal value.
It can also be cultivated domestically in a small
scale by landless people. The climate of Bangladesh
is highly favourable for high volume of mushroom
production. The cultivation of mushroom is one of
the lucrative agricultural job. In our study the
profitability of mushroom cultivation was found
comparatively higher than that of rice and wheat,
the most popular cash earning crops in Bangladesh.
As funding to promote the production and
consumption of mushrooms is limited, local
government and NGOs can play vital role to
develop mushroom agriculture to arise at industrial
level which can create ample employment
opportunities both in semi-urban and rural areas.
This result suggests that the potential of mushroom
cultivation could be a possible offer to alleviate
poverty and develop the life style of the vulnerable
people in Bangladesh.
Keywords: Economic analysis, Employment, Food
value, Mushroom cultivation, Poverty
RESUMEN
Los hongos comestibles son un product comestible que
generalmente crece en los bisques y cuenta con valor
medicinal y nutritive. También pueden ser cultivados
domestivamente a pequeña escala por gente sin acceso
a tierras de cultivo. El clima de Bangladesh es favorable
para la producción a escala de hongos. Su cultivo es una
actividad agrícola lucrativa. Este estudio encontró que
la rentabilidad del cultivo de hongos es mayor que el
cultivo de arroz y trigo (cultivos con alta rentabilidad en
Bangladesh). Debido a que los fondos para la
promoción de la producción y consumo de hongos son
limitados, la participación de los gobiernos locales y
ONG’s es vital para desarrollar la producción de
hongos a escala industrial, lo que crearía mayores
oportunidades de empleo tanto en área rurales como
peri-urbanas. Los resultados sugieren que el cultivo de
hongos es una oferta potencial para reducir la pobreza y
mejorar el nivel de vida de la población vulnerable en
Bangladesh.
Palabras clave: Análisis económico, empleo, valor del
alimento, cultivo de hongos comestibles, pobreza.
INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh is an agriculture based developing country
and about 84% of the population is directly or indirectly
engaged in a wide range of agricultural activities (GOB,
2007). Population density of this country is the highest
in the world is suffering from protein malnutrition with
high proportion of poverty. According to recent
estimates, 49.8 percent population lives under the
poverty line (UNDP, 2006). Population of Bangladesh
may increase from 158.66 million in 2006 to 206.02
million in 2025 and annual growth rate is 1.7 percent
(ESCAP, 2007). Reduced income coupled with
increased expenditure on healthcare in a country
already facing stiff economic challenges has worsened
the poverty situation. Due to the frequency of natural
calamities and livestock diseases in this part of the
world as well as the high cost of conventional
agricultural production, the people of Bangladesh are
anxious to develop an alternative source of protein with
Tropical and
Subtropical
Agroecosystems
Imtiaj and Rahman, 2008
94
a high potential income generation. In this situation
mushroom cultivation could be the potential offer of
solution to poverty reduction. Although knowledge and
production level are still limited in Bangladesh, yet
mushroom has focused much interest in the past few
years. One might say that the different NGO’s and
farms have literally cultivated mushrooms here recently.
It is hoped that the new hut industry of mushroom
cultivation in Bangladesh will soon provide an
important tool for income generation and the creation of
food security for thousands of households. Unlike other
agronomic crops, the set-up, costs-benefits and space
for mushroom cultivation are recommendable.
Fertilizers, machinery and pesticides are not much used,
the market price is relatively high and profit margins for
mushroom crops can be considerably higher than
traditional crops. In general the project takes very little
space and can produce returns within a short period of
time. Bangladeshi farmers who are using local varieties
of seed can grow rice and wheat crops that take an
average of four months to reach harvest maturity. This
time period is equivalent to at least two crops of
mushrooms cultivation. Considering this scenario, the
relative profitability of these three crops can be
compared even the input costs of mushrooms enterprise
were to be doubled and would still remain more
profitable than that of either rice or wheat. Therefore,
potential mushrooms cultivation may play an active role
to employment generation and thus alleviate poverty.
The main objective of this study is to focus on
alternative job opportunities which could be potential
income source as well as to prove the economic
viability of mushroom cultivation and how does it
may play to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Mushroom
Mushroom is any of various fleshy fungi,
characteristically having an umbrella-shaped cap borne
on a stalk grows usually in the forest. ‘Mushroom’ is
not a taxonomic category. The term
‘mushroom’ is ‘a
macro-fungus with a
distinctive fruiting body, which
can be either hypogeous or
epigeous, large enough to be
seen with the naked eye and to
be picked by hand’
(Chang and Miles, 1992). From a biological taxonomic
point of view,
mainly basidiomycetes but also some
species of mushrooms belong
to ascomycetes. The
number of mushroom species
on the earth is estimated
to be 140000 and only
10% are known. The proportion
of useful mushrooms
among the undiscovered and
unexamined mushrooms may be 5%, which can be of
possible
benefit to mankind (Hawksworth, 2001).
Important factors of mushroom cultivation
Spawn: The spawn of mushroom is like seed is to
crop. Unlike spore, spawn is already at its mycelia l
stage growing on its own substrate such as sawdust.
The life cycle of mushroom starts from spores, but
growers inoculate mycelial origin spawn rather than
spore origin spawn because of possible variations and
mutations. The quality of spawn is one of the most
critical factors for successful crop. Therefore, growers
need to use qualified spawn for commercial
production. Spawn maintains the strain characteristics
and is propagated by subcultures. The various types of
mushroom spawn include grain, sawdust, plug and
liquid.
Substrate: Mushrooms c an be classified as 3
categories by their tropic pattern; saprophytes,
parasites or mycorrhizae. The most commonly grown
mushrooms are saprophytes, decomposers in an
ecosystem growing on organic matters like wood,
leaves and straw in nature. Raw materials can be used
as substrate for primary decomposers such as oyster
mushroom which have lignocellulosic enzymes. On
the other hand, secondary decomposers like button
mushroom or straw mushroom require substrate
degraded by bacteria or other fungi. Mushroom
requires carbon, nitrogen and inorganic compounds as
its nutritional sources and the main nutrients are
carbon sources such as cellulose, hemice llulose and
lignin. Thus, most organic matters containing
cellulose, hemicellulose or lignin can be used as
mushroom substrate. Examples are cotton, cottonseed
hull, corncob, sugarcane waste, sawdust, and so on.
However, demanded amount of each nutritional source
differs according to mushroom species. For example,
oyster mushroom and shiitake require less nitrogen
and more carbon source but button mushroom
(Agaricus bisporus) requires relatively high nitrogen
source. Mushroom mycelia secrete digestive enzymes
into the substrate and absorb the dissolved nutrients.
Cellulose, the main nutritional source of mushroom is
one of the most abundant organic matters on earth, but
its digestive enzyme, cellulase is owned by several
microorganisms including fungi. Mushroom is also
influenced by acidity of substrate. The optimal pH
value of substrate ranges from 6 to 8, varying with
mushroom species.
Environment: The last important factor for
mushroom growing is providing an appropriate
environment both for vegetative and reproductive
growth. Not being protected by a skin layer, fungi are
easily affected by their growing conditions. So it can
be said that the success or failure of mushroom
cultivation depends on the control of growing
conditions. Environmental factors affecting mushroom
Imtiaj and Rahman, 2008
95
cultivation include temperature, humidity, light and
ventilation. Optimal levels of them at vegetative stage
differ from those at reproductive stage. Mushroom
mycelia can survive between 5 and 40
o
C depending on
the species. Mushroom mycelia grow well with the
temperature range between 20 and 30
o
C. Substrate
moisture content should be 60-75% and log moisture
content, 35-45%. During fruiting, different relative
humidity levels, ranging from 80-95%, are needed at the
early, mid and latter stage. Though mycelia like dark to
grow but some species require light for fruiting body
formation. Being aerobic fungi, mushrooms need fresh
air during growing and ventilation is more required for
reproductive stage. In conclusion, among the three
factors, the most important is environmental control. By
maintaining optimal conditions at each growing stage
and for each species, growers can produce the desired
yield of quality mushrooms.
Mushroom cultivation method in Bangladesh
There are many methods of mushroom cultivation but
bag cultivation, bottle cultivation, log cultivation and
shelf cultivation are usually common. Rice straw,
wheat straw, sugarcane waste, banana leaves, grass
and sawdust are the major fibrous residues important
for mushroom cultivation substrates. The pasteurized
substrate is usually spawned and packed into
polythene ba gs of about 30cm wide and 60~90cm
long for the bag culture of the oyster mushroom. The
growing rooms are maintained at between 18
o
C ~ 25
o
C, with a relative humidity of about 75%. Although
up to 6 flushe s may be obtained from each bag, the
first three are the most important in commercial
production. For every 10kg of dry substrate used, as
much as 20kg of mushroom can be harvested from the
first 3~4 flushes. At least 2~3kg are usually harvested
per bag. During the cooler winter season, Pleurotus
ostreatus is cultivated while the more heat tolerant P.
sajor-caju is produced in summer. The button
mushroom, most often grown by well-financed
growers, is the main export mushroom. For button
mushroom cultivation, wheat straw and cow manure
are mixed and used as substrate. Some farmers add
inorganic fertilizers and/or peat. Cultivation is carried
out in trays. Lower temperatures of about 18
o
C need
to be maintained and diseases and pests must be
closely monitored. The expenses and requirements for
strict management of the growing room have restricted
the number of newcomers going into button
mushroom production.
Data collection
Research methods were used as structured interviews
of 60 households focused especially on experiences
and actual costs and benefits of mushroom, rice and
wheat cultivation. Focus group discussion (FGD) and
observation were also carried out in order to determine
the motivation and capacities of both cultivation
practices. Other data were gathered by way of
interviews with key informants (Government, non-
government, public organizations, books and daily
newspaper) and market prospecting. The secondary
data were used from statistical yearbooks, local
administrative and various related sources. For many
elements of the study (cultivation practices, actual cost
and benefit etc.), semi-quantitative analysis was carried
out for mushroom and other crops (rice and wheat)
cultivation at the household level.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The economic analysis of mushroom production was
calculated. The production cost of first and second
round was tk. 20,000.00 (including house cost) and
tk.10,700.00 (excluding house cost), respectively.
Average net profit of first and second round was
measured tk. 10,000.00 and tk. 19,300.00, respectively.
After 4 months, average net profit was tk. 29,300.00
where total investment was tk. 20,000.00 because the
income earned from first round can be used to cultivate
second round (Table 1). The profitability of rice, wheat
and mushroom was also evaluated and found that
mushroom cultivation is the lucrative one. We
considered one acre of land for rice and wheat
cultivation, and 30' ×18' in size growing house for
mushroom cultivation. After four months, the net
income of rice and wheat were tk.12,240.00 and
tk.24,360.00 where total cost were tk.11,760.00 and
tk.7,640.00, respectively. Within the same time the cost
and benefit of mushroom was tk. 30,700.00 and
tk.29,300.00, respectively. Interestingly within this four
months period mushroom was cultivated two times
where average production cost and benefit was
tk.20,000.00 and tk.10,000.00 for the first round (costs
including house), and tk.10,700.00 and tk.19,300.00 for
the second round (costs excluding house), respectively
(Table 1 and 2). The relative profitability of these three
crops can be focused as the mushroom cultivation is
more profitable. In Zimbabwe farmers have been
benefited more by growing mushroom than maize and
wheat. The net income of mushroom, maize and wheat
are ZWD 1703000.00, ZWD 518500.00 and ZWD
1140000.00, respectively (MushWorld, 2004). This
result is quite similar to our findings. To the aim of
poverty reduction in Bangladesh, mushroom cultivation
could be potential job. Because Bangladesh is located in
a tropical monsoon climate which is ideally considered
for high elevation of mushroom production. Mushroom
cultivation can be popular to income generation among
the women in Bangladesh because of its suitability to
Imtiaj and Rahman, 2008
96
their works and life style. As they are especially
responsible for household works and taking care of
their children, thus they can easily accommodate their
time for mushroom cultivation. This product is highly
nutritious and a good food for their children and the
older as well. They also obtain some money from this
product because of its high economic value. They can
utilize the agricultural waste, and thus mushroom
cultivation can improve the life of many poor families
in Bangladesh. Cultivation of mushrooms is labor-
intensive for the countries where jobs are rare. In fact,
some technologies can use family labor thus providing
employment for all of the fa mily members.
Unfortunate ly, funding to promote the production and
consumption of mushrooms is limited in Bangladesh.
But the potential of mushroom cultivation to poverty
reduction among the vulnerable groups like women
are especially encouraged. In this context, an
assistance of the local government is important for the
development of mushroom industry which can create
job opportunities both in semi-urban and rural areas.
Here we assumed a project how farmers will pay their
loan. Our findings indicate that the growing set-up,
costs-bene fits and space for mushroom cultivation are
recommendable as well as pay back of loan is easier
than other crops. According to estimate of Table 3, the
loan tk. 20,000.00 with interest will be fully paid after
four months which is difficult for other crops. In the
estimated project, one mushroom grower can produce
about 5~6 crops, 3 tons per year on average. Therefore,
he can earn tk. 73,250.00~87,900.00 (USD 1098.70 ~
1318.14) per year.
Table 1. Economic analysis of mushroom production (USD 1= BDT 66.67)
Ite m
Quantity
Cost in BDT
Cost in USD
Straw for 200 bags
800 kg (4 kg/bag)
2,000.00
30.00
Spawn (250g/bottle)
100 bottles (BDT 25/bottle)
2,500.00
37.50
Plastic bags
large and small in size
1,000.00
15.00
Chemicals
1,000.00
15.00
Labor (30 days)
BDT 80/day
2,400.00
36.00
Miscellaneous
10% of total cost
1,800.00
27.00
House
30 feet × 18 feet
9,300.00
139.50
Total Production Cost (1
st
round*, with house cost)
20,000.00
300.00
Total Production Cost (2
nd
round, without house cost)
1,0700.00
160.00
Total Income (each round)
24,000.00-36,000.00 360.00-540.00
Net Profit (1
s
t
round)
4,000.00-16,000.00 60.00-240.00
Net Profit (2
nd
round)
13,300.00-25,300.00 200.00-380.00
Average Net Profit/4 months
29,300.00
440.00
Production cost in BDT is calculated based on the highest round figure of money, *E ach round takes 2 months , one month
for growing and another month for harvest. Total Production: 400-600 kg/2 months (2-3 kg/ba g). Price: BDT
60.00/kg
Table 2. Compared profitability of rice, wheat and oyster mushroom in Bangladesh
Ite m
Rice
Wheat
Oyster Mushroom
Expected yield/ 4 months
2.4 ton /acre 1.6 ton /acre
1 ton (500 kg/2 months)
Average price
24,000.00
32,000.00
60,000.00
Total costs
11,760.00
7,640.00
30,700.00
Net income
12,240.00
24,360.00
29,300.00
Labor (BDT 80/day)
4,160.00
2,040.00
(Production cost is shown in
Table 1)
Land preparation
1,800.00
1,500.00
Seed (rice 30 and wheat 40 kg)
600.00
1,200.00
Fertilizer/Lime
1,000.00
1,200.00
Insecticides
500.00
300.00
Transport
200.00
200.00
Irrigation
3,000.00
700.00
Miscellane ous
500.00
500.00
Compared profitability of rice, wheat (1 acre land/4 months) and oyster mushroom (30' × 18' size house/4 months) is
considered in BDT
Imtiaj and Rahman, 2008
97
Table 3. Financial aspect of the project for mushroom cultivation (USD1= BDT 66.67)
Total amount of loan
BDT 20,000.00 $ 300.00
1. Total cost
- Growing house (made up of local materials, wooden shelves)
BDT 9,300.00 $ 140.00
-Production cost
BDT 10,700.00 $ 160.00
2. Estimated income per 2 month (average)
-Total production per 2 month 500 kg (total production - loss
during handling, storage and delivery)
500 kg
(excluding damage)
-Net sales per 2 month
(total production × price per kg)
BDT 30,000.00
(500 kg × BDT 60)
$ 450.00
3. Pay back of loan (for 4 months)
-Collection per 2 month to pay back loan (33.34% of income)
BDT 10,000.00
(BDT 30,000.00/3) $ 150.00
If 35~40% of 2
nd
round’s income is collected the loan and interest will be fully paid back for 4 months
Su Decheng, a mushroom scientist, who lived in
poverty during 16 years of his life in China,
committed to help his countrymen out of poverty trap
by studying mushroom. In 1989, he started a project to
help people how they grow mushrooms for self–
sufficiency in the poverty-stricken areas of China.
Using his knowledge and experience he involved 20
students from mushroom science to train the local
people how to grow mushroom on sawdust. They
establishe d a mushroom farm to demonstrate the local
people how mushrooms c ould be cultivated. In
another location in China there were 70,000 people in
14,000 rural families living below the poverty line
with annual income of less than CNY15300 (USD
36.01). The land here was unfertile, producing only
scrub wood and little grain. In 1989, Su and his
students trained the m how to grow mushrooms,
resulting average annual income per capita increased
CNY 1800.00 (USD 216.09) in 1993, six times higher
than 1989 when the project was first started. Three
quarters of their income came from mushroom
cultivation. This interesting report demonstrates the
incredible impact of mushroom cultivation may have
in China. More than a dozen such successful story of
mushroom cultivation in China are quote d by Wu
(2000).
Mushrooms have long been favored by Asian people as
food stuff in soup. Now a day mushrooms are found in
markets throughout America, Europe, Asia as well as
Africa. Popularity of mus hrooms is ever increasing
throughout every part of the world because of its exotic
flavor and their culinary properties whether eaten alone
or in combination with other foods. But until now, it is
not well known that mushrooms are full of nutrients and
can therefore make a very important contribution to
human nutrition. Based on this theme we presented here
a comparative chart of nutritional value between shiitake
mushroom (Lentinula edodes) and other foods taken
from MushWorld 2005. The caloric value of 100g of
dried shiitake is higher than 100g of raw potatoes (66
kcal) and beef loin (224 kcal), but lower than that of
whole wheat and brown rice (328 and 350 kcal). The
protein content of dried shiitake is comparable to that of
chicken and beef but the fat count is much lower and the
dietary fiber count is considerably higher than those
meats. It contains enough sugar (59 mg) that is the
nearest of rice and wheat. In addition to dietary fiber,
dried shiitake contains higher contents of calcium (Ca),
iron (Fe), vitamins B
1
(thiamin), B
2
(riboflavin) and B
3
(niacin). But it does not contain vitamins A and C
(Table 4).
Mushroom is used as delicious item of our food menu
containing both nutritive and medicinal values (Agrahar-
Murugkar et al., 2005; Cheung and Cheung, 2005).
Shiitake contains almost all the essential amino acids,
with lysine and arginine being particularly abundant
(Liu and Bau, 1980), and methionine and
phenylalanine less abundant (Lasota and Sylwestrzak,
1989). In laboratory analysis it was found that a mino
acids, protein, glycogen, lipids, ascorbic acid, and
total ash contents increased as the fruiting body
developed. Based on these findings, it may be
desirable to consume fully mature fruiting bodies for
maximum nutritional value. Shiitake contains dietary
fiber in the ratio of 6.7g per 100g of dried shiitake,
which is a figure much higher than that for brown rice
(0.2g), and sweet potatoes (0.9g).
Imtiaj and Rahman, 2008
98
Table 4. Constituents of shiitake mushroom (Oak) and other food sources (*Dry, **Fresh).
Food source Energy
(Kcal)
Protein
(g)
Fat
(g)
Carbo. (mg) Minerals (mg) Vitamins (mg)
sugar fiber Ca Fe B
1
B
2
B
3
Shiitake* 272 18.1 3.1 57 6.7 19 3.3 0.48 1.57 19
Shiitake** 27
2 0.3 5.4 0.7 6 0.6 0.08 0.23 4.0
Chicken
180 19.0 10.6 0.1 - 11 1.1 0.20 0.21 2.7
Beef
224 17.5 15.9 0.2 - 15 1.6 0.07 0.23 4.3
Potato
66 2.5 - 14.4 0.2 04 0.6 0.20 0.06 1.0
Rice
350 7.6 2.1 74.4 2.7 06 0.7 0.23 0.008 3.6
Wheat
328 12 2.9 69 2.5 71 3.2 0.34 0.11 5.0
Source: Mushroom growers handbook-2, MushWorld 2005 (table is modified)
100g edible portion of dried/fresh shiitake mushroom and same amount of other food sources.
Dietary fiber prevents constipation, obesity, diabetes,
hypertension, colon cancer and arteriosclerosis by
lowering cholesterol level. The high amount of ergo-
sterol in fresh shiitake makes dried shiitake an
important vitamin D source because ergo-sterol
converts to vitamin D
2
in the presence of sunlight.
Exposure of shiitake to direct sunlight for 3 hours/day
increases the vitamin D
2
content up to 5 times. Sunlight
exposure also increases the free amino acid content
which is about 2,180 mg/dl in the dry fruiting bodies,
and it makes them sweeter and less bitter (Kiribuchi,
1991).
Eating mushroom can prevent various vitamin B and D
deficiencies including beri-beri
2
(thiamin); cheilosis
3
,
glossitis
4
, corneal vascularization
5
, Seborrheic
dermatitis
6
, nerve tissue damage (riboflavin); abnormal
growth in infants and children (niacin); and rickets
7
(vitamin D). Vitamin D boosts calcium absorption and
thus plays an important role in bone formation.
Mushrooms are not only sources of nutrients but have
also been reported as therapeutic foods, useful in
preventing diseases such as hypertension,
hypercholesterolemia and cancer (Bobek and Galbavy,
1999 and Bobek et al., 1995). Some recently isolated and
identified compounds, originating from mushrooms,
show other quite significant medical properties, such as
immuno-modulatory, cardiovascular, liver protective,
anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-viral
and anti-microbial activities (Wasser and Weis, 1999a;
Gunde-Cimerman, 1999; Ooi, 2000; Wasser and Weis,
1999b). Some atiifungal protein are also recognized
which shows the inhibiting activity of HIV-1 reverse
transcriptase (Ngai et al., 2005; Ngai and Ng, 2003),
possible being used for healing AIDS disorder. The
scientific evidences of mushrooms as multi-purpose
medicines on different human diseases have been
accumulated. So mushrooms can be used to combat
human diseases.
CONCLUSION
Mushroom production is the most appropriate job for
the poor landless both men and women farmers in
Bangladesh. Mushrooms can be grown in the small
space of a farmer’s own house for small scale
production and generate income that aids in the
family support. Mushroom cultivation is a most
popular activity for development programs targeting
income generation among women in Bangladesh
because it is suitable for the women’s life style. The
product is highly nutritive and a good food for their
children and old parents, and because of its high
economic value they can also earn some income
from the production. In many areas of Bangladesh
farmers have grown mushrooms in a small scale and
have benefited directly. They have managed to adopt
the technology in a simpler way whereby they can
afford to invest in a small scale. They are mainly
utilizing the agricultural waste mainly wheat and
paddy straw. Thus, mushroom cultivation may
reduce poverty and improved the life style of many
poor farmers in Bangladesh.
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Submitted August 16, 2007 – Accepted December 18, 2007
Revised received December 22, 2007