Land Use Change from Rice to Maize Farming in Northern Region of Bangladesh: Identifying Causes and Future Prospects

Maize is gaining importance in recent years as a promising crop, but some constraints are intensifying with increased concern over input supply and soil-related environmental sustainability. So, we were interested to assess the financial profitability of maize production over the existing rice cropping system and factors responsible for changing land-use decisions in Northern Bangladesh. The comprehensive comparison revealed that maize farmers got higher returns than the farmers producing boro rice as the calculated BCR for the former (2.14) was higher than the later (1.29). The results of regression analysis showed that maize labor use, maize gross margin, availability of rice for home consumption, and the least rice-producing area had a significant effect on deciding to shift the land from rice to maize cultivation. Therefore, there was a great prospect of maize farming in the study area as a profitable enterprise.