Journal of Applied Agricultural Economics and Policy Analysis, 2021, Vol. 4, No. 1, 40-46 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/jaaepa/4/1/5 Published by Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/jaaepa-4-1-5 Productivity and Profitability of Strip Cropping and Shifting Cultivation in Bandarban, Bangladesh Abdul Hamid 1,* , Abdul Gafur 1 , Ashrafun Nahar 2 , G.M. Monirul Alam 2 , Sonia Rashid 1 Md. Farid Uddin 3 , Md. Kamrul Islam 3 , M.A. Mannan Mollah 4 , Mong Sanue Marma 5 1 Agrarian Research Foundation, 315 Krishibid City, Savar, Dhaka 1340, Bangladesh 2 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur 1706, Bangladesh 3 Cotton Development Board, Rear Building, Khamarbari, Khamarbari Sarak, Dhaka 1215, Bangladesh 4 Agriculture Department, Kazi Azimuddin College, Joydebpur, Gazipur 1700, Bangladesh 5 Hill Cotton Research Station, Balaghata, Bandarban 1600, Bangladesh *Corresponding author: Received July 10, 2021; Revised August 14, 2021; Accepted August 23, 2021 Abstract Agricultural production in the Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT), located in southeast corner of Bangladesh, is constrained by farmers’ socio-economic conditions and land topography. Farmers practice low input based, labor intensive shifting cultivation in the uplands as livelihood strategy. Productivity is low and most farm households suffer from food insecurity. Despite efforts of controlling shifting cultivation, no better options for farmers are available. In this paper we provide an analysis of the performance of strip cropping system in comparison with traditional shifting cultivation. Data were collected conducting participatory on-farm experiments involving farmers representing three tribes in three villages covering two upazilas of Bandarban district during 2020-2021. Upland rice, maize and cotton were grown in strips following standard planting configuration for each crop and simultaneously growing crops in shifting cultivation at farmers’ choice. Results indicated that strip cropping of maize, rice and cotton in combination produced higher economic return than the crops grown in shifting cultivation. Switching to new cropping practice will require training and policy support. Keywords: shifting cultivation, tribal farmers, strip cropping, participatory on-farm trial Cite This Article: Abdul Hamid, Abdul Gafur, Ashrafun Nahar, G.M. Monirul Alam, Sonia Rashid, Md. Farid Uddin, Md. Kamrul Islam, M.A. Mannan Mollah, and Mong Sanue Marma, “Productivity and Profitability of Strip Cropping and Shifting Cultivation in Bandarban, Bangladesh.” Journal of Applied Agricultural Economics and Policy Analysis, vol. 4, no. 1 (2021): 40-46. doi: 10.12691/jaaepa-4-1-5. 1. Introduction The Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) comprising three hill districts of Bangladesh located in the country’s southeastern corner, bordering with Tripura (India) in the north, Mizoram (India) and Myanmar in the east and south, covers an area of 13,295 km 2 , approximately one-tenth of the country. The population of the CHT is about 1.5 million. Compared with landmass, population in the CHT is much low. The region is home to 12 tribes and Bengali population. Overwhelming majority is the tribal population. Most tribal people live in the hills and mountains in rural settings and agriculture is their major livelihood strategy. The land area of the CHT is covered by undulating hills and mountains. The proportion of land suitable for growing crops is about 7% of total area. Depending on land topography two types of crop agriculture are followed. The valley lands with source of perennial water supply allow intensive crop production throughout the year. Rice, vegetables, cotton, tobacco and quick growing fruits are grown in the valley lands. In the sloping uplands farmers adopt indigenous practices of shifting cultivation relying on natural precipitation. Literatures on shifting cultivation or swidden cultivation abound [1-5]. Shifting cultivation is an old practice of crop growing in the upland in the tropical countries of Asia, Africa and South America [7,8,9]. In the CHT and adjoining southeastern states of India shifting cultivation is popularly known as jhum. With economic growth, market liberalization and market-led demand for high value crops, jhum system is undergoing transformation throughout Asian uplands. Shifting cultivation is blamed for being ‘primitive practice’ and ‘low productive’ and thus considered unsustainable. Land degradation and loss of forest cover in the CHT is generally attributed to shifting cultivation [10,11,12]. With improving road communication and growing market demand, some farmers and entrepreneurs are growing fruit orchards. Some of the jhum farming areas are being converted to orchards, but the total area under jhum is believed to have remained stabilized somewhere around 40,000 ha. However, reliable statistics on shifting