Accelerating Vegetable Productivity Improvement (AVPI)

Monthly Report (March 2017)

Funded by the Walmart Foundation

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Table of Contents

Page

Highlights .........................................................................................................................................1

Introduction ................................................................................................................................1

Results ........................................................................................................................................1

Good Agricultural Practice: A New Horizon for Anwara .........................................................4

Technical Activities ...................................................................................................................6

Reporting..........................................................................................................................................9

Tables

Table 1. Activities Conducted Through March 2017 ................................................................. 8

Table 2. Newspaper and Television Reports, News, and Publicity, March 2017 ...................... 9

Figure

Figure 1. GAP and FDP Coverage Area (ha) by Crop ................................................................. 3

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Acronyms and Abbreviations

AVPI Accelerating Vegetable Productivity Improvement BDT Bangladeshi Taka BMOs Briquetting Machine Operator DAE Department of Agricultural Extension FC Field Coordinator FDP Fertilizer Deep Placement FMO Field Monitoring Officer GAP Good Agricultural Practice ha hectare IFDC International Fertilizer Development Center IPM Integrated Pest Management kg kilogram mt metric ton NGO Non-Governmental Organization NPK Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium SAAO Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

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Accelerating Vegetable Productivity Improvement (AVPI)

Monthly Report (March 2017)

Highlights

Introduction

The AVPI project is the second partnership between the Walmart Foundation and the International

Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) to improve the livelihoods of low-income women vegetable

and fruit farmers in Bangladesh. The project has three objectives:

Objective 1: Consolidate and enhance the benefits of the 2013-15 IFDC-Walmart Foundation

intervention by expanding the use of fertilizer deep placement (FDP) and related good

agricultural practices (GAPs).

Objective 2: Introduce and pilot a second improved vegetable production technology – the use

of polynet houses with trickle irrigation – to participating women farmers.

Objective 3: Improve the market knowledge of, and market information access for, women

farmers.

The project targets the horticulture sub-sector (vegetables and fruits), which is particularly relevant

to women farmers. The project will reach an estimated 52,000 beneficiaries. This report contains a

monthly update covering project activities in March 2017.

Results

Good Management Practices Including FDP Technology in Winter 2016-17: The project

activities began in November 2016 with collecting information on GAP and FDP coverage from

28,360 women beneficiaries who were trained under IFDC-Walmart Foundation activities

during 2013-15. Transplantation of winter season horticultural crops for 2016-17 was completed

in January 2017. Through March 2017, AVPI field-level staff (field coordinators [FCs] and field

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monitoring officers [FMOs]) interviewed 13,215 beneficiaries. A total of 8,329 records were

entered into the database. An analysis of these 8,329 beneficiaries showed that 6,933

beneficiaries cultivated horticultural crops in the winter 2016-17 season. Of these 6,933

beneficiaries, 90 percent used improved varieties, practiced spacing of seeds/seedlings as per

IFDC recommendations, and applied a balanced dose of fertilizers and integrated pest

management practices. In addition, 2,543 women farmers (37 percent) also applied FDP

technology on their horticultural crop fields. These women farmers have applied FDP on 304

hectares (ha) of land. This indicates each of the beneficiaries applied FDP technology to about

30 decimals of land on average. In the winter season of 2014-15, the last winter season of the

IFDC-Walmart Foundation partnership of 2013-15, this was about 24 decimals per beneficiary.

This implies that several IFDC-Walmart Foundation-trained beneficiaries are continuing to

practice GAPs and FDP technology, obtaining good yields from their crops and, therefore,

improving the nutrition and livelihoods of their family members through increased income.

Good Management Practices Including FDP Technology in Summer 2017: The farmers

began transplanting summer 2017 vegetables and fruits in February 2017. In some of the AVPI

cluster villages, farmers started using GAPs and FDP technology in mid-February. According to

our weekly monitoring reports, the AVPI beneficiaries have brought about 694 ha of summer

2017 horticultural crops under FDP technology through March 2017. Details by crop are

provided in Figure 1.1

1 Other vegetables include yardlong bean, okra, elephant foot, and teasel gourd.

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Figure 1. GAP and FDP Coverage Area (ha) by Crop

FDP Product Production: During March, 383.00 metric tons (mt) of urea deep placement

(UDP) product (briquettes popularly known as Guti urea) were produced. To date, 1,096.00 mt

of Guti urea have been produced. In addition, 97.00 mt of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium

(NPK) Guti were produced. To date, 267.00 mt of NPK Guti were produced for the summer

2017 vegetable and fruit season. In total, 1,363 mt of Guti fertilizer products were produced for

summer vegetables.

-

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

209

143105

64 51 40 22 21 15 12 8 5

694Hectares

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Good Agricultural Practice: A New Horizon for Anwara

“Through Walmart/IFDC-supported training, I was inspired to start practicing good farm practices in my horticulture fields,” said Anwara Begum. These practices have opened new opportunities for me in increasing my crop production.” Anwara Begum, 42, is an AVPI vegetable farmer in

Barakpur village, Jhikorgacha Upazila, Jessore. She and

her husband, Abdul Khan, have grown seasonal crops,

including vegetables, on about 237 decimals of family land

for the last 26 years. They have two sons. The oldest

studies mechanical engineering in Gazipur, and the

youngest is pursuing a diploma in textile engineering in

Jessore. The couple cultivates rice on 33 decimals, jute on

27 decimals, lentils on 33 decimals, and various vegetables

(papaya, green chili, red amaranth, eggplant, and tomato)

on 111 decimals of their land. The remaining 33 decimals of land lies fallow, as it is in a low-lying

area prone to flooding. The vegetable crop yields were very low, since Abdul never wanted to apply

improved cultivation practices. According to Anwara, she received the following yield during

2013-14:

From 33 decimals of papaya, the yield was 9.6 tons.

From 55.5 decimals of chili, the yield was only 90 kilograms (kg).

From 5 decimals of red amaranth, the yield was only 30 kg.

From 5.5 decimals of eggplant, the yield was only 160 kg.

From 12 decimals of tomato, the yield was only 800 kg.

After her family’s consumption, about 70-99 percent of these crops were sold in the market, earning

a gross income of Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) 128,170.

Anwara is hard-working and dynamic. She considered ways to increase the income from her

vegetable crops. She discussed the problem with the sub-assistant agriculture officer (SAAO) of the

Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) of her village and asked for suggestions to improve

the productivity of her crops. The SAAO advised her to attend the training program organized by

IFDC exclusively for women on improving productivity of vegetables through the use of improved

Anwara Begum sets a pheromone trap in her pointed gourd field.

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technology, such as FDP. She also advised that Anwara join the integrated pest management (IPM)

club, through which she can access such information from member farmers. She became a member

of the IPM club and also decided to attend the IFDC training program.

In 2014, she participated in a two-day IFDC-Walmart Foundation training on vegetable production.

She learned how to cultivate vegetables effectively using good variety quality seeds/saplings,

optimum time of planting, spacing (plant-to-plant and row-to-row) for increased vegetable

production, balanced fertilization, appropriate irrigation management, FDP technology, and IPM

techniques to control disease and insects. This training also teaches effective product marketing and

the nutrition benefits of vegetable crops.

After the training, Anwara discussed in detail with her husband

what she learned from the sessions. She convinced her husband

to apply the good farm practices she learned from the IFDC-

Walmart Foundation training. First, she applied the techniques

to one crop on a small piece of land and purchased good quality

saplings for her eggplant field. She applied 16 kg Guti urea to

her 15-decimal homestead eggplant garden. Her vegetable

production increased dramatically in the 2014-15 season. They

harvested 3,200 kg of eggplant from 15 decimals, which had

previously yielded only 436 kg. Anwara and her husband were

pleased with the incredible increase in production. They were able to distribute 80 kg of eggplant to

her relatives and sell the remaining 3,120 kg of eggplant at a nearby market for BDT 62,400 (BDT

20/kg).

Anwara has now brought more vegetable land under GAP and FDP technologies. In the 2015-16

winter season, rice was cultivated on 33 decimals, lentil on 55.5 decimals, and vegetables (papaya,

eggplant, country bean, red amaranth, and tomato) on 148.5 decimals. Because of increased crop

productivity, her gross income rose to BDT 572,200. Anwara and her husband sold about 80-90

percent of the produce and kept the rest for home consumption.

Anwara transplanting papaya saplings in her homestead garden this summer.

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Anwara is actively involved in vegetable production activities, such as land preparation, planting,

seeding, weeding, picking, sorting, and grading. Her husband, happy with vegetable production

growth and higher profit, gave her about 33 decimals of land. “Now I can make decisions myself on

any matter, and my husband supports me on anything,” said Anwara.

Technical Activities

Farmer Training on GAPs and FDP:

During March 2017, five batches of farmer

training programs were conducted on

GAPs and FDP. In addition,

demonstrations of line spacing and FDP in

vegetable and fruit cultivation are being

practiced by each participant. A total of

200 women vegetable and fruit farmers

participated in these training programs.

Therefore, 50 batches (100 percent) of the

2017 summer season targeted training

programs are complete, with participation of 2,000 women farmers. IFDC’s director of Global

Field Programs, J.J. Rob Groot, visited some of the AVPI field activities and expressed his

satisfaction.

Motivational Meeting with IFDC-Walmart Foundation-Trained Beneficiaries: All 50

motivational meetings, or 100 percent of the summer 2017-targeted motivational meetings for

women farmers trained in 2013-15, have been completed, with participation of 2,500 women

farmers using GAPs and Guti fertilizer in horticulture crops. However, AVPI field staff and

senior officials continually visit the project locations, motivating the beneficiaries to use GAP

and FDP technologies.

Vegetable Demonstration: During March 2017, four demonstration plots (two bitter gourd and

two cucumber) were established to show the results of GAPs using UDP and farmer practice

with broadcasted urea. So far, a total of nine demonstration plots (five taro, two bitter gourd,

and two cucumber) have been established. Another six demonstrations will be established on

bitter gourd and cucumber during summer 2017.

J.J. Rob Groot, IFDC’s director of Global Field Programs, observes practical application of seeding and FDP by trainees.

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Vegetable Marketing Seminar: In March 2017, one vegetable marketing seminar was organized to improve the market knowledge and market information access to women farmers. In this seminar, issues such as market requirements, product demand and pricing, post-harvest handling and quality assurance were discussed in detail. AVPI women vegetable and fruit farmers, who are playing a leadership role in their communities along with market actors (faria/bepari/aratdar/paiker/retailers), DAE officials, the district marketing officer, and non-governmental organization (NGO) officials attended the seminar. The female farmers and market actors were divided into four groups for a group exercise on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), followed by a presentation from each group. The proceedings of the seminar is in the process of preparation.

Follow-Up of 2013-15 IFDC-Walmart Foundation-Trained Women Vegetable and Fruit

Farmers: As of March 2017, 13,215 beneficiaries were interviewed to assess the degree to

which previously trained farmers have continued the use of GAP and FDP technologies in

horticultural crop production in winter 2016-17.

Village Monitoring Survey: Beginning in February 2017, AVPI field-level staff started a

village monitoring survey for winter 2016-17. A total of 32 village monitoring surveys were

completed by March 2017. All 233 AVPI villages will gradually be surveyed and information

will be collected on GAP and FDP area and the number of users per village.

Survey of Women Vegetable Farmers to Ascertain Knowledge and Information Gaps on

Vegetable Marketing: Draft report is in the process of finalization.

Vegetable and Fruit Seedling Market Information Survey: Draft report on vegetable and

fruit seedling market from the same interviewed women vegetable and fruit farmers is in

process.

Baseline Survey on the Market Information Knowledge of Women Farmers: Draft report of

this survey is complete.

Group exercise by female farmers on SWOT.

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Table 1 provides information on the activities accomplished against targets for summer 2017 until

March 2017.

Table 1. Activities Conducted Through March 2017

Activities Unit

AVPI Progress Through

March 2017 Remarks Target Actual %

Objective 1: Fertilizer Deep Placement (FDP)/Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Training manuals Number 2 2 100% Demonstration plot protocols for summer crops Number 3 3 100% Farmer training on GAPs and FDP Number 50 50 100% Demonstration farmer orientation training Number 1 1 100% Establishment of demonstration plots Number 15 9 60% Motivational meetings with beneficiaries trained under the 2013-15 Walmart Foundation-IFDC partnership

Number 50 50 100%

Motivational workshops and operational training for agro-input retailers/briquetting machine operators (BMOs)

Number 2 2 100%

Design and develop technical booklets, leaflets, flyers, posters, signboards, flags, promotional bags, and caps

Number 1 1 Near completion

Objective 2: Piloting Polynet Houses With Trickle Irrigation Conduct informal market studies on seedling markets for fruits and vegetables Number

Draft report in process

Objective 3: Improving Farmer Market Knowledge/Access To Market Information Conduct a vegetable market information study Number 1 1

Near completion

Conduct a survey to understand the current sources of market information for women vegetable and fruit farmers

Number 1 1 Draft report completed

Conduct vegetable marketing seminars Number 6 1 17%

The media campaign for AVPI activities during March 2017 is shown in Table 2 covering daily

national newspaper, local print media, and online news.

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Table 2. Newspaper and Television Reports, News, and Publicity, March 2017

Sl.

No. News Heading Media Date/Time Remark

A. Print Media (i) National Newspaper

1. Increased of Guti urea use in Jhikargachha

The Daily Ajkaler Khobor March 18, 2017 Hard copy of news

documented.

2. Increased of Guti urea use in Jhikargachha Alokito Somoy March 15, 2017 Hard copy of news

documented. (ii) Local Newspaper

1. Women Farmer Training at Churamonkathi, Jessore Sadar, Jessore

The Daily Spandan March 15, 2017 Hard copy of news documented.

2. Increased of Guti urea use by 100 percent at Jhikargachha

The Daily Sattyapath March 15, 2017 Hard copy of news

documented.

3. Women Farmer Training at Mahmudpur, Satkhira Sadar, Satkhira

The Daily Dakshiner Mashal March 18, 2017 Hard copy of news

documented.

4.

Two-Day Long Women Farmer Training at Mahmudpur, Satkhira Sadar, Satkhira

The Daily Patradoot March 18, 2017 Hard copy of news

documented.

5. Interest for Guti Fertilizer Use Increasing among Vegetable Farmers

The Daily Barisal Barta March 28, 2017 Hard copy of news

documented.

6. Women Farmer Training at Charfassion

The Daily Banglar Kantha March 30, 2017 Hard copy of news

documented. B. Electronic Media

Krishi Sangbad Channel i March 15, 2017 at 5:15 pm

https://youtu.be/TsEkV8DI0as

Krishi Sangbad Channel i March 29, 2017 at 5:15 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1qeRu21L8w

Reporting

The AVPI Monthly report of February 2017 was submitted to the Walmart Foundation.