Objectives:

1. Disseminate technologies to enhance agricultural production of small farmers.

2. Develop agribusiness support for technology adoption.

3. Build national capacity to provide knowledge support for farmers.

FFPr Program for Bangladesh

Technology Dissemination

• Liming of acid soils

• Raised Beds to address drought & labor shortages

• Raised beds, selected rice varieties, and alternative crops for management of arsenic contamination

Soil & Water Arsenic

Drought & Labor Soil

Acidity

FFPr Program for Bangladesh

Resource Constraints

Program Impact on Farmers

• Increased yields (mean of 25-70%) for a wide range of crops (rice has low response of ~15%)

• Improved crop quality gives better sale prices

• Less pest and disease pressure

1. Liming

Output Indicators Estimated adoption on 100,000 ac. 1,100 farmer field schools & 11,000 farmer trials 625 DAE demonstrations & 1000 field days 42,500 “twenty taka test kits” 7,500 micro-credit loans 40 different crops studied

Eggplant

Radish

Garlic

Groundnut

• Crop yields increased 10-40% with 30% fewer plants (R&W)

• Water inputs reduced by 25-40%

• Production costs decreased

Output IndicatorsAdoption on 11,000 ac.6,400 farmers trained20 tillage service providers created1 new manufacturer of bedformer

Program Impact on Farmers2. Raised beds – dissemination and agribusiness

Rice

LentilCucumber

Arsenic is toxic to rice and grain has high arsenic content

Some Strategies

- ID As tolerant varieties

- Raised beds to reduce As solubility

BRRI dhan 45

BRRI dhan 47

11 ppm264055

Conventional Paddy

Raised Beds

Arsenic Affected Field

Program Impact on Farmers

3. Managing arsenic contamination

Raised Bed Mitigation of As Toxicity BADC (Gov’t) Seed Production Farm

Output Indicators55 demonstrations1200 farmers exposed to technology8 bed formers loaned to farmers10 farmers trained in machinery operationArsenic tolerant and vulnerable varieties identified

USDA - US AID Collaborations

•CSISA personnel participation in workshops on liming

•Agreement on raised bed dissemination methodologies and target areas

•Joint activities

- field days at USDA-FFPr raised bed sites - machinery improvement- promotion of wheat and maize as alternatives to

rice in severely arsenic affected areas

1. Cornell USDA FFPr project grew from 12 years of US AID support (Soil management CRSP & mission funded projects)

2. CGIAR FtF cereal systems initiative for S. Asia (CSISA)

Some Collaboration Issues1. Different Scope: Cornell FFPr is National and FtF is Regional - FtF follows Bangladesh gov’t investment plan with focus

on the south

- joint vision ?

2. Avoid:- duplication, competition, mixed messages to clients

- incentives to farmers to adopt a technology, e.g. free inputs; creates dependency, complicates technology adoption process and may create the illusion of success3. Promote:

- independence of farmers, i.e. using technologies independently of projects

Dissemination Strategy for Raised Beds

Demos in farmer fields

Training of farmer operators

Lend machinery to potential

service providers

clients

clients

Loans for machinery purchase

1.Introducing technology (awareness creation)

2.Building confidence, enabling farmer experimentation and creating demand

3. Service providers created – they innovate & drive farmer demand

Moving Forward

1. Encourage dialogue and joint planning

2. Seek:- synergy- leveraging of comparative advantages- filling gaps- good documentation of impacts and outcomes

3. Collaborations need a leader – activity initiator

Bangladesh Partners:

•Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU)

- Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE)- Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute

(BARI)- Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)

•Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Development Service (RDRS)

•Rural Development Academy (RDA)

FFPr Program for Bangladesh