Study Report - Results and Lessons of Local Adaptation Option in Drought Prone Area in NW Bangladesh

LIVELIHOODADAPTATIONTOCLIMATECHANGE(LACC)PROJECT(BGD/01/004/01/99)

ResultsandLessonsfromFieldTestingofLocalAdaptationOptionsforAgriculture

inDroughtProneAreasofNorthWesternBangladesh20052007

consolidatedby

SanjibKumarSaha

basedoninputsfromtheLACCfieldmonitoringofficersandthetechnicalbackstoppingfromtheClimateChangeUnitofFAO

DepartmentofAgriculturalExtension(DAE)

FoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUN(FAO)

August2008

ii

Thedesignationsemployedandthepresentationofmaterial in thispublicationdonot implytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartofFAOconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of itsfrontiersorboundaries.OpinionsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotimplyanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartofFAO.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Livelihood Adaptation to Climate Change Project (LACC) is a subcomponent of theComprehensiveDisasterManagementProgramme(CDMP)andjointlyimplementedbytheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations(FAO)andtheDepartmentofAgriculturalExtension(DAE)ofBangladesh.

ThesuccessfulcompletionofthisreporthasbeenpossiblethankstotheleadershipprovidedbytheDAE. The author wishes to acknowledge specifically the following individuals contribution: Dr.HassanRaghib,thenationalprojectsubcomponentmanager(LACCII),wholeadstheprojectsteaminDhaka;themembersofthenationalvalidationteamestablishedunderLACC I,and inparticularthe research institutes BARI and BRRI, who contributed to the selection of possible adaptationoptions (e.g. theirsuggestionsandguidanceof thetestingofT.Amanmustard/linseedsystem,T.Amanchick peasystem and homestead garden); the Field Officers, who conducted thedemonstrations and the monitoring of the tested adaptation options; Dr. Stephan Baas and Dr.SelvarajuRamasamyoftheClimateChangeUnitofFAO,whoprovideoveralltechnical leadership,regular technical backstopping to the project; Claudia Hiepe of the Climate Change Unit, whoprovidedtechnicalbackstopping forthemonitoringaspectsoftheproject;andCatherineZanevoftheClimateChangeUnit,whopeerreviewedthereport.

TheFAORepresentation inBangladesh is thanked for thecoordination,administrativeand logisticsupportprovidedonbehalfofFAOtotheproject.

iv

TABLEOFCONTENTS

Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................ iii

Tables ..................................................................................................................................................... vi

Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................. viii

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

2 DescriptionoftheProjectAreaandContextofAnalysis ...............................................................1

2.1 AgroEcologicalCharacteristicsoftheProjectArea ..............................................................1

2.2 CurrentandFutureRisksandVulnerabilities ........................................................................5

2.3 LivelihoodsPortfoliointheProjectArea...............................................................................5

3 IdentificationandValidationProcessoftheAdaptationPractices................................................6

4 ResultDocumentationProcess ......................................................................................................7

5 SummaryTableoftheTestedOptions...........................................................................................8

6 DiscussionofResultsandBenefitsofVariousAdaptationOptions .............................................10

6.1 DrySeedBedMethodforRaisingRiceSeedlings................................................................10

6.2 FarmYardManure...............................................................................................................12

6.3 ManagementofMangoOrchard.........................................................................................15

6.4 ExcavationofMiniPond......................................................................................................16

6.5 ImpactofWaterSaturatedSoilConditiononRiceCultivation ...........................................21

6.6 CultivationofLinseed ..........................................................................................................23

6.7 CultivationofShortDurationT.AmanasanAlternativeTechnology.................................25

6.8 CultivationofChickPeaafterT.Aman................................................................................28

6.9 HomesteadVegetablesGardeningwithMoreDroughtTolerantVegetables ....................30

6.10 JujubeGardening.................................................................................................................34

6.11 CultivationofPapaya...........................................................................................................38

6.12 CultivationofMaize.............................................................................................................40

6.13 EstablishmentofMiniNursery ............................................................................................42

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6.14 MangoGardening................................................................................................................44

6.15 ImprovedStove ...................................................................................................................46

7 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................49

8 RecommendationsforFuturePromotionandReplicationoftheAdaptationOptions...............51

8.1 TechnicalRobustnesstoFurtherImproveAdaptationOptions ..........................................51

8.2 MethodologicalAspectsoftheAdaptationDemonstrationProcess ..................................51

vi

TABLES

Table1:Agroecologicalzonesofprojectpilotsites............................................................................................ 3

Table2:SoilnutrientstatusofsamplevillagesoftheLACCIupazilas ................................................................. 4

Table3:adaptationoptionsconsideredinthevalidationprocess....................................................................... 7

Table4:ImplementedLACCadaptationtechnologiesandbeneficiaries ............................................................. 9

Table5:Implementationofthedryseedbed ................................................................................................... 10

Table6:Economicbenefitsofthedryseedbed................................................................................................ 11

Table7:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:dryseedbedmethodforraisingriceseedling............... 12

Table8:ImplementationofFYMpreparation ................................................................................................... 13

Table9:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:FYMpreparation ........................................................... 14

Table10:ImplementationofManagementofMangoOrchard ......................................................................... 15

Table11:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:ManagementofMangoOrchard................................. 16

Table12:Implementationof(5mX5mX2m)Minipond ..................................................................................... 17

Table13:Implementationof(10mX10mX2m)Minipond ................................................................................. 18

Table14:EconomicbenefitsofMinipond(5mX5mX2m).................................................................................. 18

Table15:EconomicbenefitsofMinipond(10mX10mX2m).............................................................................. 18

Table16:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:MiniPond(5mX5mX2mand10mX10mX2m) .............. 20

Table17:Implementationofsaturatedsoilconditiononrice ........................................................................... 21

Table18:Economicbenefitsofsaturatedsoilconditiononrice........................................................................ 22

Table19:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:saturatedsoilconditiononricecultivation ................. 23

Table20:Implementationoflinseedcultivation ............................................................................................... 24

Table21:Economicbenefitsoflinseedcultivation............................................................................................ 24

Table22:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:cultivationoflinseed................................................... 25

Table23:ImplementationofShortDurationT.Amancultivation ..................................................................... 26

Table24:EconomicbenefitsofShortDurationT.Amancultivation.................................................................. 26

Table25:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:CultivationofT.AmanaspartoftheT.AmanChickPeaCroppingPattern ...................................................................................................................................... 27

Table26:ImplementationofChickPeaCultivationafterT.Aman..................................................................... 28

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Table27:EconomicbenefitsofChickPeaCultivationafterT.Aman ................................................................. 29

Table28:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:CultivationofChickpeaaspartoftheT.AmanChickPeaCroppingPattern ............................................................................................................................... 30

Table29:ImplementationofHomesteadVegetableGarden ............................................................................ 31

Table30:EconomicbenefitsofHomesteadVegetableGarden......................................................................... 32

Table31:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:ofHomesteadVegetableGardenwithmoredroughttolerantvegetables................................................................................................................................... 33

Table32:Implementationof66PlantsJujubeGarden...................................................................................... 35

Table33:Implementationof25PlantsJujubeGarden...................................................................................... 35

Table34:Economicbenefitsof66PlantsJujubeGarden .................................................................................. 36

Table35:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:25and66PlantsJujubeGarden .................................. 37

Table36:ImplementationofPapayaCultivation............................................................................................... 38

Table37:EconomicbenefitsofPapayaCultivation ........................................................................................... 38

Table38:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:PapayaCultivation ...................................................... 39

Table39:ImplementationofMaizeCultivation ................................................................................................ 40

Table40:EconomicbenefitsofMaizeCultivation............................................................................................. 41

Table41:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:MaizeCultivation ........................................................ 41

Table42:ImplementationofMiniNurseryEstablishment ................................................................................ 42

Table43:EconomicbenefitsofMiniNurseryEstablishment............................................................................. 43

Table44:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:MiniNurseryEstablishment ........................................ 44

Table45:ImplementationofMangoGardening................................................................................................ 45

Table46:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:MangoGardening ....................................................... 46

Table47:ImplementationoftheImprovedStove............................................................................................. 47

Table48:EconomicbenefitsoftheImprovedStove ......................................................................................... 47

Table49:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:ImprovedStove........................................................... 49

Table50:Summaryoftheadditionalyieldandeconomicbenefitsreceivedbythefarmersfromtheadaptationtechnologiestestedintheirfields............................................................................................................. 50

Table51:OverviewofSuitabilityandRecommendationforReplication ........................................................... 53

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ACRONYMS

BARI=BangladeshAgricultureResearchInstitute

BDT=BangladeshiTaka(Currency)

BMDA=BarindMultipurposeDevelopmentAuthority

BRRI=BangladeshRiceResearchInstitute

CDMP=ComprehensiveDisasterManagementProgramme

DAE=DepartmentofAgriculturalExtension

DLS=DepartmentofLivestockServices

DMC=DisasterManagementCommittee

DoF=DepartmentofFisheries

FAO=FoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations

FOM=FieldOfficer(Monitoring)

FYM=FarmYardManure

LACC=LivelihoodAdaptationtoClimateChange

NTIWG=NationalTechnicalImplementationWorkingGroup

NW=NorthWest

UTIWG=UpazilaTechnicalImplementationGroup

SRI=SystemofRiceIntensification

SW=SouthWest

ha=Hectare

kg=Kilogram

kharifI=Premonsooncroppingseason(FebruaryJune)

kharifII=Monsooncroppingseason(JuneOctober).

rabi=Wintercroppingseason(OctoberFebruary)

1

1 INTRODUCTION

Impactsofclimatechangeon foodproductionareglobalconcerns,buttheyrepresentaparticularthreatforBangladesh.Agricultureisalreadyunderpressuremainlyduetoanincreaseindemandforfood,aswellas todepletionof landandwater resources.Theprospectofglobal climate changemakesthisproblemapriorityforBangladesh.Climatechangefurtherthreatensfoodsecurity.Highertemperature andwater stress due to heatwould result in decline in vegetation and agriculturalproduction. Bangladesh, in particular its northwestern region, is droughtprone. Droughts areassociated either with the late arrival or with an early withdrawal of monsoon rains. Thisphenomenonadverselyaffectsricecrops,whichaccountformorethan80%ofthetotalcultivatedlandofthecountryandcausesdamagetojute,thecountrysmaincashcrop.

The Livelihood Adaptation to Climate Change (LACC) Project is a subcomponent of theComprehensiveDisasterManagementProgramme(CDMP).ItstarteditsoperationinthenorthwestdroughtproneregionofBangladeshin2005executedbytheMinistryofAgriculture,DepartmentofAgriculturalExtension(DAE)andtechnicallyguidedbytheFoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnited Nations (FAO). The project implemented activities to promote livelihood adaptation andreducevulnerabilitytoclimatechangeofpoorcommunitieswhohavethelowestcapacitytoadapt.

The project has completed its 1st phase in September 2007. Project activities took place in twodistricts in the NorthWest (NW) of Bangladesh: Chapai Nawabganj (Nachole and Gomostapurupazila)andNaogaon(SapaharandPorshaupazila).Theprojectconductedfielddemonstrationsofpossibleadaptationoptionsaimingat increasedresiliencetodrought in3villagesperUpazila.Thedemonstrationsofoptionstookplaceduringtherabiseason in2005,thekharif I,kharif IIandrabiseasons in 2006 and the kharif I and kharif II seasons in 2007. They were facilitated by FieldMonitoringOfficers(FMOs)andUpazilaTechnicalImplementationWorkingGroup(TIWG)members.WithsupportfromtheDAEextensionstafffarmertofarmerlearningwasorganizedthroughseveralextension approaches including orientation meetings, field days, folk songs and dramas,demonstration rally,andexchangevisits.This reportsummarizesthe results,benefits, lessonsandfeedbackreceivedfromthefarmersforthe1stphaseoftheproject.

2 DESCRIPTIONOFTHEPROJECTAREAANDCONTEXTOFANALYSIS

2.1 AgroEcologicalCharacteristicsoftheProjectAreaThe project area, depicted in the map below, is located in the drought prone areas of NW ofBangladesh. Project sites are located in four major agroecological zones (AEZ): High and LevelBarindTract(AEZ25and26,covering75%oftheprojectarea),LowerPunarbhabaFloodplain(AEZ6,covering 12% of the project area in the western side), High Ganges River Floodplain (AEZ 11,covering13%oftheprojectarea),andTistaMeanderFloodplain(AEZ3,coveringalittlepartoftheprojectarea).TheAEZofeachtheprojectupazilasisshownintable1.

2

Map:AgroecologicalzonesinBangladesh,ProjectArea

Project Area:

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Table1:Agroecologicalzonesofprojectpilotsites

District Upazila AgroecologicalzoneNachole 1.LevelandHighBarindtract(25,26)

2.HighGangesRiverFloodplain(11)ChapaiNawabganj

Gomostapur 1.LevelBarindtract(26)2.HighGangesRiverFloodplain(11)3.TistaMeanderFloodplain(3)

Sapahar 1.LevelandHighBarindtract(25,26)2.TistaMeanderFloodplain(3)

Naogaon

Porsha 1.LevelandHighBarindtract(25,26)2.TistaMeanderFloodplain(3)3.LowerPunarbhabaFloodplain(6)

TheHigh Barind Tract includes the southwestern part of the Barind Tractwhere the underlyingMadhupurClayhadbeenupliftedandcutintobydeepvalleys.Thesoilsincludepuddledsiltloamtosiltyclay loam inthetopsoilsandporoussiltwithmottledplasticclayatvaryingdepth.Deepgreyterracesoilsandgreyvalleysoilsaremajorcomponentsofthegeneralsoiltypesofthearea.Generalfertilitystatusislow,havinglowstatusoforganicmatter.

The Level Barind Tract is developed over madhupur clay. The landscape is almost level. Thepredominant soilshavegrey,silty,puddled topsoilwithploughpan.Shallowgrey terracesoilanddeepgreyterracesoilsarethemajorcomponentsofgeneralsoiltypesofthearea.Thesoilsarelowinavailablemoistureholdingcapacityandslightlyacidictoacidicinreaction.Organicmatterstatusisverylowandmostoftheavailablenutrientsarelimiting.

TheHighGangesRiverFloodplainincludesthewesternpartoftheGangesriverfloodplain,whichispredominantly highland and medium highland. Most areas have a complex relief of broad andnarrowridgesandinterridgedepressions.Theupperpartsofhighridgesstandabovenormalfloodlevel.Lowerpartsof ridgesandbasinmarginsareseasonallyshallowly flooded.Generalsoil typespredominantly includecalcareousdarkgrey floodplainsoilsandcalcareousbrown floodplainsoils.Organicmatter content in thebrown ridge soils is lowbuthigher in thedarkgrey soils.Soilsareslightlyalkalineinreaction.Generalfertilitylevelislow.

TheLowerPunarbhabaFloodplainoccupiesbasinsandbeelsseparatedby lowfloodplainridges. Inthisarea,darkgrey,mottledred,verystronglyacid,heavyclaysoccupybothridgeandbasinsites.Organic matter status is medium to high. General fertility level is medium with high Kbearingminerals.ThewesternpartofNaogaonandthenorthernpartofNawabganjdistrictsareincludedinthisAEZ.

Finally,theTistaMeanderFloodplainoccupiesthemajorpartoftheTistafloodplainaswellasthefloodplainoftheAtrai,littleJamuna,Karatoya,DharlaandDudhkumarrivers.Mostareashavebroadfloodplain ridges and almost level basins. There is an overall pattern of olive brown, rapidlypermeable,loamysoilsonthefloodplainridges,andgreyordarkgrey,slowlypermeable,heavysiltloam or silty clay loam soils on the lower land and parent materials medium in weatherable Kminerals.Eightgeneralsoiltypesoccur intheregion,moderatelyacidicthroughout, low inorganicmattercontentonthehigherland,butmoderateinthelowerparts.Fertilitylevelislowtomedium.Soils,ingeneral,havegoodmoistureholdingcapacity.1

1FAO/UNDP,LandResourcesAppraisalofBangladesh forAgriculturalDevelopmentReport2:AgroecologicalRegionsofBangladesh,FAO/UNDP,1988

4

Thesoilnutrientstatusofsamplevillages,whicharerepresentativesoftheprojectarea,isshowninthetablebelow(Table2).

Table2:SoilnutrientstatusofsamplevillagesoftheLACCIupazilas

NutrientContentsVillage,Upazila,District

Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Sulfur Zinc OrganicMatter

pH

Kaloir,Nachole,ChapaiNawabganj

0.04 4.9 1.09 25.6 2.45 0.81 6.6

Borodadpur,Gomostapur,ChapaiNawabganj

0.04 3.2 0.21 12.6 0.70 0.81 5.4

Basuldanga,Sapahar,Naogaon

0.04 2.3 0.34 9.0 0.44 0.99 5.6

Saor,Porsha,Naogaon

0.06 1.4 0.16 23.0 0.48 1.27 5.4

Annualtotalrainfallhasbeenrelativelystable intheprojectareaoverthe15 lastyears (therehasbeenaslightdecrease intotalannualrainfall intheupazilasGomostapurandNacholeandaslightincreaseinSapaharandPorsha).However,theamounthasbeenincreasingintherainyseason,anddecreasing during the drymonths of the year. As the figure below,which correspondswith theprojectlifetime,illustrates,therehasbeensignificantvariationinofrainfallparticularlyduringtherainy seasonbetween theyears2005,2006and2007. .2006hasbeenanexceptionallydroughtproneyear.The sequenceof threeyears (200507)was consideredasa representative sample intermsofclimatevariability.

Figure:Monthlytotalrainfallinthedroughtproneareain200507

Monthly Total Rainfall of Drought Prone Area 2005-07

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2005 2006 2007

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2.2 CurrentandFutureRisksandVulnerabilitiesBangladeshhasadistinctdryseason (November toMay)andmonsoonseason (June toOctober).According to the AEZ database and land resources inventory maps, droughtprone areas ofBangladeshhavebeen identifiedandmapped forprekharif,kharifand rabi seasons.Thedroughtseverityintheprojectareaisveryacute,i.e.45to70percentcroplosses,inallseasons.Sincealargepartofthepopulationdependsonsingleseasonrice(T.Aman),evenaslightnegativedeviation inproductioncouldaffectlivelihoodsverynegatively.Farmersfacethreedifferentkindsofdryspells inoneyear:earlyseason,midseasonandterminalseason. Early season dry spells affect the seedling stage. Although there is some possibility forreplanting,ifthecropisreplantedlate,theterminalseasondroughtcoincideswithmaturitystage,which ismorecritical intermsofyieldreduction.Thepossibilityof introducingothercropsduringmonsoonseasonisalsolimitedduetothestickynatureofthesoilandextendedwaterstagnation.Localpeopleinthestudyareaperceivethatcurrentclimateisdifferentfromthepast.Theseasonalcyclehas changed,droughtshavebecomemore frequent,pestanddisease incidences increased,averagetemperaturehas increased inthesummerwhilewinterhasshortened.Localpeople inthestudy area alsoperceive that theirboro, aus,winter vegetable and fruit (mango)production areaffectedby increasedrainfallvariations,temperatureanddrought.Theobserveddataalsoshowedhighervariabilityinrainfallpatternsandincreasedtemperaturetrendsoverthelastfivedecades.GlobalCirculationModelprojections forBangladesh indicate an average temperature increaseof1.3Cand2.6Cby2030and2070,respectively.Thoughmonsoonprecipitation is likelytoincreaseby27percentuntil2070,precipitationdistributionpatternsduringtheplantgrowingperiod,highertemperature andhigher ratesofevapotranspirationwould create furtherwater stress conditionsanddeclinesinvegetationandagriculturalproductioninthedroughtproneareas.Acontinuedtrendtowardsmore frequent and intensive natural hazards is expected as result of increasing climatevariability and climate change.Water deficits of around 400500 mmmay occur during the drymonths of the year. Groundwater depletion has been increasing since the early 1980s,correspondingwithlargescaleexploitationforirrigation.Limited access todeep tubewellwater in thenonirrigated areas and the occurrenceof severalanthropogenic factors (e.g.electricity failure,highpriceofagricultural input)aremajor factorsofunderlyingvulnerabilityoffarmers.Thedominantvulnerablegroupsarepoorandmarginalfarmersas well as wage laborers. The project aims at increasing the adaptive capacities of the peoplethroughtheidentificationanddisseminationofeffectiveadaptationmeasures.

2.3 LivelihoodsPortfoliointheProjectAreaHouseholds in the droughtprone areas undertake various activities to gain and maintain theirlivelihoods.About83percentof ruralhouseholdsaredirectly involved in farming.Themain rurallivelihood groups in the project are:wage laborers (40percent); small andmarginal farmers (30percent); petty traders and businessmen (7 percent); large farmers (7 percent); and fishers (0.4percent).Themainproduce inthearea isrice,followedbyvegetables,mustard,pulseand,morerecently insome areas, maize. The last decade has seen livelihood (income) diversification into nonfarmactivities and new activities related to farming, especially cultivationof high value crops such asmango.

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Theaveragelandholding insomeofthepilotupazilas isabout3bigha(abighaequalsonethirdofanacre).However,about20percentofthehouseholdsarelandlessandanother30percentpossesslessthan3bigha.Thus,itisnotpossibleforthesehouseholdstorelysolelyontheirownproduction.Peopleusuallycultivate theirown land,but therearemany sharecropperscultivating landof richlandowners. In sharecropping, the landowner shares the cost of water and fertilizer with thesharecropper and they divide the produce evenly.However, inmany villages theowners do notinvest in inputs, but still expect half of the produce. Cultivation in rented out lands also is verycommoninthearea.Almost60percentofthefarmersinnonirrigatedvillagesaretenants.

3 IDENTIFICATIONANDVALIDATIONPROCESSOFTHEADAPTATIONPRACTICES

Inafirststep,adaptationpracticesthathadalreadybeenappliedlocallyand/orhadbeenpreviouslyintroduced by national development, research and extension organizations were collected anddocumentedbytheproject(Table31).Theadaptationpracticesidentifiedfromtheprojectareacanbecategorizedas:a)agronomicmanagement,b)waterharvestingc)waterresourcesexploitation,d)wateruseefficiency,e)cropintensification,f)alternativeenterprise,g)alternativeenergysourceetc.

Fromthispreliminary list,thoseadaptationoptionstobefurtherpromotedand/orreplicatedwereselected througha sequenceofevaluationprocessesatdifferent levels starting fromupazilalevelDMCmembers,UpazilalevelTechnicalImplementationGroups(UTIWG)andNationallevelTechnicalImplementation Working Groups (NTIWG). First consultative meetings and brief feed backworkshops were also organized with the national research institutions (BARI and BRRI) anddevelopmentalorganizations.TheadaptationoptionswereevaluatedwiththeUTIWGandNTIWGfortheirtechnicalsuitabilityindroughtproneareas.

The outcome of the stakeholder evaluation was integrated into the multicriteria analysis thatincluded (a) drought mitigation potential, (b) suitability for future climate scenarios, (c)environmental friendliness, (d) economic viability, (e) increased productivity, (f) sustainability (f)social acceptability, (g)gender integration, (h)household income, (i)employmentopportunity, (j)relevancetovulnerablecommunity,(k)applicabilitytomultiplesectors,(l)seasonalrelevance,(m)immediateneed, (n) institutionalsupportand (o)expertacceptance.Thecriteriabasedevaluationwas followedbya selectionandprioritizationbasedon (i)effectiveness in reducing key risks, (ii)potential technicalaswellas costs, socialacceptanceandmanageability,and (iii)current stateofimplementationandadditionalrequirements.

Selected adaptation practices suitable for different seasons (kharif I, kharif II and rabi) wererecommended for field demonstrations in the farmers fields. Local farmer groups togetherwithextensionstafffinallychoosesuitableadaptationoptionsfortheirlocalities.

7

Table3:adaptationoptionsconsideredinthevalidationprocess

Sl.No.

Categories AdaptationPractice Source Tested(Yes/No)

1 SeedbedmethodforT.Amanrice Farmersandexperts

Yes

2 Manuresandcomposting Farmers Yes

3 DepthoftransplantingforT.Aman Farmers Yes

4 Weedcontrolreducewaterseepage Farmers No

5 Manualclosingofsoilcracks Farmers No

6

Agronomicmanagement

Strengtheningfieldbunds(Aillifting) Farmers No

7 Reexcavationoftraditionalponds Farmers No

8 Reexcavationofkharicanals BMDA No

9 Canals Farmers No

10 Watercontrolstructures BMDA No

11 Miniponds BMDA Yes

12

Waterharvesting

Supplementalirrigation Farmers/DAE Yes

13 Waterresourcesexploitation

Shallowanddeeptubewells BMDA No

14 SystemofriceIntensification Experts Yes

15 Directsownrice(DrumSeeder) Experts No

16

Wateruseefficiency Droughtresistantricevarieties Multiple

sourcesNo

17.a)

Cropintensification GreenmanureT.Amansystem Farmers No

b) T.AusChiniAtapsystem Farmers No

c) T.AmanMustard/Linseedsystem BARI/BRRI Yes

d) T.AmanChickpea BARI/BRRI Yes

e) T.AmanMungBean DAE Yes

f) Faminereservecrops Experts No

18 Alternativeenterprise Mangocultivation Farmers Yes

19 Homesteadgardens BARI Yes

20 Mulberryintercroppinginrice BRRI No

21 Foddercultivation DLS Yes

22 Fishcultivationinminiponds DoF Yes

23 Cottageindustries Community No

24 Manufacturingindustries Community No

25 Alternativeenergysource

Communitybasedbiogasandtreeplanting Experts No

26 Postharvestpractices Seedstorageforhigherviability Farmers No

4 RESULTDOCUMENTATIONPROCESSInordertovalidatethefieldtestedoptionstheresultsandbenefitsoftheadaptationtechnologieshavebeen assessed through a regularmonitoringof thedemonstrationactivities.Aparticipatoryapproach was taken up in monitoring the demonstration activities involving project staff, DAEofficers, farmers and community people. In order to capture the qualitative aspects of the

8

adaptation options and their impact on the livelihood of the farming families, semistructuredmeetingsanddiscussionswereorganizedwiththefarmingfamiliesandthecommunitypeople.

Intheregularmonitoringactivitiesamonitoringsheetwasusedtocollectdatafromthe individualdemonstration. Results, benefits, farmers feedback and lessons are analyzed inquantitative andqualitativemanner.Themonitoring sheet/formats included somemajorareas tobe recorded likethe inputsused,outputsespeciallytheyieldgained,economicsoftheyieldandotherparameters.The fieldstaff recorded thedataand informationduring the fieldvisit in the farmershouseholdsandthedemonstrationsites.

Climatic data and informationwere collected from the localmeteorological station, upazilaDAEofficesandother reliable sourcesduring the implementationof theadaptationdemonstrationsatthefarmersfields.Semistructureddiscussionsinthefarmersgroupmeetingwereorganizedduringandafterthedemonstrations,asfeasibleandasrequired,inordertoassessthefarmersperceptionabouttheimpactofclimatevariabilityandchangesintheirfarmingpractices.Dataandinformationwere also collected during the participatory discussion with the community in general, localinstitutionsandsecondarysources.

Thedataandinformationgatheredweredocumentedattheupazilalevelbytheprojectofficers.Theprimarymonitoring reportwas thenpreparedand sent to theProjectManagementUnitand thefinalanalysiswasdone.Theanalysiswasdonefollowingbothquantitativeandqualitativeaspectsofthedemonstrations.

5 SUMMARYTABLEOFTHETESTEDOPTIONS

Details of the demonstrated options are given in the table below (Table 4). More than 292demonstrationsof15adaptationtechnologieswereimplementedin5seasons(Rabi2005toKharifII2007)in96.57haoflandareain4projectupazilas.Amongthe292demonstrationsestablished,76wereestablished in irrigatedvillages,where therearegovt.supported irrigation facilitiesand216demonstrationswereestablishedinnonirrigatedvillages.Theresultsobtainedfromthemonitoringinformationanddatashowsthat372farmingfamilieshavebenefiteddirectlyfromimplementationof the technologies in their field. A huge number (4170) of community farmers, other than theprojectfarmers,participatedinthedemonstrationofthetechnologiesandamongthem212farmershavereplicatedthetechnologiesintheirfieldontheirownexpense.

9

Table4:ImplementedLACCadaptationtechnologiesandbeneficiaries

Numberof

demonstrationsestablished

Sl.No

Nameofthetechnology

Inirrigatedvillages

Innon

irrigated

villages

Total

Totalareaof

land

brought

un

derthede

mo(ha)

Totalno.

ofb

enefiting

farm

ingfamilies

Totalno.

ofcom

mun

ity

farm

erspa

rticipated

in

demon

stration

s

Totalno.

ofcom

mun

ity

farm

ersreplicatingthe

techno

logies

Agronomicmanagement1 Dryseedbedmethod

forraisingriceseedlings0 24 24 1.16 24 200 0

2 PreparationofFarmyardmanure

6 18 24 0.0 24 65 0

3 ManagementofMangoorchard

6 12 18 0.0 18 65 0

Waterharvesting4 ExcavationofMinipond

(5mX5mX2m)0 20 20 2.68 20 190 0

5 ExcavationofMinipond(10mX10mX2m)

0 16 16 8.56 16 235 11

Wateruseefficiency6 Impactofwater

saturatedsoilconditiononricecultivation

8 0 8 2.7 8 420 0

7 CultivationofLinseed 0 7 7 3.82 7 400 25Cropintensification8 Cultivationofshort

durationT.Amanasanalternativetechnology

0 8 8 42.76 64 1370 46

9 CultivationofChickpeaafterT.Aman

0 4 4 21.38 28 350 22

Alternativecrop/livelihoodenterprise10 Homesteadvegetable

gardening18 26 44 0.18 44 112 57

11 EstablishmentofJujubegarden(66plants)

5 10 15 0.52 15 125 8

12 EstablishmentofJujubegarden(25plants)

6 10 16 0.52 16 90 0

13 CultivationofPapaya 6 16 22 2.85 22 49 014 CultivationofMaize 2 4 6 2.56 6 270 2515 EstablishmentofMini

nursery8 16 24 5.84 24 9 3

16 Mangogardening 2 6 8 1.04 8 55 0Householdenergyefficiency17 Improvedstove 9 19 28 0.0 28 165 15 Total 76 216 292 96.57 372 4170 212

10

6 DISCUSSIONOFRESULTSANDBENEFITSOFVARIOUSADAPTATIONOPTIONS

In the following chapter, the adaptationoptionsdemonstrations arediscussed indetail includingtheir background rationale, implementation process, results and benefits and the feedback andrecommendationsandanevaluationofadaptationoptionforsuitability.

6.1 DrySeedBedMethodforRaisingRiceSeedlings

Background

TransplantedAman,amajorricecropinbarindtractsisfrequentlyaffectedbydroughtatdifferentstagesofthegrowthwithvariedintensities.InnorthwesternpartofBangladeshsummermonsoonrainsetsinmidJuneandendsinlastweekofSeptember.Thelengthofrainyseasonisaboutthreeandhalftofourmonths,whichissufficienttogrowaricecropundernormalconditionsintheKharifIseason.However,dueto interannualand interseasonalvariabilityofmonsoonrainfall,ricecropsuffersfromwaterscarcityatcriticalstages.Furtherdelayedonsetofrainsshortensthe lengthofgrowingperiod,sometimesbyamonth.Generally, farmersstartpreparingseedbedsduringearlyJune upon receipt of first rain and transplant during early July. When the rainfall is delayed,subsequently transplanting also delays by up to amonth and the crop suffers from late seasondrought.Inthissituationfarmersrequireanalternativetechnologytocopewiththecondition.Thedryseedbedmethodforraisingriceseedlingsisalocaladaptationpracticewhichwastakenupanddemonstratedinthefarmersfieldoftheprojectvillageswhichissuitableinthemonsoonseason.

Implementationprocess

Thedryseedbedwasestablished in the farmersplotof theprojectvillages. In thedryseedbedmethod,seedsweresownafterthoroughploughingofthesoilandtheseedswerecoveredwithsoilunlikethewetseedbedmethod,whereseedsarekeptexposed.Thesoilwasmixedwithdryredsoil,compostandfarmyardmanure.

TheoptionwasdemonstratedintheKharifIseasonin2006.

Atotalof24farmersundertook24demonstrationsandabout1.16haof landwerebroughtundercultivationfortheoptiondemonstrations(Table5).

Table5:Implementationofthedryseedbed

UpazilasSl.No. Parameters Nachole Gomostapur Sapahar Porsha Total

1Totalno.ofdemonstrationestablished 6 6 6 6 24

2Totalno.offarmersbenefited(directly) 6 6 6 6 24

3Totalareaoflandbroughtundertheoption(ha) 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 1.16

4

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsparticipatedinthedemonstrationofthetechnology 65 50 45 40 200

5

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsreplicatedthetechnologywithowncost 0 0 0 0 0

11

Results,benefitsandlessons

a) Socioeconomicbenefits

Table6:Economicbenefitsofthedryseedbed

UpazilasSl.No. Parameters Nachole Gomostapur Sapahar Porsha

Average/ha

1Costofdryseedbedpreparation(BDT) 1225 1225 1225 1225

4224.13

2Additionalyieldreceivedfromtheoptiondemonstrations(kg) 86 80 88 85 292.24

3Economicbenefitreceivedfromtheoptionplot(BDT) 860 800 880 850 2922.41

b)Climaticandenvironmentalbenefits

Itwasperceivedthattheseedlingsfromdryseedbedcanwithstanddryspellsfrom9to12rainless days against 7 days of seedlings produced fromwet seedbed. This confirms thegeneralknowledgethatseedlingsproducedfromdryseedbedsaremoreresilienttodroughtconditions.

Theoptionenables farmers to startproducing seedlings indrought conditionevenunderdelayed onset of monsoon rain so that they can transplant seedlings in the main fieldwithoutloosingtime.

Fieldobservationsshowedthattheseedlingsofthedryseedbedmethodwerehealthierandwereable toproducemore tillers in comparison to thewet seedbed seedlings.The rootsystemofseedlingsofdryseedbediscomparativelylonger,whichcanpenetratedeeperintothesoil.

Riceseedlingsgrowninthedryseedbedcantoleratewaterstressthatmeansitsaveswaterandalsosavesenergyforirrigation.

Farmersfeedback

Pullingoutof the seedlingswasdifficultunderdry conditionsand required twiceasmuch labourthan for conventional wet seedling bed method. The rice root system was also damaged whilepullingoutfromthedryseedlingbeds.

According to the farmers, the above problems can be minimized by loosening the soil throughadditionofmore fine soil, farmyardmanureor compost and sand and thus reducingdamageofseedlingswhilepullingoutfromthebed.

ConclusionandrecommendedactionforfollowupinLACCIIandIII

Thedryseedbedmethodhasbeenfollowedbythefarmers insomedroughtpronevillagesoftheproject.Farmersonlyapplythemethodwhen2025rainlessdaysoccur.

12

As per the feedback from the farmers little changes in the technique of bed preparation aresuggested and an awareness programme may be taken up for promotion and adoption of thetechnologyasthesituationofcertainyeardemands.

Farmerswhodonothaveaccess to irrigationwaterandwhocannotaffordcostof the irrigationwaterfindtheoptionsuitableintheirland.

The yield and other parameters like general seedling health, root system, number of tillersproduced, number of labour required for uprooting the seedlings may also be monitored andevaluatedinordertoprovidemorerealisticrecommendationsontheadvantagesoftheoptionoverthewetseedbedmethod.

Furtherfieldtrials inthefarmersfieldsshouldbeestablishedtogetmoreconsistentresults inthenonirrigated landofhighbarindareawhichwouldallow fora conclusiononwhether theoptionshouldberecommendedforreplicationornot.

Table7:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:dryseedbedmethodforraisingriceseedling

6.2 FarmYardManure

Background

Theorganicmattercontentofsoil inthebarindtract isexceptionally lowat0.81.2%,which isnotenoughtosupportagriculturalproduction.Enhancingtheorganicmatterlevelinsoilsimprovessoilstructure, moisture retention, erosion stability and water infiltration and hence strengthens theresilienceoffarmingsystemstodrought,climatevariabilityandincreasingtemperatures.ThiscanbeachievedbythepreservationandincreasedapplicationofFarmYardManure(FYM),whichisorganicmatterpreparedfromvariouskindsofanimalexcretamixedwithotherorganicmaterials.Itcanbedone round the year in thehomesteadpremiseand canenhance the fertilityandproductivityofsoilsthathavebeennegativelyaffectedbyrecurrentexposuretodroughts.

Suitableforreplicationunderthefollowingconditions

Justificationforreplication

Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype

/im

pacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

emission

Recommendation(remarks)

RiceWheat

/PulseMango

25,26

Droughtspells;

lossofcrops

Rainfed

Highbarindtract

Poor/

mediumfarmers

15US$ High High Yes noincrease

Recommendedforfurthertrialwithlittlechangesintechnology

13

Theuseofcowdungandhouseholdsweepsasmanureisproblematic,becausetheseareoftenusedasfuelduetolackoffirewoodandotherfuelingmaterialinthearea.However,improvedstoves(seesection6.15)canreducetheneedoffuelinginputs,includingdung.


In 4 upazilas, 24 FYMs were prepared in 24 farming households where farmers have taken theresponsibilitiesofregularpilingofthecowdung,otherorganicmatters,housesweeps,debrisandothermanagementactivities likeapplyingwater,mixingof theFYMafteracertainperiodof time(Table8).

Farmerswhohadaccesstocowdungandotherhouseholdorganicmatters/debriswereselectedforthedemonstrationsoftheoption.Atwochamberpitwasdugclosetotheorganicmattersourcesandwhereenoughsun light isavailable.Thepitwascoveredbyatin/thatchedroofforprotectionfromexcessivesunlight,rainfallandotherexternalproblems.

Throughsocialmobilization initiative like farmersfieldday,resultdemonstrationswerepresentedto the farming communities in the surrounding while 65 households were exposed to thetechnologiesofthedemonstrations.

Table8:ImplementationofFYMpreparation


1Totalno.ofFYMdemonstrationsestablished

6 6 6 6 24

2Totalno.offarmersbenefited(directly)

6 6 6 6 24

3

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsparticipatedinthedemonstrationofthetechnology

50 0 15 0 65

4

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsreplicatedthetechnologywithowncost

0 0 0 0 0

Resultsandbenefits

a)Socioeconomicbenefits

Farmerswereable touse the farmyardmanure (FYM) in theircrop fieldandsavedsomemoneyfrombuyingchemicalfertilizers.


FYM can save chemical fertilizers for crop production and thus save energy formanufacturingthefertilizers.

TheFYM isbelievedtohave increasedthewaterholdingcapacityofthesoil, improvedsoiltextureand structureand increased totalnutrient contentsof the soilwhich isextremelyrequiredforthesoilandcropsofthebarindarea.

14

SoilmixedwithFYMcanretainmoisture,thusrequirelessirrigation.Itmeansitsaveswaterandsavesenergyusedforirrigationpurposes.

Farmersfeedback

Families having enough cattle and draft animals are appropriate as participants of thedemonstration.Theshade/roofoftheFYMpitshouldbepreparedbystrongmaterialsliketinandsoasotherpartsoftheshadetomake itmorerobustandreducetheneedforfrequentmaintenancebythefarmers.Membersofthefarmingfamilyespeciallywholookafterthecattleshouldbetrainedashow touse thedungandotherdebris for theFYMpreparationandhow tosprinklewaterandtakeothermanagementactivities.


Accumulationoforganicmatters inthepitandothernecessarymanagementcouldnotbeensuredasa regularpracticeand thus thequalityofmanureproducedwasstillnotup to thestandard.Asocial mobilization programme is critically needed for awareness raising on the benefits andtechnicalaspectsthatwouldencourageahigheradoptionoftheoptionamongthefarmingfamilies.

The amountof cowdungused for the farm yardmanure and later use in the cropping field, itsultimate benefit in increasing the soil nutrient content, and emission reductions from saving ofchemical fertilizers could be studied for better understanding, lessons and making furtherrecommendations.Thecontribution intheoverall livelihoodsdevelopmentandthus improvementof the family resilience to the climate change shock may also be considered for furtherassessment/study.

Theoption shouldbe released to the farmers for continuation in allagroecological settings.Themanureshouldbefurtherappliedinthecropfield,andtheyieldbenefitandamountofmoneyandenergysavedassessedsystematically.Retestingtheoptionincombinationwiththeimprovedstoveis suggested in thenextphaseof theproject to ascertain combined socioeconomic and climaticbenefits. Awareness raising programme especially on the winwin adaptation and emissionreductionbenefitsisfelthighlyimportant.

Table9:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:FYMpreparation



Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype

/im

pacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

emission


RiceWheat

/PulseMango

25,26

Droughtspells;

lossofcrops

Rainfed

Highandlow

barindtract

Poor/

mediumfarmers

30US$ High High Yes noincrease

Idealassingleoptionorcombinedwithimprovedstove

15

6.3 ManagementofMangoOrchard

Background

Mango, the single most predominant species is planted spontaneously and unsystematically, ingardenorinthericefield,mostlytofetchtheeconomicbenefit.Asacommonpracticeofthearea,mangotreesare fedwithmanureand fertilizersbeforeandaftertheharvestof the fruits ineachseason/year. The need for appropriate dose and appropriate method of application articulated,mostlybythefarmersandfieldstaff,ledtothedemonstrationofthemangoorchardmanagement.Theorchardmanagementactivitywasundertakenwithaviewtounderstandtheyieldperformancebetweenthetreatmentplantandthecontrolplantswhicharetraditionallymanagedbythefarmingcommunityinthemonsoonseason.


Farmerswhoownlandandhavea12yearsoldmangogardenwitharound15plantswereselectedfor the demonstration in the KharifII season 2007. For control farmers the same criteria wereappliedsothattwogardens,onetreatmentandonecontrol inthesamearea,couldbemonitoredclosely.Forthetreatmentgardentherecommendedstandardproceduresfordoseandmanagementwerefollowedandcontrolframerswereallowedtofollowwhatevertheyusuallydo.

Resultsandbenefits

TilltheendofKharifII2007,18mangogardendemonstrationswereestablishedin18farmersfieldsin12pilotvillagesofproject(Table10).

Table10:ImplementationofManagementofMangoOrchard

UpazilasSL.No. Parameters Gomostapur Sapahar Porsha Total

1

Totalno.ofmangoorchardmanagementdemonstrationsestablished

6 6 6 18


6 6 6 18

3


0 25 40 65

4

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsreplicatedthetechnologywithowncost

0 0 0 0

Noyieldandeconomicbenefitswereaccumulatedbecausethemangoplantsdidnotproducefruitswhile the project collected data and information. Therefore no comparison and other analysiswhatsoever could be done in this regard. Through the process of demonstration activities, 55neighbouring farmers and community people were invited in the field and exposed to thetechnology.Sofar,noneofthemreplicatedthetechnologyintheirownfield.

Farmers found the option easy and quickly understood the appropriate dose and methods ofapplicationofthemanureandfertilizersandotheractivities.

16

Farmersfeedback

Farmerswerequitehappytoapplythetechnologyintheirfield,however,expressedconcernaboutthelownumberofplantsinthegarden.Ifallowedtheywouldtakebiggergardenwithmoretrees.


Thedemonstrationsof the technologywere stopped afterone seasonbasedon the analysis andconclusionthatprojectinterventionwasnotrequiredinthiscasefortworeasons:1)farmersoftheareaknowthetechnologyand2)encouragingmangocultivationandmanagementisdangerousfortheareasinceitisalreadydominatedbymango.Moremangogardenswouldreducethericefieldsandwiththatemploymentopportunities forthe landless,makingrich farmersricherandthepoorevenpoorer.Furthermore,ahighermangoproductionmightleadtoapricefallintheseason.

Therefore,thetechnologyshouldnotbepromotedfurther.

Table11:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:ManagementofMangoOrchard

6.4 ExcavationofMiniPond

Background

To reduce impacts of intermittent dry spells in the droughtprone areas of northwesternBangladesh,surfacewaterstored fromthepreviousrainfallneedstobeusedbeforericematuritystage. Yet often high intensity rainfall iswasted, due to nonavailability of properwater storagestructures.Thereforeadaptationoptionsonrainwaterharvesting,recyclingandconservationarekeytomanagingseasonaldroughts throughsupplemental irrigation.Theexcavationandreexcavationof mini ponds is one of the feasible climate change adaptation options in the barind area. Infarmlandswithnoirrigationsource,rainwaterharvestingwasdonethroughtheexcavationofminiponds for supplemental irrigation for T. Aman rice during drought spells in the early monsoonseason.



Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype/

impacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

em

ission


RiceWheat/PulseMango

25,26

Droughtspells;lossofcrops

Irrigated

Highbarindtract

Medium/wealthierfarmers

50US$

Medium

Medium

No noincrease

Notrecommended

17


Minipondswereexcavatedinareaswhereirrigationfacilityislimitedornonexistentintheprojectvillages.Farmerswhohadminimumof0.13haricefieldandwhocouldaffordspaceforpondwereselectedfortheminipondexcavationdemonstration.Pondswereexcavatedinacornerofthefieldforfacilitatingeasyirrigationtothefieldasdesiredbythefarmers.

FarmersexcavatedthepondsintheKharifI(MarchJune)seasonoftheyearwhilethemonsoonrainusuallybeginsandtheycaneasilyharvesttherainwaterandstoreinthepondforsubsequentuseintheT.AmanriceintheKharifII(JulyOctober)seasonorasdesired.

Atthebeginning,asperthebarindMultipurposeDevelopmentAuthority(BMDA)model,minipondsof5mx5mx2m(lengthxbreadthxdepth)sizewerepreferredonsmallfarms.However,basedonthe feedback from the farmers, largerponds (10m x10m x2m)wereexcavated in the followingseasons.

TilltheendofKharifII2007,36minipondswereexcavatedin36farmersfieldsin12pilotvillagesoftheproject(Table641and642).

About12haofrice fieldwere irrigatedbywater from the36ponds. Inmostcases, irrigationwasdone twice in the rice field.Few farmerscould irrigate the rice fieldmore than twiceasper theirneedandbasedontheamountofwatertheyharvested.IrrigationwasdonemostlyfortheT.Amanrice field, forwhich the pondswere excavated. In some cases, farmers could provide additionalirrigationtotheirvegetablesonthepondbankandhomesteadandtreesplantedclosetothepond.

Table12:Implementationof(5mX5mX2m)Minipond


1 Totalno.ofpondexcavated 5 5 5 5 20


5 5 5 5 20

3Totalareaoflandirrigatedinoneseason(ha)

0.67 0.67 0.67 0.67 2.68

4No.oftimesofirrigationtothefieldfromonepond

2 2 1 1 6

5

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsparticipatinginthedemonstrationofthetechnology

80 30 30 50 190

6

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsreplicatingthetechnologyonownexpense

0 0 0 0 0

18

Table13:Implementationof(10mX10mX2m)Minipond


1 Totalno.ofpondexcavated 4 4 4 4 16


4 4 4 4 16

3 Totalareaoflandirrigated(ha) 2.14 2.14 2.14 2.14 8.56

4No.oftimesofirrigationtothefieldfromonepond

3 2 2 2 9

5


120 30 35 50 235

6

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsreplicatedthetechnologyonownexpense

2 3 2 4 11

Resultsandbenefits


Thecostofexcavationofaminipondvariesasperthesize;thebiggerone (10mX10mX2m)takesaboutBDT6500 (less than100US$), thesmallerone (5mX5mX2m) less thanBDT4000.Thecostsalsoincludethecostoffamilylabour.

Table14:EconomicbenefitsofMinipond(5mX5mX2m)


Average/ha

1Costofexcavationofpond(BDT)(5ponds)

20000 20000 20000 20000 29850.75

2Additionalyieldreceivedinoneseason(kg)

1200 1150 1100 1100 1697.76

3Additionaleconomicbenefitreceived(BDT)

12000 11500 11000 11000 16977.61

Table15:EconomicbenefitsofMinipond(10mX10mX2m)


Average/ha

1Costofexcavationofpond(BDT)(4ponds)

26000 26000 26000 26000 12149.53

2Additionalyieldreceivedinoneseason(kg)

3840 3680 3760 3800 1761.68

3Additionaleconomicbenefitreceivedfromonepond(BDT)

38400 36800 37600 38000 17616.82

Theamountofharvestedwaterdependson the intensityandamountof rainfall in theparticularyear,andtheneedofsupplementalirrigationdependsontheintensityofdrought.Therainfallinthe

19

monsoon season2006wasbelownormalandmany farmersused thewater fromminiponds forsupplementalirrigation.

Usuallyfarmerscanharvest2488kgofricefrom1haoflandwithoutsupplementalirrigation.Iftheyareabletoprovidethesupplemental irrigationatthecriticalstage(milking/grainfiling)ofT.Amanricetheycanharvest4250kgofricefrom1ha.Farmerswereabletoharvest1762kgofadditionalT.Aman rice from1haof landbyproviding supplemental irrigation fromone5mX5mX2mpond. Intotal,4550kg(1697.76Kg/ha)ofadditionalricewasharvestedfrom20minipondsof5mX5mX2msizeand15080kg(1761.68Kg/ha)from16pondsof10mX10mX2msize.Thereforeanincrementofalmost7174%inthericeyieldwasfound.

A totalof additionalBDT45,500 (16977.61BDT/ha)wasearnedby20 farmers from20pondsof5mX5mX2m size and BDT 150800 (17616.82 BDT/ha) by 16 farmers from 16 mini ponds of10mX10mX2msize.

About 425 farming households from the surrounding villages participated and exposed to theimplementationof theadaptation technology through socialmobilizationand farmers fielddaysandamongthem11farmershaveexcavatedminipondsintheirricefields.Thesizeofthepondsisalso10mX10mX2mandfewcasesitisbiggerasperthesizeofthericefieldandrequirementofthefarmers.

Thebankoftheminipondalsoservedasgoodspaceforvegetablecultivationandfruittreeraising.Alongpondswhere thewater retained for longerperiods, farmerscultivateddeep rootedgourdvegetablesandshortdurationfruits.Somefarmershavestartedrearingshortdurationfishintheirminipond, likecommoncarpandnilotikavarietiesoffishwhichtheyusedforhomeconsumptionand sometimes distributed to relatives and neighbours. Additional vegetables, fruits and fishesproducedbroughtsomeextrafoodandincomeforthepoorfarmingfamilies.


Rain water harvest in the mini pond and application in the T. Aman rice field reduce risk ofexposuretolateseasondroughtspells.

Supplemental irrigation to rice fieldwith harvested rainwater saves lots of energy required forupliftingundergroundwater.

Harvesting rainwater in themini pond and thususing thewater as supplemental irrigation alsoreducesdependencyandsavesthegroundwaterresources.

Farmersfeedback

In thewakeof increased climate variability andhigh intensityofdrought condition in thebarindtract, farmers have been searching for alternatives for providing irrigation to their T. Aman ricefields.Minipondhasbeenfoundsuitablealternativeoptionforthefarmersofthearea.ThepondisparticularlyusefulfortheseasonaldroughtthatmayoccurduringthecultivationofT.Amanriceinthebarindarea.Inanyyear,iftheharvestedwaterisnotrequiredforsupplementalirrigationduetotheavailabilityoftherainwater,itmaybeusedforothercropsorotherfarmingactivities.

20

Farmersfeltthatsupplementalirrigationtoricefieldwithharvestedrainwatersaveslotsofenergyrequiredforupliftingundergroundwater.Duetothe increase in intensityandseverityofdroughtsanddecreasedavailabilityofgroundwater, farmerswish to increase thenumberofminiponds toreducethedependenceongroundwater.

Althoughthesmallholderfarmershavebeensatisfiedwiththecurrentpondsizei.e.10mX10mX2m,farmerswhocouldaffordspaceinthericefield,proposedtohaveevenlargerponds.


Farmershaveacceptedtheminipondandratedveryhighasperaperformanceassessmentdonebytheprojectwiththefarmers.

The practice was introduced in the KharifI season in 2006 to better manage drought spells.However, it is not widespread due to lack of investment capital and organization among poorfarmers. Adequate awareness of the utility of these structures should continually be raised atcommunitylevel.

Whileinsomeyearssupplementalirrigationisnotrequired,adiversificationinminipondwaterusemaybemeaningfullydonewiththefarmerssothatthepondwaterisusedforothercropsorotherfamingactivities.

Fromthefarmersperspective,thesizeoftheminipondwasenlargedandmorediversificationwithvegetablesonthepondbankandquickgrowingfishinthepondwaterarerecommendedforfuture.

The size of the pond should be dependent on the farmers land size and other socioeconomicfactors.The10mX10mX2morevenbiggersizepondissuggestedforricherfarmerswhiletheearliersize,i.e.5mX5mX2m,maybepromotedfurtherforthepoorerones.Thepondproductionshouldbeintensifiedwithquickgrowingvegetablesandfruittreesonthepondbankandwithshortdurationfishcultivationinthepondwater.Moresocialmobilizationprogrammesforgreaterdisseminationofthetechnologyshouldbeundertaken.

Table16:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:MiniPond(5mX5mX2mand10mX10mX2m)



Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype

/im

pacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

em

ission


RiceWheat/Pulse

25,26

Droughtspells;

lossofcrops

Rainfed

Highandlow

barindtract

Poor/mediumfarmerswithlandownership

60100US$

High High Yes noincrease

(Useofsurfacewater)

Highlyrecommendedasadaptationoption

21

6.5 ImpactofWaterSaturatedSoilConditiononRiceCultivation

Background

Farmersof barind tract struggle for irrigationwater especially in themonthsof Rabi season, forcultivating irrigated rice crops. As a general practice, farmers irrigate the rice field by floodingmethod, i.e. theykeep the rice field inalmoststagnantwater.Sometimes redundantwater is lostwhich is costly and causes negative environmental impacts like soil erosion, leaching loss of soilnutrients etc. Thewater saturated soil condition on rice production, a similar technology as theSystem of Rice Intensification (SRI), was introduced in the winter season to increase water useefficiencybyensuringuseof judiciousamountofwater in irrigationand save thepreciouswaterfrombeinglostthoughevaporation,seepageandrunoffduringtheproductioncycle.


Theoptionwasdemonstratedinthevillagesoftheprojectwherethefarmerhadaccesstoirrigationwater. In order to compare various production and yield parameters two demonstrations wereestablished;onebeingtheoptiondemonstrationandtheotheronefarmerspractice.

In theRabi2005,8demonstrationswere implemented in8 farmers fields in thepilotvillagesofproject coveringabout2.7haof land.Thenumberof farmersanddemonstrations remained lowconsideringtheoptionisnewoneintheprojectpilotvillages.

Table17:Implementationofsaturatedsoilconditiononrice


1Totalno.ofdemonstrationestablished

2 2 2 2 8


2 2 2 2 8

3Totalareaoflandbroughtundertheoption(ha)

0.27 0.81 0.81 0.81 2.7

Resultsandbenefits


Since the irrigation isprovided from a power driven deep tubewell, the availability of irrigationwater is dependent on the power supply situationwhich is often disrupted during the croppingseason in thearea concerned.Hence the cultivationpracticeand theultimategrowthof the ricecropwereimpactedandtheyieldvariedfromdemonstrationtodemonstration.

Comparingtheyieldoftheoptionplottofarmerspractice, itwasfoundthatonaverageadditional189.62kgofricewereharvestedfrom1haoflandandanamountofBDT2161wasreceivedfrom1haofland.

22

Table18:Economicbenefitsofsaturatedsoilconditiononrice


Average/ha

1 Costofcultivation(BDT) 3995 11950 11985 11970 14777.78

2Additionalyieldreceivedfromtheoptiondemonstrations(kg)

45 150 162 155 189.62

3Economicbenefitreceivedfromtheoptionplot(BDT)

500 1725 1820 1790 2161.11

4Economicbenefitfromthewatersavings(BDT)

90 290 308 300 365.93

Thesavingsfromthe irrigationwaterwasaboutBDT365.93per1ha.Thesavedamountwasnotvery high compared to the overall economic benefit of the crop production. However, climatechange scenarios for the drought prone barind area and the future risks associated with riceproductioncallforanefficientwateruseincropproduction,inparticularforbororice.


Require lessamountof irrigationwaterand thussave irrigationwaterand thussaveenvironmentfromdepletionofgroundwater.

Lesswater loss in the formofevaporation from the rice field that isverycrucial forenvironmentconservationpointofview.

Thepracticesavesenergyrequiredinthemachineforupliftingirrigationwaterfromthegroundandthusreducestheemissionofthegreenhousegas.

Farmersfeedback

Farmers acceptance (35%) of the optionwas not very promising resulting from the local powersupplysituationduringtheboroseasonwhichcontinuestobeapreconditionforensuringirrigationwater in the crop field. Another reason for low acceptancewas the labour requirement for thedemonstrationwhichisalittlehigherthanfortheusualpracticeforbororicecultivation.


Theoptionwasintroducedwiththeaimofincreasingthewateruseefficiencyinthericefield.Dueto the less secureaccessof irrigationwatera lowacceptanceby the local farmerswasobserved.However, in respect of the climatic and environmental benefits, the option is suggested to beofferedtotheprojectfarmersundermoresecureirrigationconditionsand/orwateravailabilityorincombinationwithoptionsthatincreasewateravailability(e.g.aminipond).

23

Table19:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:saturatedsoilconditiononricecultivation

6.6 CultivationofLinseed

Background

Intherainfeddryareasofthebarindtractfarmersareunabletocultivaterabi(winterseason)cropslikepulseandoil.Duetothehightemperatureandearlywithdrawalofraininsomeyears,fieldsoilis leftwithnoor littleamountofmoisturewhichdoesnotallow crops togrowand sustain.AsaresultmostofthebarindtractlandsremainfallowforthewholerabiseasonaftertheharvestofT.Amanriceandfarmershavealmostnochoicetogrowcrop. Inthiscontext,research institutes,asBARI,promotedcropdiversificationandintroducedT.AmanChickpea/oilcroppingpatterninrecentyears. After T. Aman transplantation in the early onset of rain in the month of July and riceharvesting, the seeds of the oil crop are sown to tap the residualmoisture in the field for easygermination.Thelinseedcultivationdemonstrationwasintroducedinthewinterseasontoincreasethe cropping intensity of the high barind areas by using the residual moisture after T. Amanharvesting.


CropfieldscultivatedwithT.Amanandretainedwithhighmoistureretentionwereselectedforthelinseed demonstration. Seeds of linseed were sown just after harvesting of the T. Aman. Thedemonstrationswereestablishedintwoofthefourprojectupazilasofthebarindarea.

As a starting point to test the suitability of the technology and to raise the confidence level, 7demonstrationswereestablishedin2upazilasoftheproject.

400farmersparticipated inthedemonstrationactivitiesoftheoptionthroughfarmersfielddayatmethodandresultdemonstrations.Amongthemafewtriedtheoptionintheirownfield.



Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype

/im

pacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

em

ission


RiceRice/Wheat

25,26

Droughtspells;

lossofcrops

Irrigated

Highandlow

barindtract


60US$

High Medium

Yes marginalincrease(useof

energyforirrigation)

Recommendedasadaptationoptionwithsecuredirrigation(fromminipond)

24

Table20:Implementationoflinseedcultivation

UpazilasSl.No. Parameters Nachole Gomostapur Total

1Totalno.ofdemonstrationsestablished

3 4 7


3 4 7


1.2 2.62 3.82

4


200 200 400

5

No.ofotherfarminghouseholdsreplicatedthetechnologyonowncost

20 5 25

Resultsandbenefits


Table21:Economicbenefitsoflinseedcultivation

UpazilasSl.No. Parameters Nachole Gomostapur Average/ha

1 Costofcultivation(BDT) 1198 2610 996.86

2 Yieldfromthedemonstration(kg) 378 584 251.83

3Economicbenefitreceivedfromthedemonstration(BDT)

13281 19008 8452.61

Theyield (251.83kg/ha)fromthe linseeddemonstrationwas lowerthanthenormalyield inotherpartsofthecountrybuttheselectedfarmers inthehighbarind landsweresatisfied.AneconomicbenefitofBDT8452.61/hawasachievedcomparedtonoincomefromfallowlandintherabiseason.

Thecropwas infestedby thepodborer insectthatreducedtheexpectedyield.Farmerswerenotawareoftheinfestationandcouldnotmanageitwell.


Requirelessamountofirrigationduringitsgrowthstage.Therefore,theoptionreducestherisksofdrought for crop production in the barind area. It also increases the resilience of the farminghouseholdsindroughtcondition.

Farmersfeedback

Although the yield and economic benefit was not very high, farmers were pretty satisfied andconvinced to takeupthesamepractice inthe followingyearbecausetheyconsidered thebenefitentirelyadditionalforthem.Theyrequestedappropriatepestmanagementsolutionstoavoidyieldreductions.

25


Thedemonstrationwastakenuprespondingto farmersneedsandrecommendationsbythe localagriculturedepartmentofficersandfarmerswerefoundsatisfied.Theoptionisparticularlysuitablefor poor farmers and sharecroppers. Demonstrations, in combination with social mobilizationthrough communication programmes, need to continue in the following 23 seasons/years forgatheringfurther lessonsthatwouldallowforacomprehensiverecommendation. IncorporationofIPMpracticesforthemanagementofthepodborerandotherinsectordiseaseproblemsmayalsobeconsideredforbetteryieldperformance.

Table22:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:cultivationoflinseed

6.7 CultivationofShortDurationT.AmanasanAlternativeTechnology

Background

In recent years, increasing climate variability has caused serious and frequent drought spells indrought prone northwestern Bangladesh, which influence agricultural systems in all stages ofgrowthandconsequentlythecropyields.Diversificationandadjustmentofcroppingpatternsareawaytoreducelosses,thusmitigatingtheimpactofdroughtsontheruralpoor.Intherainfedhighbarind tracts farmersusuallygrowonlyone ricecrop i.e. transplantedAmanduringKharifII (JulyOctober)seasonand leavethe landas fallow intheother twoseasons,Rabi (OctoberMarch)andKharifI(MarchJuly).BARIintroducedT.AmanChickpea/pulsecroppingpatterninrecentyears.ThepatternincludesT.AmantransplantationintheearlyonsetofraininthemonthofJulyandafterriceharvestingsowingtheseedsofthepulsecropcapturingtheresidualmoistureinthefieldtofacilitateeasygermination.Thedemonstrationwasestablishedinordertointroduceanewcroppingpatternthatexploitsthecurrentclimaticconditionofthehighbarindareaandprovidesfarmerswithoptionstoincorporatecropsinthefallowperiod.


TheblockdemonstrationmethodwasfollowedinthedemonstrationoftheT.Amancultivationandashortdurationvarietyofricewasused.Foreachdemonstrationmoreorless6.6acreofcropland



Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype

/im

pacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

em

ission


RiceWheat/Pulse/Oils

25,26

Droughtspells;

lossofcrops

Rainfed

Highbarindtract

Poor(sharecropper)farmers

20US$

High Medium

Yes noincrease

Highlyrecommendedasadaptationoptioncombinedwithminipond

26

wasselectedwhereineachcasemorethan5farmersparticipated.Thelandfordemonstrationswasselected in locationshighlyvisibletootherfarmersandthecommunity ingeneral.Transplantationof T. Aman was done in July with the early onset of monsoon rain. Farmers field days wereorganizedtodemonstratethetechnologytothefarmingcommunityinthesurroundingarea.

A totalof 64 farmers in 8 groupsundertook8demonstrations and about42.76haof landwerebroughtundertheoptiondemonstration.

Asper thepurposeof thedemonstration, forgenerating interest among the farming communityfarmers field days were organized at the demonstration sites where a total of 1370 farmersparticipatedandwereexposedtothetechnologyandtheprocessofimplementation.

Amongthefarmersparticipatedinthedemonstrationofthetechnology46farmersarereportedtohavetakenuptheoptionforimplementationintheirrespectivefields.

Table23:ImplementationofShortDurationT.Amancultivation



2 2 2 2 8


14 14 16 20 64


10.69 10.69 10.69 10.69 42.76

4


220 400 500 250 1370

5


15 10 12 9 46

Resultsandbenefits


Table24:EconomicbenefitsofShortDurationT.Amancultivation


Average/ha


2AdditionalyieldfromT.Amandemonstration(kg)

4200 4032 4224 4100 387.18


42000 40320 42240 41000 3871.84

Farmerscouldreceiveanadditionalyieldof387kg/ha.TheeconomicbenefitBDT3871/hafromtheT. Aman block demonstration does not differ much from the other season. However, if theproduction practice is treated as part of the cropping pattern and the benefits from the entirecroppingcyclearecompareditcanbeaprofitableoptionindroughtproneareas.

27


Diversification,i.e.anadditionalcrop,increasesfarmersresiliencetoclimatevariability.

Farmersfeedback

Farmersof theareaare concernedabout thedurationof the ricevarietyand the contentof soilmoisture retained after T.Aman harvesting. From the farmers point of view shortduration ricevarietyshouldbeused,transplantedinthefirstonsetrainoftheseasonandharvestedalittleearlierthanusualvarieties.Thiswillfacilitatesearlyseedsowingofthepulseseedsassoonaspossibletousetheresidualmoistureforeasygermination.


Theoptionwasappliedinoneseasoni.e.KharifII2006andtheresultsjustifyfurtherdemonstrationforwider audience in the community. Further demonstrations combinedwith an awareness andcommunication programme would be essential for the option to be taken up by the farmingcommunity of the drought prone area. The option can be promoted in high barind areawherefarmershave lessornoaccessto irrigationwater.Theoptioncanalsobecombinedwiththeminipondwhereifirrigationisneededthatcanbesupplementedfromthepond.Astheoptionrequiresearlyseedlings,inclusionofthedryseedbedmethodforseedlingsavailabilityshouldalsobetakenupaspartofthetotalpattern.

The technology should be promoted further in the community and the adjacent villages in thefollowing seasons for the poor and medium farmers, including sharecroppers, and for thecommunityasawhole,particularlywheretheycanbringmorelandtogether(asablock)underthedemonstration.

Table25:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:CultivationofT.AmanaspartoftheT.AmanChickPeaCroppingPattern



Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype

/im

pacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

em

ission


RiceWheat/Pulse

25,26

Droughtspells;

lossofcrops

Rainfed

Highandlow

barindtract


90US$


Highlyrecommendedasadaptationoption

28

6.8 CultivationofChickPeaafterT.Aman

Background

Intherainfeddryareasofthebarindtractfarmersareunabletocultivaterabi(winterseason)cropslikepulsesandoilswiththeirtraditionalpracticethatstartslatewhilethecroplandgetsdry.Duetothehigh temperatureandearlywithdrawalof rain insomeyears, fieldsoil is leftwithnoor littleamountofmoisturewhichdoesnotallowcrops togrowandsustain.Asaresultmostofthehighlands remain fallow for thewhole rabi season after theharvestof T.Aman rice. In this context,research institute like BARI suggest crop diversification and introduced T. AmanChick pea/pulsecropping pattern in recent years.After T.Aman transplantation in the early onset of rain in themonth of July and rice harvesting, the seeds of the pulse crop are sown tapping the residualmoisture in the field to facilitate easy germination.As apartof the T.AmanChickpea croppingpatternthechickpeablockdemonstrationwasestablishedtointroduceanewcroppingpatternthatexploitsthecurrentclimaticconditionofthedroughtproneareaandprovidesfarmersanoptiontoincorporatecropsinthefallowperiod.


TheblockdemonstrationmethodwasfollowedinthedemonstrationofthechickpeacultivationandBARIvarietyof chickpeawasused.T.Amanblockdemonstration fieldwasused for the chickpeademonstrationasperthepurposetousethemoistureofthesamefield.Seedofchickpeawassownjust after harvesting of the T. Aman to ensure germination of the seed exploiting the residualmoistureleftinthefield.Thedemonstrationswereestablishedintwoofthefourprojectupazilasofthe barind area. To enable farmers to farmers learning, farmers field days were organized todemonstratethetechnologytothefarmingcommunityinthesurroundingarea.

In2upazilas4demonstrationswereestablishedon21.38haoflandwhere28farmerswereinvolved(Table581).

Awarenessprogrammes through resultdemonstrationsand fielddaywerealsoarrangedwith350farmersparticipating.A few (22)of the community farmers tried thepattern in their field in thefollowingyear.

Table26:ImplementationofChickPeaCultivationafterT.Aman

UpazilasSL.No. Parameters Nachole Gomostapur Total


2 2 4


14 14 28


10.69 10.69 21.38

4


150 200 350

5


12 10 22

29

Resultsandbenefits


Table27:EconomicbenefitsofChickPeaCultivationafterT.Aman

UpazilasSL.No. Parameters Nachole Gomostapur Average/ha

1 Costofcultivation(BDT) 5100 5100 477.08

2YieldfromChickpeademonstration(kg)

626 550 55.00


14780 16902 1481.85

The residual moisture left in the T. Aman field facilitated the germination of chickpea and asatisfactorygrowthwasobserved.Asinglesupplemental irrigationduringvegetativegrowthofthecrop in few plots ofGomostapur upazila produced a slightly better yield than inNacholewhereirrigationcouldnotbeensured.

The yield (55 kg/ha) from the chickpea demonstration was lower than the normal yield fromchickpeainthecountry(1500kg/ha).Ultimately,theeconomicbenefit(BDT1481)wasalsolowerincomparisonwith thenormalbenefit farmersmightget fromotherpartsof thecountrywhere theclimatic condition and the irrigation water are no limiting factors. However, if the yield andeconomicbenefitarecomparedwithzeroproductioninthefallowperiodwhenfarmershardlycouldproduceanything,thebenefit isadditional forthefarmers (givenalsothehighnutritionalvalueofchickpeas).


Anexcellentexampleofadaptationoptionthatexploitsthedroughtconditionandproducecropsinhightemperature.

Farmersfeedback

Farmersweresatisfiedwiththeresulttheyreceivedfromminimuminvestmentwhere,accordingtothem,nocropcanbesuccessfullygrownintherabiseason.TheyfeltthattimelytransplantationofT.Amanandsubsequentchickpeaseedsowingarekeytogetsatisfyingyieldsinthefallowperiodoftheyear.

Theyalsofeltthattheincorporationofpulsecropsintheirricefieldcouldimprovetheirsoilfertilityandtheyappreciatedthepulsecropascheapsourceofproteinfortheirnutrition.


Cultivationofchickpeaallowsontheonehandanexploitationofthecurrentclimaticconditionofthedroughtpronebarindareaandontheotherhandprovidesariskreductionstrategythatensuresyieldandincomeduringtheleanperiodoftheyearandthusimprovestheresilienceofthefarmingcommunity.

30

The results showapotentialof the technology in theareawhichneeds tobedemonstratedasaroutine activity. However, in order to fetch more yield and thus economic benefits, thedemonstrationsmay be diversifiedwith other crops like linseed, barley. In addition,more socialmobilizationprogrammesareneededformoreawarenessgenerationandahigheradoptionbythefarmers.

Theoptioncanbepromoted inhighbarindareawherefarmershave lessornoaccessto irrigationwater.Theoptioncanalsobecombinedwiththesmallminipondwheresomeirrigationisneeded.Astheoptionrequiresearlyseedlings,inclusionofthedryseedbedmethodforseedlingsavailabilitymayalsobetakenupaspartofthetotalpattern.

The technology should be promoted further in the community and the adjacent villages in thefollowingseasonsforthepoorandsmallfarmers,includingsharecroppers,andforthecommunityasawhole,particularlywheretheycanbringmorelandtogether(asablock)underthedemonstration.

Table28:Replicationsuitabilityandrecommendation:CultivationofChickpeaaspartoftheT.AmanChickPeaCroppingPattern

6.9 HomesteadVegetablesGardeningwithMoreDroughtTolerantVegetables

Background

Homestead gardening is an old production practice in the rural areas of Bangladesh, creatingopportunityforemploymentandyearround incomeevenwhenothersourcesfailduetodrought.Thepracticewasalready suggestedby theBangladeshAgriculturalResearch Institute in theearly1980s. However at that stage it was not successful due to nonavailability of drought resistantvegetables.Currenteffortshelped to identifydrought resistant vegetable crops involving farmersthemselves.

Thispracticeensuresyear round income,nutritional securityandgender involvement. Producingvegetables in thehomestead canalsoensureuseof fallowandunexploited landand isawayof



Farm

ingsystem

AEZ

Hazardtype

/im

pacts

Water

mgt

system

Micro

topo

graphy/

terrain

Prim

arytarget

group

Investmen

tcosts

for

replication

Environmen

talben

efits

Increase

ofC

Cresilience

Econ

omic

and

social

feasibility

No/

margina

lincrease

ofG

HG

em

ission


RiceWheat/Pulse

25,26

Droughtspells;

lossofcrops

Rainfed

Highandlow

barindtract


60US$


Highlyrecommendedasadaptationoptioncombinedwithminipond

31

usinghomesteadwastes,sweepingsanddebrisasorganicmatter,aswellas irrigationwater fromthehomesteadsource.

Thepracticewasconsideredasagoodadaptationoption for improving family foodandnutritionandmanagingseasonalfaminecalledMongainnorthwesternBangladesh.


Homesteadvegetablesgardenswereestablished inall3seasons(KharifI,KharifIIandRabi)oftheyearwiththeaimthatthefarmingfamilycanharvestvegetablesthroughouttheyear,usethemforhomeconsumptionandsale thesurplus to themarkettosupportother livelihoodsaspectsof thefamily. The project follows the BARI model for establishing homestead vegetables gardens infarmers homesteads. Land was selected within or close to the homestead so that the womenmembersofthefamilycouldlookafterandworkinthegarden.Lesschemicalintensivemethodsandtechniqueswere followed and household resources like cow dung, debris,waterwere used andfamilylabourwasemployedinthegardeningactivities.

Vegetablesgrown in thehomesteadgardenweremostlyyearroundandwere selected such thatless water is required in the cultivation. The vegetables were kangkong, egg plant, okra, stemamaranth, redamaranth, Indianspinach,beansandother localvarietieswhicharesuitable to thedroughtcondition.

Intheprojectperiodi.e.fromRabi2006tillKharifII2007,44homesteadvegetablegardenswereestablishedin44farmershomesteadsin12pilotvillagesofproject.

112farmingfamiliestookpart inthedemonstrationactivitiesand57ofthemalsostartedapplyingthetechnologywhofounditbetterthantheirtraditionalonebecausetheprojectpromotedgardensarewell structuredwithmore varieties of vegetables those require less amount irrigationwaterwhichisverycrucialindroughtproneenvironment.

Table29:ImplementationofHomesteadVegetableGarden


Totalinoneseason

1 Totalno.ofgardenestablished 14 6 12 12 44


14 6 12 12 44


0.06 0.02 0.05 0.05 0.18

4No.ofvegetablesvarietiesgrowninthegarden

13 5 5 5 28

5


50 20 20 22 112

6


26 10 10 11 57

32

Resultsandbenefits


Table30:EconomicbenefitsofHomesteadVegetableGarden


Average/ha


2Totalyieldofvegetablesinoneseason(kg)

2520 1044 2328 2280 45400.00

3Economicbenefitreceivedinoneseason(BDT)

11200 5100 12360 11760 224555.56

AfarmingfamilyspentonlyaboutBDT1220(lessthan20US$)fortheestablishmentofahomesteadvegetablesgarden including thecostof seeds, fertilizers,other inputsand family labour. It isBDT298222.22(4260US$)inonehectare.

A farming familycouldharvestonaverage186kg.ofvegetablespergarden (45400Kg/ha) inoneseason.Therefore, in3seasonsestimated558kgofvegetablescouldbeproducedpergardenandaccordingly 24516 kg i.e. 25 tons (approx.) of vegetables could be produced from 44 vegetablesgardensinayear.

Intermsofeconomicbenefits,afarmingfamilycouldearnonaverageBDT918pergarden ineachseason.Thusfromonehectareofvegetablegarden,afarmingfamilycouldearnBDT224555whichis23%higherthaninearningsfromtraditionalhomesteadgardens.

In certainmonths of the year, in particular in drought periods,when farming families have lessaccess toemploymentopportunitiesand income,homesteadvegetablesgardens serveasa food,nutritionandincomesource.

Farmerscouldusetheirfallowlandinandaroundhomesteadwhichotherwisewouldbeleftfallow.Vegetablesgrown inthehomesteadgardensrequire lesschemical fertilizersandpesticides,whichsavesmoneyandenergythusalsocontributiontoclimatechangemitigation.

Homestead is the women domain and they manage the enterprise, in planning, selection ofvarieties,sellanduseoftheproduce.Theinvolvementofwomeninthegardeningactivitiesensuredtheirparticipationindecisionmakingandempowermentinthefamilyandsociety.


Vegetable speciesandvarietiesgrown require less irrigationwater. Inotherwords it saveswaterwhichisextremelycriticalinadroughtproneenvironment.

Homesteadvegetablesaregrownmostlywithmorehomesteadorganicmatterand less chemicalfertilizersandpesticides.Therefore,byusingfewerchemicals,theoptioniscontributingtothelessGHGemissionfromthefactoryforproducingthechemicals.

33

Farmersfeedback

Ingeneral,vegetablesrequire lotsofwaterand irrigationneedstobeensuredalmostthroughoutthe lifecycle,which isachallenge indroughtpronebarindarea.Moredroughtresistantvarietiesshouldbeexploredandmadeavailable for the farmers.Farmersare strugglingwithqualityseedsand most of the time they are cheated by seed traders and others. They ask for yearroundavailabilityandaccesstoqualityseedsandseedlings.

Strong fence is extremely needed for ensuring year round production of various vegetables andsecuringtheproducefromcattleandotheranimals.


Considering the scarcity of the quality seeds and objective of the demonstrations

Study Report - Results and Lessons of Local Adaptation Option in Drought Prone Area in NW Bangladesh

Documents

Transcript of Study Report - Results and Lessons of Local Adaptation Option in Drought Prone Area in NW Bangladesh