Focus should be given on raising farmers’ household income

RANGPUR, May 05: Country Representative of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Bangladesh Dr Humnath Bhandari has stressed the need for promoting farmers' household income and augmenting their nutritional food security by increasing diversified agricultural production.

The Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems (SI-MFS) Project is being implemented in northern and southern parts of Bangladesh from 2022 aiming to use every inch of homestead land adopting resource-efficient and climate-smart innovations and technologies to achieve the goals, he said.

He said these while inspecting the project works that include farmers' household-based year-round vegetable-fruit farming, compost-vermicompost processing, production of improved fodder and livestock, direct seeding rice (DSR), bio-fortified rice Bangabandhu dhan 100 following diversified cropping patterns in Kishoreganj and Sadar upazilas of Nilphamari district on Sunday.

Dr Bhandari, also Country Focal Person of the project, was leading an eight-member delegation of IRRI Bangladesh, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) Bangladesh.

The SI-MFS project is a global initiative funded by the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) and its activities are going on in six countries including Bangladesh, he also said.

Among others, the team included Director General (DG) of BARI Dr Debasish Sarker and DG of BRRI Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir and Dr Mohesh Gathala, CIMMYT Bangladesh.

Cropping System Agronomist from IRRI's Bangladesh Office Dr Sharif Ahmed and Senior Scientific Officer of BARI in Rangpur Dr Zannatul Ferdous discussed the project activities in 15 villages with 3,060 farmers' households of Nilphamari, Rangpur and Dinajpur districts.

The SI-MFS project and IRRI's Rangpur Hub Office in collaboration with BARI, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), BRRI and Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) provided 28 batches training to 930 farmers on homestead based gardening, compost-vermicompost, intensified and diversified crop production, fodder and improved livestock production, said Dr Ahmed.

Under the project, straw and fodder chopper machines, mini rice husking mills, power-tiller operated seeder (PTOS) machines, maize sheller and mini power tiller were provided to young female and male entrepreneurs in the SI-MFS villages, he added.

BARI and IRRI have launched smaller homestead-based combined mini seed packets under the project for marketing with reasonable price in local markets to meet the challenge of sustaining the homestead gardening, he added.

BRRI DG Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir said overpopulated Bangladesh has fertile land that helps increase agricultural production of rice and non-rice crops, vegetables, fruits and livestock through providing environment friendly technologies to farmers.

Specialist in agricultural research Md Abu Abdullah Miajy at IRRI's Rangpur Hub Office coordinated the field visit programme.

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