Agricultural experts during a field visit on Sunday stressed on enhancing farmers’ household incomes and nutritional food security through increasing diversified agricultural productions to improve their livelihoods.
The International Rice Research Institute’s country representative for Bangladesh, Humnath Bhandari, led the eight-member team of the IRRI Bangladesh, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Bangladesh.
Director general of the BARI Debasish Sarker and the DG of the BRRI Md Shahjahan Kabir and Mohesh Gathala of CIMMYT Bangladesh were present during the visit coordinated by specialist in agricultural research Md Abu Abdullah Miajy at IRRI’s Rangpur Hub Office.
‘To achieve the goal, the Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems project is being implemented in Bangladesh since 2022, aiming at using every inch of homesteads adopting resource-efficient and climate-smart innovations and technologies,’ said Humnath Bhandari.
The SI-MFS project is a global initiative funded by the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers and its activities are going on six countries, including Bangladesh.Â
Cropping system agronomist from the IRRI’s Bangladesh Office, Sharif Ahmed, and senior scientific officer of the BARI in Rangpur, Zannatul Ferdous, discussed the project activities in 15 villages with 3,060 farmers’ households of Nilphamari, Rangpur and Dinajpur districts during the visit.
The main goal of the project is to enhance farmers’ livelihoods with ensured family food security and nutrition through intensified and diversified agricultural production and create youth employment through developed small agriculture-based entrepreneurs.
Under the project, straw and fodder chopper machines, mini rice husking mills, power-tiller operated seeder machines, maize sheller and mini power tiller were provided to female and male entrepreneurs in the SI-MFS villages.
The BARI chief Debasish Sarker said that homestead based year-round vegetables-fruits production through the BARI model at Saidpur would ensure family nutrition of the northern people.
The BRRI chief Md Shahjahan Kabir said that fertile land of overpopulated Bangladesh helped increase agricultural production of rice and non-rice crops, vegetables, fruits and livestock through providing environment friendly technologies to farmers.