Project Name : Nobo Jatra (New Beginning)

Doner : USAID

Sector : Agriculture and Livelihoods

Area : Kaliganj

Time Line : October 2019-March 2020

Brief of activities :

Nobo Jatra is an integrated and gender-sensitive package of interventions across the following program elements: maternal and child health, nutrition, water supply and sanitation, agriculture sector capacity, microenterprise productivity, civic participation and capacity building preparedness and planning. With the assistance of World Vision and World Food Program, Winrock International is developing literacy capacity as well as business capacity of 14,000 graduation participants who are extremely poor with skills training and asset transfer. Winrock International will reach 20,000 individual farmers with environmentally sound technical support including climate smart agricultural technology, business planning and pesticides safer uses to increase safety, quality, and diversity of agricultural, fisheries and livestock productivity; while another 18,000 will benefit from alternative livelihoods opportunities and private sector development.

This is a guideline to implementation strategies for “Agriculture and Alternative Livelihoods” component i.e. P2 of Nobo Jatra Program. The guideline contains the details of implementation strategies, activities, integrated market-based approach, Entrepreneurial Literacy, community-based training and program delivery mechanisms, partners and their roles. The members of WI’s technical team have contributed to bring the guideline to its current state. This is a draft guideline and will be considered as a living document to improve from time to time based on the field needs.

This document will be used by the P2 team, other component members and implementing partner NGOs taking it as a core document for implementation. Many programmatic decisions have already been incorporated and many more will be included over time. Livelihoods Officers, Enterprise Development Officers and PNGO staff will be trained on the contents of this guidelines.

SECTION TWO

NOBO JATRA’S AGRICULTURE AND LIVELIHOODS STRATEGY

In the four decades since its independence, Bangladesh has made impressive progress in growth and development. Poverty levels have fallen by one third and indicators such as life expectancy and literacy have increased. Reductions in maternal and child mortality have been promising and agricultural self-sufficiency in rice production has led to higher per capita food intake. In the last ten years, the economy has grown at over 6% per annum, coupled with a rising level of exports and remittances. 

Despite these achievements, the gains of development have not been even and some regions continue to experience high levels of vulnerability. The southwestern coastal region for example, is characterized by a complex interplay of natural and man-made challenges. Located literally and figuratively ‘in the eye of the storm’, the area is recurrently exposed to cyclones, tidal surges, floods and droughts and the consequences of climate change are expected to exacerbate the intensity and frequency with which these occur. Agricultural productivity is severely impeded by salinity, waterlogging and the injudicious conversion of cultivable land into shrimp farms. These have attendant implications for food security and livelihoods, and accentuated by an unavailability of freshwater, poor households in this area consistently struggle to afford a nutritious diet, diversify their livelihoods and rebound from climatic adversity.

TABLE 1. PURPOSE, SUB-PURPOSE AND ACTIVITY

Nobo Jatra’s agriculture and livelihoods component will address constraints to equitable access to income, which include reliance on unprofitable economic activities, marginal farm sizes and decreasing productivity, restrictive tenancy and inequitable gender norms. Through Purpose 2 of the program which seeks to increased equitable household income, the component will be delivered through eight interventions under two sub-purposes, as outlined below.

Project Name : Nobo Jatra (New Beginning)

Doner : USAID

Sector : Agriculture and Livelihoods

Area : Kaliganj

Time Line : October 2019-March 2020

Brief of activities :

Success story of Sahanara khatun

Sahanara khatun Inhabitants of Thekra village under Kushuliya union of Kaliganj upazila of Satkhira district, she lives with her two son and one daughter, are in MA, SSC and class six. She is leading her life with her husband Abdul hamid Dhali. She had been passing a straggled life from the very beginning of their conjugal life and day by day it was becoming more challenging. Her family’s main earning source was day labor. Now she is very healthy GIFT (Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia) farmer and earn enough money for her family. Sahanara help her husband to increase family income and some savings in every month.

At before she does not use improved production and climate smart technology for GIFT fish and poultry rearing. She used local variety of tilapia and don’t have clear message on dike preparation, water management, fertilizing, liming, quality of fingerling, stocking process and quality of fingerling, supplementary feeding, disease management, sampling and post-harvest management. Moreover, don’t have knowledge on dike cropping management. Due to using harmful pesticide and insecticide for disease control, supportive pest had been demolished, also pond water and surrounding environment had been destroyed. Moreover, during spray due to not used hand gloves, boots, musk and others protected material she and her family members were directly affected and becoming physically weak.

However, July’2017 Sahanara selected by Nobo Jatara Project as a GIFT value chain farmer as their total land with homestead is 45 decimals and 51 decimals pond (Where 5 dec is her own and 46 dec is leased). At that time, she received 3-days basic training on improved production technology of GIFT and poultry and livestock rearing and pesticides safer uses and integrated pest management on August’2017, After she started production by introducing some improved production techniques & practices (Dike preparation, water management, organic and inorganic fertilization, liming, fingerling  stocking, supplementary feeding, horra pulling, sampling, disease management, post-harvest management and dike cropping). Now She is practicing quick growing species culture, Salinity tolerance species culture and also high temperature tolerable species culture, that all technology covered by GIFT. She treated her pond water treatment by banana tree. She is practicing two Sycle GIFT production in a year. At Last Sycle she has produced 663 kg GIFT from her 51decimal pond, expenditure cost was 40000 taka and profit were 26300 takas. But before introducing with NJP her sells value was 42000-taka, expenditure cost was 32000 taka and profit was 10000takas.

Sahanara is also practicing dike cropping on that pond and one decimal homestead vegetation. Last winter season she cultivated Red amaranth, spinach, bottle gourd, Yard long Bean, sweet gourd and papaya. She is using botanical pesticide like neam leaf, tomato leaf for pest control, during using of chemical pesticide like cypermethrin, malathion, carbendazim she is maintaining limited level of approved pesticide of NJP. She kept away pesticide  from children, pesticide label information followed, weather condition or day timing followed for applying pesticide, wind flow direction followed to apply pesticide, stream water or open water avoid to clean pesticide spray machine, clothes washed after applying pesticide, Pesticide  container or packets disposed in safer manner, she also use personal protection equipment like gloves, musk, coat in case of dealing with pesticide. Moreover, she purchased seed or fish fingerlings from a certified private or government nursery or traders. Last season her total consumes and sells value was 6000-taka, expenditure cost was 1000 taka and profit were 5000 takas. But before introducing with NJP her consumes and sells value was 2000-taka, expenditure cost was 600 taka and profit was 1400 takas.

She also rearing 5 duck, 6 poultry and have earned 1000 takas from it eggs. Moreover, she is the owner of 12 goats that market price is approximately 45000 takas. She is maintaining schedule vaccination for her poultry and livestock. Al of this have possible to sell only GIFT.

 Sahanara Khatun says” Due to using Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) I am producing high volume of food all the year round that is always possible in adverse situation like heavy temperature or more salinity area and create an opportunity to take safety food for my family”.

Now Sahanara take care GIFT farmers for their better production with direct linkage with DoF and Local service providers, privet company and ensured market linkage for better price. So, through GIFT Culture practice Sahanara effectively became the community focal point for general producers within her jurisdiction. Not taking this responsibility lightly, Sahanara teach others what she herself had learned, effectively preparing the next line of farmers. She is Sub leader of 23 GIFT producers. Sahanara have extended her hose through GIFT cultivation and is now planning to increase the acreage of her own land & livestock’s and will also visit surrounding community peoples to encourage them to produce GIFT at their homestead in the coming seasons by using CSA and improved production technology.

Sahanara is truly a beacon of hope and possibility to both men and women in her community. In her new role, she organizes group members for trainings, has already started to facilitate training sessions and will gradually lead sessions independently. This is a remarkable achievement given the prevalent social norms in rural Bangladesh that rarely recognize women as farmers let alone exalt them to a position as leader and role model. Sahanara is adopted in climate smart GIFT cultural technology and trying to adopt other farmers due to high production in adverse condition and environmentally friendly also.

Data collection and Prepared by:

Sayed Md. Masum                                         

Livelihoods Officer

Kaliganj, Satkhira

           &

Md. Mohiuddin

Upazila Coordinator

CODEC-DFAP Nobo Jatra Project

Kaliganj Upazila, Satkhira