Objectives: 1.Disseminate technologies to enhance agricultural production of small farmers. 2.Develop agribusiness support for technology adoption. 3.Build national capacity to provide knowledge support for farmers. FFPr Program for Bangladesh

Technology Dissemination Liming of acid soils Raised Beds to address drought & labor shortages Raised beds, selected rice varieties, and alternative crops for management of arsenic contamination Soil & Water Arsenic Drought & Labor Soil Acidity FFPr Program for Bangladesh Resource Constraints

Program Impact on Farmers Increased yields (mean of 25-70%) for a wide range of crops (rice has low response of ~15%) Improved crop quality gives better sale prices Less pest and disease pressure 1. Liming Output Indicators Estimated adoption on 100,000 ac. 1,100 farmer field schools & 11,000 farmer trials 625 DAE demonstrations & 1000 field days 42,500 “twenty taka test kits” 7,500 micro-credit loans 40 different crops studied

Eggplant Radish Garlic Groundnut

Crop yields increased 10-40% with 30% fewer plants (R&W) Water inputs reduced by 25-40% Production costs decreased Output Indicators Adoption on 11,000 ac. 6,400 farmers trained 20 tillage service providers created 1 new manufacturer of bedformer Program Impact on Farmers 2. Raised beds – dissemination and agribusiness

Rice Lentil Cucumber

Arsenic is toxic to rice and grain has high arsenic content Some Strategies - ID As tolerant varieties - Raised beds to reduce As solubility BRRI dhan 45 BRRI dhan ppm Conventional Paddy Raised Beds Arsenic Affected Field Program Impact on Farmers 3. Managing arsenic contamination

Raised Bed Mitigation of As Toxicity BADC (Gov’t) Seed Production Farm Output Indicators 55 demonstrations 1200 farmers exposed to technology 8 bed formers loaned to farmers 10 farmers trained in machinery operation Arsenic tolerant and vulnerable varieties identified

USDA - US AID Collaborations CSISA personnel participation in workshops on liming Agreement on raised bed dissemination methodologies and target areas Joint activities - field days at USDA-FFPr raised bed sites - machinery improvement - promotion of wheat and maize as alternatives to rice in severely arsenic affected areas 1.Cornell USDA FFPr project grew from 12 years of US AID support (Soil management CRSP & mission funded projects) 2.CGIAR FtF cereal systems initiative for S. Asia (CSISA)

Some Collaboration Issues 1.Different Scope: Cornell FFPr is National and FtF is Regional - FtF follows Bangladesh gov’t investment plan with focus on the south - joint vision ? 2.Avoid: - duplication, competition, mixed messages to clients - incentives to farmers to adopt a technology, e.g. free inputs; creates dependency, complicates technology adoption process and may create the illusion of success 3. Promote: - independence of farmers, i.e. using technologies independently of projects

Dissemination Strategy for Raised Beds Demos in farmer fields Training of farmer operators Lend machinery to potential service providers clients Loans for machinery purchase 1.Introducing technology (awareness creation) 2.Building confidence, enabling farmer experimentation and creating demand 3. Service providers created – they innovate & drive farmer demand

Moving Forward 1. Encourage dialogue and joint planning 2.Seek: - synergy - leveraging of comparative advantages - filling gaps - good documentation of impacts and outcomes 3.Collaborations need a leader – activity initiator

Bangladesh Partners: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU) - Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) - Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) - Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Development Service (RDRS) Rural Development Academy (RDA) FFPr Program for Bangladesh