Bangladesh – To increase food production, Bangladesh heavily depends on high-yielding variety of crops, irrigation facilities, and the use of fertilizer and pesticides. The agriculture sector in Bangladesh needs about 3375 metric tons of fertilizer every year. Local manufacturers provide 77% of this demand and the remaining 23% is imported. However, there is a huge concern over the environmental problems caused by the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. To help address this issue, MTCP2 Bangladesh conducted training for farmers on various eco-friendly sustainable agriculture technologies. Through these training courses, farmers learn ways on how to fight the negative impacts of climate change.
One of the topics in the training is using vermicompost as fertilizer in farms, which is a potential solution for the massive use of chemical fertilizers among Bangladeshi farmers. Vermicompost is the product of the composting process using various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a heterogeneous mixture of cow dung, vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicompost contains water-soluble nutrients and is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.
Vermicomposting is beneficial for the environment because it is natural or organic, reduces greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitric oxide (produced in landfills or incinerators when not composted or through methane harvest), provides 80% of essential nutrients for crops, increases soil fertility, resistance to pests and diseases, and increases water holding capacity of soil by up to 30%–thereby increasing the productivity of crops.
One of the farmers doing vermicomposting is Lila Bati, a farmer from Char Bhula village in Bhola island district of Bangladesh. Lila’s family did not have their own land so they used to farm peoples’ land. She attended training on vermicomposting conducted by MTCP2 Bangladesh. After the training, she started applying what she learned. It was not easy and comfortable for her because her neighbors mocked her for using earthworms. However, she did not give up.
Lila started doing vermicompost using 1,000 earthworms. After 45 days, she regained her investment. She produces 200 kilograms of vermicompost fertilizer which gives her a monthly income of BDT 2,000 (Bangladeshi taka) per month or USD 24. This is quite a handsome amount for a poor village woman in Bangladesh. Her fertilizer is now being marketed as her own brand. With her earnings, she was able to buy two cows and acquire a 32 decimal land (13,932 sq. ft). Now, Lila is living a moderate life with her family from her monthly income of up to BDT 5000 (USD 60). Moreover, MTCP2 Bangladesh also helped her in arranging village level meetings on sustainable agriculture technologies to teach other farmers about eco-friendly ways of farming such as vermicomposting.
In the beginning, MTCP2 Bangladesh had to deal with challenges such as the negative mindset of the farmers and lack of inputs but these were overcome eventually. MTCP2 Bangladesh made efforts to disseminate knowledge about sustainable agriculture through campaigns, training, and orientations. It also helped the local government office of agriculture rendered assistance. #
About MTCP2
The Medium-Term Cooperation Program Phase 2 (MTCP2), a five-year capacity building program supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the European Union (EU), has been implemented in 19 countries across three sub-regions—Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific—engaging 1,544 sub-national farmers organizations (FOs) with a total membership of around 22 million farmers. The funding support (total budget of $ 5 million for the whole duration of the project across 19 countries) serves as a catalytic fund that will allow FOs to enhance their capacity to be effective channels of economic services to farmers. The program has contributed to the formation of the strong national platform of FOs with improved capacity to engage in policy processes and mobilize resources from mainstream agricultural development programs like extension services, credit, and pre and post-harvest facilities. The program also helped in transforming farmers’ associations into commodity-based cooperatives to strengthen the role of small-scale farmers within an inclusive and sustainable value-chain. The program is being implemented by the consortium Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC).
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