Smallholder farmers in Bangladesh join the global call to action against climate change. They call on the world leaders attending the COP26 to recognize family farmers as solution providers and to invest in establishing a Farmers’ Empowerment and Climate Resiliency Trust Fund.
“Due to climate change, farmers in Bangladesh are in a vulnerable situation. Because of the sea level rise and salinity intrusion, river erosion, etc., they are facing a massive negative blow in terms of crop productivity. In addition, poor management practices, especially those of pests and diseases, fertilizer, water, and irrigation have largely contributed to a significant decline in crop productivity. Small and marginal farmers that constitute the majority of farm population are constrained by poor financial resources and cannot, therefore, afford high management costs of high input technology,” said Md. Badrul Alam, President of the Bangladesh Krishok Federation, during the Focus Group Discussion for the We Are Watching campaign conducted in Bangladesh in 2021. In addition, he demanded to give emphasis on ensuring agroecology and food sovereignty and extensive use of renewable energy in Bangladesh could be an effective response mechanism.
Watch the Focus Group Discussion conducted by the COAST Foundation on 3 August 2021 via Zoom:
We Are Watching is a monumental eye, made up of thousands of portraits contributed from 190 countries. It flies high above cities on a flag the size of a 10-story building. Raised at key climate events to hold leaders accountable as they decide the future of our planet, its message is crystal-clear: the eyes of the world are upon you. Artivist Dan Archer’s globally participative work first flew at Madrid’s COP25 UN Climate Change Conference. Its ongoing mission is to take the eyes of the world around the globe. (Know more about this campaign at https://wearewatching.org/)
The We Are Watching campaign is supported by the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), the Asia-Pacific Farmers Program (APFP), and the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF).
For more information, go to asianfarmers.org.
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