Farmers in the Charlands of Bangladesh benefit from new wheat and maize interventions
CIMMYT-CSISA-Bangladesh organized a field day in collaboration with the Wheat Research Centre (WRC) and the Department of Agriculture and Extension (DAE). In all, 162 farmers from Mymensingh, Bangladesh, attended the field day, held on 21 March 2012. CSISA–BD is a collaborative venture funded by USAID that includes CIMMYT, IRRI, WorldFish, and relevant national research and development partners. Also participating in the field day were other partners who work with CSISA-BD, CIMMYT, and Mymensingh Hub, such as the Directorate of Agricultural Extension and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), and NGOs, such as CARE, ASPADA, POPI, and JABC.
Although cropping intensity in the region is 212%, just one crop (black gram) is grown in the charlands of the Brahmaputra River. Charlands are formed through the sedimentation, over time, of huge amounts of sand, silt, and clay carried by rivers. Growing the preferred crop (Boro rice) in these lands is not feasible for lack of surface water.
CSISA–CIMMYT identified the charlands as a potential area for new wheat and maize hybrids, and organized demonstrations and on-farm participatory research on Ug99 tolerant wheat varieties BARI Gom 26 and BARI Gom 27 (Francolin) and hybrid maize. Farmers were happy to see both wheat and maize growing in demonstrations with limited irrigation. They said this was the first time in history that maize and wheat could be grown in charland areas with this level of success, and expressed an interest in significantly expanding the area sown to these materials next year. It has been estimated that such technologies could impact hundreds of hectares in this region and thousands of hectares across Bangladesh.
During the demonstrations, Dr. DB Pandit, cropping systems agronomist for CSISA-CIMMYT, gave an overview of CSISA-BD activities in the charlands. DAE Adjunct Director Dr. ASM Affazuddin and WRC Director Dr Jalal Uddin Ahmed spoke very highly of these efforts and assured farmers they would establish more wheat and mungbean demonstrations next year. Dr. TP Tiwari, CIMMYT-BD cropping systems agronomist, asked farmers to share the knowledge and skills they have gained so far from CSISA-BD interventions with their neighbors and relatives. He also initiated discussions on improved maize production technologies. All NGO participants expressed their determination to support the implementation of CIMMYT-CSISA activities aimed at achieving sustainable food security and improving the livelihoods of charland farmers. M. Islam, administrative coordinator of the Mymensingh Hub who led the organization of the field day, ended the program by thanking all participants.
“It is very difficult to find conservation agriculture machinery. You have to go to China or India to get it,” said Mahesh Kumar Gathala, new CIMMYTBangladesh-based cropping systems agronomist for South Asia. Gathala, a native of India, was just one of the 15 participants invited to attend a five-week conservation agriculture course at CIMMYT-El Batán, Mexico, where improving machinery and professional capacity were hot topics.
In Bangladesh, approximately 350 species of weeds have been identified, and in Asian countries, these weeds cause roughly 33% of total crop loss. Because of the threat posed by weeds, the use of herbicides in Bangladesh has risen rapidly in the past few years. Herbicides are a great asset to protect crops from weeds; however when not used properly, they can be dangerous to human health or lead to the premature development of herbicide-resistant weeds.
The Wheat Research Center (WRC) in Bhairahawa welcomed 20 early and mid-career wheat breeders from four CSISA countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan) to its scenic campus in Nepal’s Terai region to participate in a two-week regional Wheat Improvement and Pathology course which was organized in collaboration with Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) from 29 November- 12 December 2010.
On 30 June 2010, a USAID Famine Seed Project meeting was organized at CIMMYT’s South Asia Office in Kathmandu, Nepal. Seventeen participants, including those from the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC), CIMMYT-Nepal, CIMMYT-Bangladesh, and Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) HUB partners in Nepal, attended the meeting. The objectives of the day were to: (1) review 2009-10 crop cycle work and progress, (2) to develop a work plan for the upcoming 2010-11 cycle and, (3) to strengthen collaboration with technology-delivering stakeholders.
Over 60 researchers, field technicians, farmers, machinery manufacturers, service providers, and extension workers attended two recent conservation agriculture (CA) training events in Bangladesh. The first event was held at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) station in Comilla on 28-29 April, followed by an event at the Wheat Research Centre of BARI in Dinajpur on 04-05 May. The events focused on machinery operation and maintenance, as well as the agronomy of dry direct-seeded rice (DSR). Both were part of joint CIMMYT-
“Machinery operation and maintenance is vital for rapid dissemination of CA-based technologies,” said Jagadish Timsina, IRRI-CIMMYT senior cropping system agronomist. He added that this ACIAR-funded ricemaize project has been adapting and evaluating the PTOS and the bed former/planter at project sites, and has been refining these machines for their use in different soils with the help of agriculture engineers from the national agriculture research intuitions involved in the project. The project has given special emphasis to training and capacity building for machine use and has already trained more than 120 people from government and non-governmental organizations, as well as farmers, service providers, machinery manufacturers, and extension workers since it started in November 2008.
Various research and extensions workers collaborating with the project “Sustainable Intensification of Rice-Maize Systems in Bangladesh” organized five farmer field days throughout March and April 2010. The events took place in the districts of Comilla, Rangpur, and Rajshahi and attracted over 350 farmers.
Though the project, which started in November 2008, initially focused on adaptive research in farmers’ fields, it is now starting to emphasize dissemination of improved CA practicies and SSNM technologies to farmers as well. This will be done through training and capacity building with researchers, farmers, extension workers, machinery manufacturers, and service providers.
Partners of the “Sustainable intensification of rice-maize production systems in Bangladesh” met 25-29 October 2009 for the project’s first annual review—the program started in June 2008 and will run until 2013. Nearly 50 people attended the meeting held at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur, Bangladesh. The Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funds the project, which focuses on research and technology delivery for conservation agriculture (CA) and site-specific nutrient management (SSNM).
The last three days of activities took place in the research stations of BARI, BRRI, and the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), as well as at on-farm sites in Rajshahi and Comilla. Scientists spoke with farmers about the benefits of CA technologies and received feedback from the farmers about the different technologies tested in their fields as well as overall project activities. First year CA activities for maize primarily focused on seeding on flat land with a power tiller operated seeder (PTOS) and seeding with a bed former/planter on raised beds under reduced tillage. For rice, emphasis has been on direct-seeded rice with the PTOS, direct-seeded rice using a bed former/planter, and transplanting seedlings on raised beds.