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RICE AND BIO-DIVERSITY
Rice Diversity and Production in the Southwest of Bangladesh:
Using Diversity and Local Knowledge to create Sustainable Livelihoods
in the coastal Areas of Bangladesh.
PERSPECTIVE :
The South-west Coastal Region : Consisting of Bagerhat, Khulna and
Satkhira districts and the southern portion of Jessore district, was known
for the abundant production of rice.
Before the embankments (before 1960) the farmers used to cultivate
hundreds of indigenous varieties of rice.
But the embankments changed the character of the land.
In the newly introduced freshwater regime, the farmers began
to cultivate the newly introduced High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of Rice,
which gave yields that were several times higher than the local varieties.
This situation lasted for a short period.
The embankments, in course of time, led to the water logging, clogging
of rivers due to siltation of the riverbeds, and also increased salinity.
The water logging has almost put a stop to all agricultural activities
in the region, while salinity has seriously hampered rice cultivation.
Further south, in the brackish region, shrimp cultivation has replaced rice in most areas. As it needs less manpower than agriculture, job opportunities have also been reduced, resulting in steadily increasing poverty.
80% of the people in this region are malnourished, over 41% of children
are born with less than 2.5 kg birth-weight, and 7.7% children die within
one year of birth.
Demographic changes are also occurring. The present density of 487
persons per square km is likely to increase to 930 by the year 2020.
In this perspective, it is apprehended that a major portion of the population is likely to remain poor.
It is therefore necessary to involve more and more poor people in rice production. The cultivation of HYV rice requires a comparatively high level of inputs, which is beyond the capacity of the poor farmers. As such, we need to reintroduce the cultivation of indigenous varieties that are brackish water tolerant and deep water tolerant.
It is in this perspective that, the project “Rice Diversity and Production in the Southwest of Bangladesh: Using Diversity and Local Knowledge to Create Sustainable Livelihoods in the Coastal Areas of Bangladesh” has been formulated.
GOAL OF THE PROJECT:
To increase the sustainability, security, and bio-diversity of the
agriculture-based livelihood systems of resource-poor farmers in the Southwest
of Bangladesh.
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PURPOSE:
To make available a wide range of adapted modern and traditional rice
varieties to resource-poor farmers in the Southwest of Bangladesh, through
the initial collection and analysis of the existing variety.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT :
The Project is divided into phases.
The output of Phase I will be :
Collection and assessment of varieties among farmers
Characterization of environments in the Southwest,
This will be achieved through identification and selection of
locations and farmers. Emphasis will be on the selection of areas where
unfavorable (e.g.saline) ecosystems predominate.
These will comprise the main areas of collection of rice diversity. Both land-less and landed farmers will participate.
OUTPUT – I: Collect existing deep water, saline and other traditional varieties and passport data (farmers’ traditional knowledge).
Activities : 1) Assess Southwest Bangladesh Regions in terms of
rice diversity.
2) Select and characterize sub-regions for varietal collection
3) Select farmers for participation
4) Train NGO collectors in proper method, timing and frequency of passport
date and seeds.
5) Packaging and storing of seeds and data management.
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OUTPUT – II : Enhance capacity of NGO staff in technical and sociological
methods of Research.
Activities : 1) Train NGO staff in managing research activities
and organizations.
2) Train NGO staff in data and seed collection, managing on-farm and
on- station trials of rice.
3) Enhancing NGOs and Farmers capacity to set up and evaluate a PVS
trial.
OUTPUT – III: Establish the need for farmer testing and evaluation of the Collected Germ Plasm
Activities :
1) Report to farmers the results of Phase I.
2) Conduct farmer stakeholder analysis in relation to germ-plasm bio-diversity.
After completion of the first phase, participatory critical review and assessment of the results will be held. The main objective of that assessment will be to decide as to which direction Phase II will take.
PHASE II
The activities in phase II will be:
Collection and characterization of varieties and ecosystems of Phase
I
Evaluation, selection and dissemination of adapted varieties among farmers
This will begin with participatory variety selection (PVS) among area farmers.
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Varieties for planting will be chosen through a matching of indigenous
knowledge and the local ecosystem.
Farmers will be brought to the demonstration sites (or farmers fields) for PVS.
These will be multiplied and distributed to cooperating farmers and to seed multiplication sites.
Field days will be used to demonstrate the potential of the varieties.
Certified seed growers will also encouraged to try the varieties.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROJECT:
This is a Three-year Project.
This project has very unique characteristics. A lot of different types
of organizations will be involved in a coordinated way. The organizations
are,
IRRI,
BRRI,
14 Local NGOs under the Umbrella of Sustainable
Agriculture Forum, coordinated by CDP.
UTTARAN
IARD (Integrated Action Research and Development)
AAS (Agricultural Advisory Service)
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RESPONSIBILITY:
IRRI will provide support for planning and coordinating the
team and the project
BRRI will provide technical know-how, training, and support for capacity building of the partner NGOs
14 Local NGOs, coordinated by CDP will perform the actual fieldwork. CDP will coordinate the activities.
Uttaran will conduct field work in some specific areas and will provide some training facilities to other NGOs.
IARD will take the responsibility for documentation, training support, collecting socio-economic and anthropological information.
AAS will provide technical and training support.
STRENGTH
The strength of this project is that a lot of stakeholders from different
fields will come together.
The local NGOs have intimate relationships with the stakeholders at
grassroots level.
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Rice Diversity and Production in the Southwest of Bangladesh:
Using Diversity and Local Knowledge to create Sustainable Livelihoods
in the coastal Areas of Bangladesh.
Time duration: July 2001-June 30 2001 (1st page)
Collaborating Institutions
BRRI
CDP
AAS
IARD
UTTARAN CDP
BRRI
Training
AAS
Technical support IARD
Documentation
UTTARAN
LOCAL NGOS UTTARAN