More than 25,000 grassroots farmers are seen adopting climate-smart farming methods as they are being given ideas and knowledge related to adopting the methods for making their farming outputs profitable in the region, including its Barind area.
Already, they have started attaining practical knowledge about boosting irrigation efficiency and farm productivity besides availing and expanding local agro-business opportunities through connecting a strong public-private stakeholder network.
On the contrary, the conventional farming system is facing a number of challenges due to various reasons, including the adverse impact of climate change, so time-fitting steps has become crucial to face the challenges.
The adverse impact of climate change at alarming rates has severely affected every sector, including agriculture and its diversity, creating a real threat to food production and public health.
To promote the climate-smart farming method, a project titled "Climate Resilient Agriculture Advancement in Barind" is being implemented in Paba upazila of Rajshahi, Sadar upazila of Chapainawabganj and Niamotpur and Potnitola upazilas in Naogaon districts.
DASCOH Foundation has been implementing the project, technically supported by the Syngenta Foundation while financially supported by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited since last year.
Chief Executive Officer of DASCOH Foundation Akramul Haque said they are promoting climate smart technologies for increasing water use efficiency and farm productivity coupled with fallow land utilization.
There are provisions of empowering women and youth in agriculture through creating job opportunities and agro-entrepreneurship programmes.
Partnership development among public and private sector stakeholders are being done for innovations, value chain strengthening and export promotion.
The project is intended to bring 12,000 farmers under the farmer entrepreneur hub network and there will be 25 of them in each of the developed hubs.
Besides, five supply chains are being developed for local and export markets.
Income generation of each of the entrepreneurs will stand 3,600 US dollars annually side by side with two to five price advantages for the farmers' better market linkage.
Akramul Haque said integrated efforts of all the government and non- government organisations concerned can be the best way for protecting agriculture in Rajshahi Barind area as its living and livelihood condition is largely dependent on agriculture.
Country Director of Syngenta Foundation Farhad Zamil said there are enormous scopes of increasing the acreage of various low-water consuming crops like wheat, black gram, sesame, lentil, maize and pulse in the high Barind tract.
He also underscored the need for making agriculture profitable and commercialized to ensure sustainable farming promotion of high-valued crops.
Zamil said there is no alternative to encouraging the farmers to promote various cereal crops and vegetables instead of only Irri-Boro paddy on the dried land to face the water stress condition.
Large-scale promotion of less-water consuming crops could be an effective means of mitigating the condition of water crisis.
Besides, he said all the authorities concerned and farmers should come forward and work together to promote climate smart conservation technologies. Farmers in the hard Barind area need time-befitting training and motivation on how to cultivate more less-irrigated crops to lessen the existing pressure on groundwater. As a whole, concerted efforts of all the government and non-government organisations concerned has become crucial to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change in the region, including its drought-prone Barind area.
