Integrated Farming

In coastal Bangladesh, Agriculture is disrupted by salinity intrusion, tidal surges, poor soil health, water unavailability, cyclones and other climate change-induced disasters. Fragmented land, poor infrastructure, inefficient irrigation and policy failure further hinder agriculture. In Sundarbans areas, where subsistence farming is still the main source of livelihood for millions of people, reduced agriculture and loss in production pushes people further to the poverty line, and subsequently to migrate.
Collaborating with ULAB, the SAJIDA Foundation is researching the efficacy and effectiveness of introducing climate-resilient integrated farming in Assasuni Upazila with the agenda of empowering communities with sustainable livelihoods. The team has developed a prototype design to initiate and provide technical support to community-based integrated farming by targeting a number of selected households in the union.
By consulting local communities and through planned and systematic activities such as procurement and distribution of fish fingerlings, feed, fertilizers and seeds, rainwater harvesting and storage provisions through the (re)excavation of private and cooperative ponds, the experimentation will be co-designed with rudimentary rounds of pilot testing. Farmers will use stored rainwater to irrigate dry season crops (known as rabi crops in the local dialect, such as boro rice variety, other commercial crops, etc.) through this method. The ULAB-SAJIDA collaboration is anchored with the aim of systematically training and supporting villagers in the use of good quality salt-tolerant seed varieties involving government officials from the departments of fisheries and agriculture to revive traditional community knowledge and adaptive practices. The multiple benefits offered by integrated farming through coproduced knowledge and actions include reduction of salinity of the topsoil, making it more durable to the unpredictable and repeated shocks of climate change in the region.