Skip to main content
Feed the Future
This project is part of the U.S. Government's global hunger and food security initiative.
  • About
subscribe

Agrilinks

Search Log In

Main Menu

  • Topics
  • Events
  • Activities
  • Tools & Training
  • Members
  • About
subscribe

Climate-Smart Agriculture Could Offset COVID-19's Impact on Bangladeshi Farmers

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security CCAFS

Dec 28, 2020
Farmers working on rice fields
Farmers working on rice fields in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. Photo credit: G. Bhatta (CCAFS).

This post is written by Dharamvir Singh Rana, specialist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Rafiqul Islam, scientific officer and Masuda Akter, senior scientific officer at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and Sheetal Sharma, soil scientist at IRRI. The post was originally published on the CCAFS website. 

COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in Bangladesh. As in many other countries, it has become one of the biggest threats to Bangladesh’s economy and food security. Bangladeshi rice farmers are facing the major brunt due to COVID-19 induced lockdowns. The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on farmers in Bangladesh, particularly in scheduling sowing/planting, harvesting, procurement, transportation and marketing. Lack of laborers for these operations has been reported across the country, particularly in places where manual harvesting is predominant.

The shortage of labor has been disrupting the production and processing of food, notably for labor-intensive crops. This disruption adds to the already existing vulnerability of the farmers, especially small-scale marginal farmers. There are concerns that measures to curtail the health crisis might affect the 2020 harvest, with seasonal workers being unable to travel for the spring sowing and harvest seasons. For instance, the 2020 Boro rice harvest of the northeastern haor (wetland ecosystem) and low-lying areas of Bangladesh have been significantly impacted due to the induced lockdown, despite the relaxations offered by the government to traveling seasonal laborers. Thus, there are few laborers available to help during the harvest.

Significance of climate-smart agriculture practices

As an antidote to the drudgeries of Bangladeshi farmers, scientists from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) are proposing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies, like mechanization during land preparation, rice transplanting and harvest, and crop diversification, to enhance farmers’ adaptive capacities and sustain crop productivity in Bangladesh.

Mechanization of rice sowing/transplanting

Mechanical rice transplanting is an alternative means to address the labor shortage, though it needs a large pool of mechanical rice transplanters, specialized mat type nursery producers (a modified mat nursery establishes seedlings in a layer of soil mix on a firm surface) and technical know-how to operate and raise the nursery. As part of the CCAFS CSA approach, in Bangladesh, 2020 Boro rice was transplanted by a rice transplanter and harvested by a combine harvester in twelve districts (10 acres/10 farmers/district) as a demo in collaboration with Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and Bangladesh's Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). This CSA strategy has showcased the potential to counter the problem of the availability of labor. This strategy also has the potential to be extended throughout the country with the support of the government. 

The government can provide farmers with easy access to rice transplanters and combine harvesters at a subsidized rate. This can be coupled with training on machinery usage. Timely planting of rice was also facilitated in CCAFS' Climate-Smart Village (CSV) sites in Bangladesh by dry direct seeding rice (DSR) on unpuddled soil and applying light irrigation. DSR establishment has generally required much less water for irrigation and labor than transplanted rice. Dry seeding also allows rice to be planted earlier due to its lower water requirement for establishment.

Crop diversification

Replacing rice with short duration crops in the monsoon season is another option to alleviate the potential shortage of agricultural labor during the pandemic. Additionally, it can address issues of the declining groundwater table. The diversification of rice with alternative crops has the potential to contribute to ecosystem services that include conserving groundwater, improving soil health and reducing air pollution by eliminating residue burning. Considering the local demand for poultry and the starch industry and market opportunities, there exists a potential for diversification of rice with maize, which is a must for sustainable food, nutrition and environmental security in the country, in addition to providing effective solutions for labor issues under the prevailing COVID-19 crisis.

CSA technologies could offer some relief to the farmers who have been facing the brunt of COVID-19 induced lockdown. The technologies would significantly mechanize the process and bring down the need for labor, while ensuring the sustenance of food production. 

Filed Under: Agricultural Productivity COVID-19 Climate and Natural Resources

Comments

You May Also Like

post

How Climate-Smart Village Farmers Are Adapting to COVID-19 Induced Lockdown in India

Enhanced capacities of farmers in climate-smart villages have enabled them to take constructive measures to better respond to COVID-19 induced lockdown.

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security CCAFS

Sep 30, 2020
post

Farmers in Olopa, Guatemala Follow the Path Towards Climate-Smart Agriculture

At the Climate-Smart Village in Olopa, Guatemala, we witnessed the different stages of implementing climate-smart agriculture practices.

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security CCAFS

Feb 05, 2020
post

Towards Sustaining Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices in Ethiopia

Read about how we can continue to sustain climate-smart agricultural practices in Ethiopia.

Yalemzewd Nigussie

Jul 25, 2020
post

Building the Resilience of South Asia’s Smallholder Farmers Through Effective Climate Services

Climatic variability and weather extremes are among the most crucial socio-environmental challenges faced in South Asia and Bangladesh in particular. This is due to Bangladesh’s geographic exposure to the coast...

Mohammad Shahidul Haque Khan

May 31, 2018
Follow Agrilinks:
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Agrilinks
Achieving agriculture-led food security through knowledge sharing
MarketLinks
Market-based solutions for development
LearningLab
A collaborative learning community of development professionals
Landlinks
USAID's knowledge sharing platform focused on land tenure and property rights
Climatelinks
A global knowledge portal for climate change & development practitioners
Urbanlinks
USAID’s sharing platform for resources on sustainable urban development
Resiliencelinks
A global knowledge platform for resilience practitioners
Globalwaters
Sharing knowledge and ideas to solve global water and sanitation challenges
U.S. Agency for International Development
  • Accessibility
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
The information provided on this website is not official U.S. government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.

Search Agrilinks

My Account

  • My drafts and published content
  • My profile
Sign out

Contribute To Agrilinks

  • Add a post
  • Add an event
Need help?

Subscribe

Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter featuring the latest and greatest Agrilinks content.

You'll also receive invitations to upcoming Agrilinks webinars and other special announcements. We won't share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time.