Agriculture a key driver in reducing poverty
Agriculture is a leading contributor to poverty reduction in Bangladesh since 2000, a new World Bank report said. The country now needs to shift towards high-value agriculture, including horticulture, livestock, and fisheries as well as greater value addition to improve farmers’ income and household nutrition.
The report launched on May 17, “Dynamics of Rural Growth in Bangladesh: Sustaining Poverty Reduction,” says pro-poor agricultural growth has stimulated the non-farm economy. It estimates that a 10 percent rise in farm income generates a 6 percent rise in non-farm income. Hence, the growth of the non-farm economy largely depends on agriculture. Although rural non-farm employment is almost 2 times higher than all urban employment put together,
Contagious disease destroying Bangladesh wheat fields
Only desperate farmers would burn down their own fields before harvest. But, in Bangladesh, that’s exactly what wheat farmers are doing. They are trying to contain a devastating fungal infection, and their last option is to set fire to infected fields.
The infection, called wheat blast, was first detected in 1985 in Brazil. Since then, it has spread rapidly through South America. Its effects are so severe that many affected districts no longer grow wheat.
Caused by fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, wheat blast has now reached Bangl...
Caused by fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, wheat blast has now reached Bangl...
ECNEC okays nat’l agro tech programme for 57 districts
Aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of the farmers and alleviating poverty, the government has launched National Agricultural Technology Programme (NATP-2) with an outlay of Taka 1,878 crore.
Over 28,40,000 farmers families would be benefitted after the implementation of the project in 270 upazilas under 57 districts by September 2021, reports BSS.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved the NATP-2 project along with seven other development projects at its 26th meeting in current fiscal held at the NEC conference room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting.
Potential for aquaculture growth
A new study has found that Bangladesh can increase its fish production by about 0.75 million metric tonnes by converting 0.5 million hectares of floodplains into aquaculture by 2017.
If the floodplain areas are brought under the coverage of aquaculture by the period, the country will be able to earn additional Tk 75,000 million (US$ 1,000 million) apart from creating huge jobs, the FinancialExpress reports.
Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation had the report made by four independent researchers with financial support from World Fish.
New project to trace Bangladesh shrimp back to farm
Consumers of shrimp farmed in Bangladesh may soon be able to trace the origins of what they are eating back to the producer, thanks to an e-traceability system launched by WorldFish. The system, including a new mobile application, is part of a five-month pilot to try out digital traceability in the shrimp sector under the USAID-funded Aquaculture for Income and Nutrition (AIN) project, writes Kate Bevitt, WorldFish.
As part of the pilot project, 300-500 farmers will be connected to a collection center at Borodanga, southern Bangladesh, where the bulk of the country’s shrimp exports are produced.
Shrimp farming gets app-savvy
Technology that uses Quick Reading Codes (QRC) — which work like universal bar codes — helps consumers of shrimps farmed in Bangladesh to trace the antecedents of what they are eating with a smartphone app.
Introduced to the farmers in southern Bangladesh by the research organisation WorldFish to enhance the safety of shrimp production and to make its marketing transparent, the QRC can trace all shrimp right from the larva stage supplied to farmers.
The QRC can be used in combination with another app, an American company SourceTrace’s 
