Adaptation options to climate variability and change in northwestern Bangladesh need to consider alternative cropping patterns and cultivation practices to support the most efficient use of limited natural resources. Diversification and adjustment of cultivated crops is a traditional adaptation practice contributing to minimize the risk of crop failure due to...

Intercropping drought-tolerant fruit trees into rice-based farming systems in the uplands of the Barind tract in north-western Bangladesh reduces exposure to and risk of drought. It also provides households with alternative livelihoods sources, enhanced food and nutrition security and diet diversification. This practice describes how to intercrop mango and jujube...

MARIKINA CITY, PHILIPPINES – The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for farmers groups/cooperatives in the Philippines to sell their produce directly to consumers. On 3 May 2020, with the help of PAKISAMA, one of AFOSP-APFP partner organizations in the Philippines, their member organization Kababaihang Dumagat ng Sierrra Madre...

Chemical insecticides are usually used to fight pests and save crops from damage. However, chemical pesticides are harmful to farmers’ health and to the environment. An alternative to chemical insecticides is botanical insecticides, which are made from plants and are useful against insect pests without harming the environment or having...

To reduce crop loss due to climate uncertainties, rural communities in Bangladesh need to implement risk management strategies. Crucially important is the transplanted t. aman rice, since it is the most widespread crop. Protective measures include the adoption of flexible timing of transplanting in order to bypass the consequences of...

Based on how much milk each cow gives, you can calculate the amount of balanced feed needed for your cows. You should also feed your cow green grass each day. This helps to increase the total quantity of milk as well as the amount of fat in the milk. It...

For healthy crops you need a healthy soil, because a healthy soil contains many good microbes and earthworms. To prepare biofertilizer for half a hectare, you need 10 kg fresh cow dung, cow urine, flour from chickpeas or another pulse, jaggery or unrefined sugar, and a handful of healthy soil....

The potential of composting to turn on-farm waste materials into a farm resource makes it an attractive proposition. Composting offers several benefits such as enhanced soil fertility and soil health, thereby increased agricultural productivity, improved soil biodiversity, reduced ecological risks and creating a better environment. While traditional composting procedures take...

The drought-prone areas of western Bangladesh are characterized by high rainfall variability, with different types of seasonal droughts (initial, mid and terminal) posing regular threats to rice production. During monsoon season in wide areas of NW Bangladesh T. aman rice is cropped on rainfed basis. Risk management options need to...

Growing concerns relating to land degradation, threats to eco-systems from over and inappropriate use of inorganic fertilizers, atmospheric pollution, soil health, soil biodiversity and sanitation have rekindled the global interest in organic recycling practices, like composting. The potential of composting to turn on-farm waste materials into a farm resource makes...

Most farmers in Bangladesh depend on subsistence farming with extremely small landholdings. Great parts of Bangladesh are flooded every year and to a large extent agriculture systems have been adapted to this normal flooding. However, besides normal peak floods in July and August and late floods extending in September, early...

Urea Molasses Blocks (UMB) are a high protein concentrated feed source that supplies Non-Protein Nitrogen (NPN) to rumen microbes. The blocks also contain important minerals and vitamins. UMB are a good way of providing readily degradable protein and fermentable energy to ruminant animals. They help increase the protein supply to...

Growing concerns relating to land degradation, threat to eco-systems from over and inappropriate use of inorganic fertilizers, atmospheric pollution, soil health, soil biodiversity, and sanitation have rekindled the global interest in organic recycling practices, like composting. The potential of composting to turn on-farm waste materials into a farm resource makes...

Mung bean cultivation may be one of the most important long-term adaptation options for drought-prone areas in the northern and northwestern parts of Bangladesh. Since mung beans require minimum moisture, they can be cultivated after the t. aman rice harvest, using the residual moisture in the fields, thus responding to...

In Bangladesh, major constraints to improving the productivity of livestock include a shortage of fodder. At the same time, intensive cropping has reduced the fertility of the soil. This situation can be improved by on-farm cultivation of green fodder for livestock as an integral component of the cropping system. Cultivation...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cities have been lockdown, businesses have been closed, travel and gathering have been banned, and supply chains have been disrupted. The pandemic is upending economies and daily life everywhere, including the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS). In the selected PSIDs, Fiji is the only...

In Bangladesh every year more than 39 million tons of traditional fuel, e.g. wood, are burned. Improved stoves are efficient in reducing biomass use for cooking and other heating purposes, and lead to a reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. This practice describes the double-mouth domestic cook stove.

Provision of advice and other services related to farming at the village level is critical for enhancing the incomes of small and marginal farmers. Creation of an eco-system that can support the emergence of agri-entrepreneurs through delivery of these services at the village level is the only way forward if...

There are different ways of carrying out agricultural extension. Farmer Field Schools (FFS) represent a participatory approach that directly reaches farmers and addresses their day-to-day problems. The concept of FFS builds on the belief that farmers are the main source of knowledge and experience in carrying out farm operations. This...

During a series of DFID Livestock Production Programme (LPP) workshops on smallstock, it became apparent that there was a need to improve the effectiveness of nutritional studies designed to support the contribution of smallstock to the well-being of resource-poor farmers and communities in developing countries. At the fourth LPP workshop...