$35m climate-smart agriculture project launched to boost production

Representatives from the US embassy, the Ministry of Agriculture and the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) on Thursday launched a $35 million new climate-smart agriculture project in Bangladesh. 

The five-year project, titled “Feed the Future Bangladesh Climate Smart Agriculture Activity,” was launched to help Bangladeshi farmers mitigate climate impacts and increase their production, reads a press release. 

With US government funding via the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the IFDC will collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to teach smallholder farmers in southern districts of the country to adopt climate-smart cultivation techniques like using improved seeds and maximizing fertilizer usage.

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The project will also bring together private sector firms, agri-input service providers and public sector actors to build resilience throughout the sector using climate-smart technologies and practices. 

Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter joined Dr Muhammad Khan, USAID Bangladesh's director of Economic Growth Programs, Henk van Duijn, president and CEO of the IFDC, and Dr Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in unveiling the new project at the BARC Auditorium. 

In addition to addressing climate change, the project aims to help Bangladesh overcome challenges stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. 

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The project will also save fertilizer use by farmers, save fertilizer subsidy costs and increase the overall production of crops.

The US government has provided more than $8 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh since its independence, says the press release.

Last year alone, USAID funding included $200 million to improve people's lives in Bangladesh through programs that expand food security and economic opportunity, improve health and education, promote democratic institutions and practices, protect the environment and increase resilience to climate change.