AAPI Bulletin, Vo. 16 (English)

I would like to acknowledge the fantastic achievement that has been accomplished for the Boro season. It was our first Feed the Future scale-up season, and we had some ambitious targets. I am pleased to inform you that we achieved or exceeded those targets. Our Block surveys and crop cuts for the Boro season show that urea deep placement (UDP) was being practiced by 1.8 million farmers covering 610,000 ha of paddy land in our project area. These farmers are saving nearly 40 percent on urea, with yield increases on the order of 900 kg/ha. That all translates into higher returns with lower costs. To attain these results, we completed 3,500 batches of farmer training, conducted 26 farmer cross-visits and convened 36 workshops with stakeholders. Three hundred-seventy field demonstrations were established to showcase the benefits of UDP technology, along with another 85 demonstrations that illustrated the benefits of UDP applicators, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and the benefits of UDP in vegetable crops. The results were promoted in 80 field days. To support the availability of the UDP briquettes, 593 small businesses combined with another 208 that cont inue f rom the Improved Livelihood for Sidr-Affected Rice Farmers (ILSAFARM) project to bolster the supply. These businesses produced over 100,000 metric tons (mt) of Guti urea to maintain the supply to the farmers.

Without resting on these successes, our staff, along with those from Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and Non-government Organizations (NGOs), has immediately moved on to the activities required for the Aus season. Unfortunately, we have not been blessed with the rain required to get the Aus crop planted on time. The combination of late rain, high input costs and low paddy prices has made farmers rethink the value in planting an Aus crop. In this edition, we have articles from Mr. Iqbal Hoque, our agriculture specialist associated with our Model Village program. Dr. Wohab, our agriculture engineer, has written on the development of a new applicator, and we have an article on the adoption of UDP technology by an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Club in Trishal, Mymensingh. I hope you enjoy reading about our progress.

* * * Boro 2012 Our Block Survey and crop cut results are in. Indeed, it was a good harvest and UDP technology showed its value. In the last newsletter, we reported urea savings of 100 kilograms/hectare (kg/ha) for farmers using UDP. We can now report that some 1.8 million farmers used UDP on over 610,000 ha of land. In the Jhalokati, Madaripur and Shariatpur districts, UDP is now used on over 80 percent of the HYV

Notes from Chief of Party, AAPI Inside this issue:

AAPI Transforms Sadullahpur into a Model Farm Village

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New Guti Urea Applicator Models

5

ICM Clubs Practicing Green Farming

6

AAPI Events in July 2012 8

Activity Achievements in June 2012

8

Volume 16

Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement (AAPI)

AAPI NEWS BULLETIN June 30, 2012 A project supported by USAID in collaboration with DAE

AAPI News Bulletin is a monthly publication of the AAPI project. Subscriptions are free. IFDC is a Public International Organization (PIO) based in Alabama, USA. IFDC focuses o n i n c r e a s i n g a n d sustaining food security and agricultural productivity in developing countries. Managing Editor: Ishrat Jahan Resident Representative IFDC Bangladesh Eurasia Division and Project Coordinator, AAPI Design and Layout: Syed Afzal Hossain Data Management Unit, AAPI

The views expressed in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government

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cultivation. This is effectively an end-of-project target that has been reached in these districts. However, we must continue our efforts at least two more seasons in these districts to sustain the technology and keep the momentum through motivational meetings with existing users.

The Table below shows that yield increments vary by district, from a low of 732 kg/ha in Barisal to a high of 1,500 kg/ha in Rajbari. This Boro season, we began to promote UDP in vegetable crops. The Block Surveys show that 323 ha of

AAPI NEWS BULLETIN Volume 16

AAPI News Bulletin

Contact Persons: Ishrat Jahan Grahame D. Hunter

Address: Dhaka Office: Road No. 62, House No. 4B, Apt-B2 Gulshan - 2, Dhaka -1212 Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-9894288 880-2-8817391 Fax: 880-2-8826109 Website: www.ifdc.org

Barisal Office: “Zohora” 834 (New) Police Line Road, Barisal Tel: 0431-2176566

Jessore Office: 1351 Police Line Road Talikhola, Puraton Kasba Jessore Tel: 0421-60986

AAPI Management:

Ishrat Jahan, Project Coordinator; Grahame D. Hunter, Chief of Party; Md. Mofizul Islam, Sr. Agriculture Specialist; Dr. Shaharuk Ahmed, Md. Fozlul Hoque, Md. Iqbal Hossain, Dr. Badirul Islam, Agriculture Specialists; Md. Shamsul Alam, Abul Hossain Mollah, Mahmood Hussain, Dr. AKM Farhad Training Specialists; Dr. Md. Abdul Mazid Mia, Mainul Ahsan, Soil Scientists; Md. Nurul Islam, Market/Business Develop-ment Specialist; Ram Proshad Ghosh, Mechanical Engineer; Dr. Abdul Wohab, Agriculture Engineer; Rubina Islam, Gender Specialist; Syed Afzal Mahmood Hossain, Senior Data Management Specialist; Farin Islam, M&E Specialist; AFM Saleh Chowdhury, Chief Accountant; Bishnu Rup Chowdhury, Administrative and Procurement Officer

vegetable crops came under UDP in the Boro season. We expect this to be the baseline from which we will expand as a result of the d e m o n s t r a t i o n s t h a t w e r e implemented throughout the season. These demonstrations confirm that UDP technology will provide yield increases and urea cost savings in vegetable crops, just as it does in rice crops. The most important point to be noted is that in the case of potato cult ivat ion, urea savings is remarkable – 401 kg/ha, although the yield increase is only five percent.

District Paddy Yield with UDP (kg/ha)

Paddy Yield with Broadcast Urea

(kg/ha)

Yield Increment from

UDP (kg/ha)

% Increase

FtF Districts: Bagerhat 6,362 5,554 808 15

Barisal 7,134 6,402 732 11 Bhola 6,789 5,718 1,071 19 Chuadanga 6,907 5,689 1,219 21 Faridpur 7,649 6,792 858 13 Gopalganj 7,668 6,812 856 13 Jessore 6,827 5,946 881 15

Jhalokati 5,936 4,709 1,227 26 Jhenaidah 6,952 5,858 1,094 19 Khulna 6,341 5,478 862 16 Madaripur 7,676 6,666 1,010 15 Magura 6,900 5,963 937 16 Meherpur 7,855 6,872 983 14 Narail 7,191 6,292 900 14 Patuakhali 5,969 5,263 706 13 Pirojpur 6,651 5,679 971 17 Rajbari 7,377 5,847 1,530 26 Satkhira 6,251 5,483 767 14 Shariatpur 7,762 6,691 1,071 16 FtF Average: 7,052 6,109 943 15

M&S Districts

Mymensingh 6,578 5,655 923 16

Sherpur 6,698 5,914 784 13 M&S Average: 6,608 5,720 888 16

AAPI Average: 6,902 5,978 924 15

CV: 11.67 12.98

Source: Farmers Plot Crop Cut, Boro 2012, AAPI-IFDC

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resources such as 84 ponds, community forests, bamboo bushes and fertile land. Seventy-four percent of the community is engaged in agriculture, livestock, fisheries and homestead plantation. They have always followed traditional production methods. The average family includes five members, and homestead areas range from 6.6-7.76 decimals for landless/marginal farmers up to 12-18 decimals for small and medium farmers. There are no large farmers in the village. The village has one small daily market, 11 shallow tube wells, four mosques and one integrated pest management (IPM) club.

AAPI Transforms Sadullahpur into a Model Farm Village Nawab Ali can recall the founding of Sadullahpur village 88 years ago. One of the oldest men of Bagherpara Upazila in Jessore, he says the village was settled in a deep jungle where ferocious panthers once roamed. His father, Nasimuddin Mollah, along with ten family members, was the first to establish settlements there. Gradually, other families settled from other parts of the region. Today, there are no longer traditional jungles or ferocious panthers. The village is full of

Crop No. of Demos

Yield with Guti Urea

(kg/ha)

Yield with Prilled Urea

(kg/ha)

Yield Increment from UDP

(kg/ha)

% Increase

Urea Savings (kg/ha)

Cabbage 8 74,307 64,275 10,032 16% 117

Cauliflower 2 37,692 27,086 10,606 39% 129

Potato 3 30,875 29,475 1,400 5% 401

Tomato 22 29,227 24,031 5,196 22% 83

Brinjal 10 21,733 17,135 4,599 27% 100

Average Yields of Vegetable Demonstrations in FtF Districts

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Category of Farmers

Total House-holds (HH)

Total Family Mem-bers

Male Female Average home-stead Area/HH (Decimal)

Average Culti-vated land owned/HH (Decimal)

Total Share-cropped Land (Decimal)

Average Area of Timber/Fruit Per HH (Decimal)

Total Cattle (All HH)

Total Pond (All HH)

Average Monthly Income per HH (Taka)

Landless 30 128 63 65 6.60 0 0 0.17 36 4 2,863

Marginal farmers

25 104 54 50 7.76 22.8 0 1.60 63 9 2,890

Small farmers

84 453 234 219 12 108.79 160 6.32 327 55 3,895

Medium farmers

16 113 60 53 18 330.94 0 29.06 75 16 5,625

Total 155 798 411 387 11.72 96.79 160 6.72 501 84 3,712

Major Resource in Sadullahpur Village (at a glance)

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There are 12 women-headed farm households in the village, and the village has a total of 61 hectares of cultivable land. Most of the land area is shallowly flooded during the monsoon season and suitable for a diverse range of crops. The main crops grown include brinjal, rice and vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, lalshak (red amaranth), lentil, mungbean, mustard, radish and tomato. The village has a high cropping intensity of 265 percent. However, farmers are not very knowledgeable of the proper timing of their crop production. Often, winter crops are planted late, resulting in poor yields.

The people of Sadullahpur believe that agriculture is at the key to their village’s development, but they are hindered by a traditional, subsistence farming system. Lack of infrastructure, a strong marketing system and services are the constraints to their ability to turn agriculture into a profitable venture. Also, many of the farmers lack knowledge and access to quality inputs, particularly seeds.

In February, AAPI conducted a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) of Sadullahpur village. This is the

second PRA, following an appraisal of Bakshi village in Pirojpur district. After the PRA, AAPI introduced a new cropping system demonstration in Sadullahpur in April, which features the inclusion of vegetables into the rice-based cropping system. The system is as follows: Cabbage – T. Aus – T.Aman (BINA Dhan 7)

Tomato – T. Aus – T.Aman (BINA Dhan 7)

Brinjal – T. Aus – T. Aman (BINA Dhan 7)

Boro –Fallow – T. Aman

Once they were trained by AAPI on modern technologies, 16 women farmers established homestead vegetable demonstrations starting with brinjal, while 12 other male farmers started cropping system demonstrations. One of the benefits of introducing BINA Dhan 7 seed is that this is a short duration variety, allowing winter crop cultivation to be timely. AAPI planned and prepared for the year-round homestead gardening of cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, maize, potato, or tomato with the participation of the village’s women farmers. In all the crops, the use of UDP, or Guti urea is mandatory as one of the components to improve yields and reduce production costs. To this end, AAPI is training both the male and female farmers and conducting motivational meetings and field visits to the villagers. AAPI is helping the farmers diversify their crops based on comparative advantages; the project ensures the supply of quality seeds and has improved market linkages that provide fair prices for outputs. These combined efforts to modernize the village’s farming techniques have given farmers the opportunity to move from subsistence farming to commercial agricultural production.

Participants in PRA Exercise in Shadullahpur

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New Guti Urea Applicator Models

The continued support of USAID and the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) through the Ministry of Agriculture and DAE have enabled in the quick expansion of Guti urea deep placement technology. Over the years, more than one million farmers in the AAPI districts have adopted the UDP or Guti urea deep placement technology in rice cultivation. Recently, farmers also began using fertilizer deep placement (FDP) in vegetables. Guti fertilizer is rapidly becoming popular because it reduces production costs, increases yields and preserves the environment. In the 2012 Boro season, about 600,000 hectares of land in the AAPI districts came under Guti fertilizer.

However, while the success of the technology continues, there remains an obstacle. Most farmers apply the urea briquettes manually, which is physically strenuous and requires more labor resources. Understanding the challenge, Bangladesh authorities and IFDC have been pressing for an appropriate applicator to ease the task of applying Guti fertilizer in the rice field. In recent years, at the initiative of the Honorable Minister of Agriculture, the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and

Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) and some individuals have developed various types of applicators. While all of these efforts were considered advancements, none of the models have been as easy to operate or as accurate as is required for widespread adoption. Therefore, farmers could not fully benefit from the use of these applicators. Considering the urgent need for an improved applicator, IFDC Bangladesh instituted a special program to either improve or to redesign a new, better-performing applicator. Two types of manually operated push-type fertilizer applicators for flooded rice are at an advanced stage of development. One applicator applies briquettes in a single row at a time, while the other applies the fertilizer for two rows simultaneously. The two applicators have been tested in both the laboratory and under field conditions. Each can be used to apply both the 1.8 gram and 2.7 gram sizes of Guti fertilizer. In preliminary tests, application rates and the depth of placement were rated as satisfactory. The weights of the single row and double row applicators are 4.5 kg and 6.5 kg, and the costs are Tk 2,000 and Tk 3,500 per unit, respectively. Along with a new model designed by the BAU, the applicators are now undergoing further field tests for Transplanted Aus paddy cultivation in different locations within the AAPI project area.

Activity Units Total

Number of Units

Year 1 (2012-2013) Year 2 (2013-2014) Apr–Jun

Jul- Sep

Oct-Dec

Jan - Mar

Apr–Jun

Jul- Sep

Oct-Dec

Jan - Mar

Selected farmer training on cropping system demos using Guti urea

Batches 6 1 1 1 1 1 1

Selected training on homestead vegetables using Guti urea Batches 4 1 1 1 1

Cropping system demos* Number 4 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 Selected training on Banana demos using Guti urea Batches 2 1 1

Homestead vegetables using Guti urea demos Number 7 1 2 2 2

AWD demo (Boro) Number 1 1 Field days Number 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 Crop cuts Number 27 6 4 4 5 4 4 Motivational field visit Number 1 1 Motivational meeting Number 2 1 1

* * *

AAPI Work Plan for Sadullahpur

* Each demonstration of cropping system included three crops

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ICM Clubs Practicing Green Farming In the nineties, it was called Integrated Pest Management, or IPM in short. As part of a special project, the Bangladesh Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) formed farmers clubs, organized to help farmers learn natural solutions to managing crop pests. The DAE’s objective was to reduce the widespread use of chemical pesticides, which can often be harmful to human health and the environment. Over the years, DAE authorities have added more components to these groups, known as IPM clubs, though they operate as integrated crop management (ICM) clubs. Now dealing with a much broader spectrum of agricultural issues,

farmers of these clubs are trained in pest management and modern farming practices, including the balanced use of fertilizer and quality seed production and preservation, among other yield-enhancing techniques. Today, there are nearly 20,000 such farmers’ clubs across the country. To further contribute to these DAE efforts, IFDC, through its AAPI project, is effectively using the clubs to spread UDP technology, known locally as Guti urea. UDP is a proven technology being used to enhance the productivity of rice and vegetables, cutting production costs while also protecting environment. The farmers of the IPM/ICM clubs, who are more aware of modern farming practices than others, are quickly adopting the UDP technology.

IFDC single row applicator IFDC double row applicator

IFDC single row applicator under field operation IFDC double row applicator under field operation

* * *

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In 2007, the DAE formed an IPM Club with 25 farmers at Birampur village in Trishal, Mymensingh. The officials involved provided the members with training on ways to identify both harmful insects and helpful insects. In the training program, farmers also learned about preparing remedies from plants that are available throughout their villages. “Unless a pest attack is severe, we don’t use chemical pesticides now,” said M. Harun-ur-Rashid, 60, chairman of the club in Chak Rampur block, where there are about 600 farmers. He added that everybody there knows about the club because of its activities that include screening videos, spraying natural, homemade crop protection products (CPPs), catching insects using traps, etc. “If anybody faces troubles with pest attacks in their crop, they rush to the club members for advice. When other farmers benefit from their advice, our members feel very good about it,” he said. In 2010, UDP fertilizer technology came to Trishal. Forty members of the club in Trishal were trained in the use and benefits of UDP through AAPI. The project also offered a briquetting machine to produce Guti urea fertilizer. It was a lucrative offer at the reduced rate of Tk 38,000 (about US $515). The club purchased the machine before the Boro season in 2010 and has been producing large amounts of Guti in every rice season since then. “During this year’s Boro season alone, we produced and sold 150 metric tons of Guti urea,” said Azizul Haque, 28, secretary of the IPM Club. “Almost all the members of the club know how to operate the briquette machine,” he said, adding that members take turns operating the machine, which eliminates the need for extra laborers. From the shop, he sells Guti urea to farmers outside of the club while also meeting the demand of club members.

Club members said that almost all farmers in Birampur, except for a few, use Guti urea. Because their farmers already plant rice in rows, the fertilizer technology is extremely effective in increasing yields. The trend has increased with the introduction of Guti urea, which not only increases productivity, but also reduces the chances of pest attacks because of the greatly reduced instances of

weeds. Natural pest management in one hand and Guti urea use in the other hand has taken them to new heights in terms of using better farm practices. Both of the technologies are used in rice and vegetable cultivation, they added.

“Using UDP, we grow four to five more maunds (40 kg) of rice in a bigha (33 decimals, or 0.13 hectare) of land than farmers who broadcast prilled urea on their crops,” said Harun-ur-Rashid. He also noted that farmers in the group even use Guti urea in cauliflower and water pumpkin cultivation, resulting in very high yields. “Agriculture today is far better than that of 15 to 20 years ago,” Harun-ur-Rashid said. According to Azizul, Agriculture Information Services (AIS) has provided the club with a computer, multimedia projector, microphone and generator. These tools are used to educate local farmers on modern crop cultivation and care. “We often arrange open sky shows and screen videos on modern farming,” he said. The DAE and AAPI occasionally hire the club and its equipment for publicity programs that they arrange in Trishal. Thus, the group earns additional income to complement member fees and profits from sales of Guti urea. Today, they have a fund of about Tk 250,000 (about $3,125) that they are using to construct a building for the club. “Once it is complete, the club can operate its activities in a more organized manner,” Azizul said.

IPM Club members of Birampur village, Trishal producing Guti urea

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The farmers, however, made two specific requests – arranging for the purchase of mechanical UDP applicators and a Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) fertilizer dealership to service the club. “If we have Guti applicators, every farmer in the block will use Guti urea. Some farmers cannot use Guti due to labor shortages during peak planting periods,” said Hafizul Islam. “A BCIC dealership to serve the club’s needs is crucial because sometimes fertilizer gets pricier at the current BCIC dealer’s shop, and sometimes it is not available at all,” he said. “The club is now planning to buy a thresher machine,” added Hafizul, noting that the club has matured to the point that farmer-members are prepared to move toward farming mechanization to further increase their efficiency.

* * *

Activity Achievements in June 2012 In June 2012, AAPI successfully completed activities as shown in the following table.

AAPI Events in July 2012

In the month of July 2012, AAPI is concentrating its activities for Aus and Aman paddy. In this month, the following activities will be carried out.

Award Ceremony for best performers of Guti urea

1,447 batches of training for Aman farmers 30 demo plots 7 applicator trial plots 17 motivational meeting and campaign 2 batches of briquette producers training Sale of 71 briquette machine 5 motivational field trips 1 small business management training 1 local mechanic training 21 orientation program 223 motivational meeting with old farmers 11 open sky show 11 SAAO’s meeting

* * *

Indicator Unit Target Achievement in

June 2012 Achievement Total to date

% of Target

Aus season

UDP coverage for Aus ha 167,065 80,968 117,260 70%

Extension staff training Batches 0 1 11

Farmer Training Batches 766 295 934 122%

Rice field demonstrations No. 129 133 171 133%

Other crop demonstrations No. NA 2 10

Rice Trials No. 14 7 12 86%

Other crop trials No. NA

Motivational field trips No. 14 26 186%

Stakeholder workshops No. 18 10 28 156%

Sale of briquette machines No. 150 36 119 79%

Briquette producer training Batches 12 9 15 125%

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Documents

AAPI Bulletin, Vo. 16 (English)