GBDC Reflection Workshop

10-11 April 2013

….an area of unique humanand agro-ecosystems…..

….home to 38 million people….

AAS in the “Southern Bangladesh Polder Zone”

The AAS Development Challenge

The AAS development challenge is to achieve sustainable and continual improvements in agricultural productivity, livelihoods and nutrition of poor communities in the Southern Bangladesh Polder Zone in the face of increasing salinity, changing hydrology, climate change and within a context of complex and dynamic markets and social change.

Our Starting Point

We believe in and seek to harness an immense and inherent potential for:

1. People to innovate and adapt

2. Continued and sustainable improvements in aquatic agricultural systems in the polder zone

1. Sustainable Increases in System Productivity

2. Equitable Access to Markets

4. Gender Equity

5. Policies and Institutions to Empower AAS Users

3. Socio-Ecological Resilience and Adaptive Capacity

6. Knowledge, Sharing, Learning and Innovation

AAS Research Themes

Norms for greater gender equity at the household,

community and hub levels is established.

Farmers lead, have improved understanding of and have

improved access to modern science and technology

Private sector, government and NGO services and structures are poor-

responsive

Sustainable reductions in

poverty & improvements in

Nutrition

Strategic Changes:

Greater gender equity in household decision-makingIncluding food decisions

More control and/or ownership of monetary and other productive resources by women

Women playing more influential roles in community governance

Women are respected as important economic actors the local economy

Government policies support gender equity and are implemented

Women and the poor have organized group approaches to gain voice and power in negotiations

Strategic Changes:

Farmers have enhanced science skills which they use to do research, analyze research and share it with other farmers and communities.

Farmers are aware of and linked to key sources of information and science

Formal sector researchers and scientists regularly communicate and engage with farmer scientists

Farmers are linked to and share their research and knowledge with other community members and adjacent communities

CGIAR scientists actively support and link their research to community based research agendas

Strategic Changes:

Agriculture input systems are women and poor responsive.

Agriculture information systems are developed with women and poor as specific target audiences and their structures are designed for this purpose

Markets are women and poor-friendly in terms of participation in buy, selling and negotiating prices.

Women are involved in and their opinions equal for water and other common resource committees

Women and the poor have organized group approaches to gain voice and power in negotiations

KHULNA HUB LEVEL THEORY OF CHANGE

X X =

Polders 3, 30,433/2F

PROGRAM OF FARMER AND COMMUNITY LED RESEARCH AND

INNOVATION

PROGRAM SUPPORTIVERESEARCH FOCUSED ON

AGENDAS 1-6

Prioritization of Researchable Participatory Technology Development Agendas

Establish partnerships for research

Issues prioritization process

1. Prepared list of issues

2. Prepare ballot box and cards

3. Individual voting

4. Counting, analyzing and discussing

Livestock Poultry Aquaculture Vegetables Fruits Freshwater0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

High Saline: Satkhira (Homestead Agriculture)

Women Men Total

Women=100, Men=100, Total Taka=400,000 (@Tk 2000/person)

Amou

nt in

Tak

a

Livestock Poultry Aquaculture Vegetables Fruits Freshwater0

50000

100000

150000

200000

Medium Saline: Khulna (2 polders) Homestead Agriculture

Women Men Total

Women=200, Men 200, Total Taka= 800,000 (@Tk 2000/person)

Livestock Poultry Aquaculture Vegetables Fruits Freshwater0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

Low Saline: Barguna (Homestead Agriculture)

Women Men Total

Women=100, Men=100 Total Tk= 400,000 (@Tk 2000/person)

Amou

nt in

Tak

a

Rice Winter Crops Water Management Vegetables Gher Aquaculture Com. Poultry Ag. Equipment Others0

50000

100000

150000

200000

High saline: Satkhira (Field Agriculture)

Women Men Total

Women=100, Men=100, Total Taka = 400,000 (@Tk 2000/person)

Amou

nt in

Tak

a

Rice

Winter

Crops

Wate

r Man

agem

ent

Vegeta

bles

Gher Aquacu

lture

Commertial

Poultry

Others

Agri eq

uipments

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

Medium Saline: Khulna Field Agriculture

Women Men Total

Women=200, Men=200, Total Taka=800,000 (@Tk 2000/person)

Rice Winter Crops Water Management Vegetables Gher Aquaculture Com. Poultry Ag. Equipment Others0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

Low Saline: Barguna (Field Agriculture)

Women Men Total

Women = 100, Men=100 Total Taka=400,000 (@Tk 2000/person)

Amou

nt in

Tak

a

A RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF TWO LINKED AND COMPLEMENTARY LEVELS OF RESEARCH

Programof System-Level Action Research

&Strategic Research

Agendas

CommunityVision-Informed

ResearcherLeadership

Community LevelProgram of Action

Research,Inquiry and

Capacity Building

GoB, NGO & P. S. Support

Research PartnerSupport

SCIENCEOUTPUTS

DEVELOPMENTOUTCOMES

A PLATFORM FOR PRACTICE, KNOWLEDGE, COORDINATION &

COMMUNICATION

2013 Village Level Action Research

Work with poor farm households to:• Manage local water resources Identify, construct suitable water management units and

establish community water management systems Pilot and develop rainwater and freshwater homestead

collection and storage

• Improve integrated agro-ecological farming systems

Livestock Fodder (variety testing, animal health, markets)

Testing of non-rice field crops

2013 Village level action research

Work with poor farm households to:

• Develop sustained links to service & knowledge providers

Improve farmers’ knowledge of livestock market systems (constraints/opportunities

• Creating awareness of and changes in gender equity at household level

Facilitate discussions about the benefits of greater gender equity for livelihood outcomes

2013 Strategic and System Level Research

• Improved and equitable micro-level water management systems Review and monitor management practices that

reduce conflict and increase inclusion Technology options for drainage and salinity

control

• Modeling salinity systems and system resilience to water intrusion Modeling productivity of sorjan systems under

plausible scenarios

• Poor and women responsive market systems that provide appropriate, timely inputs Document then pilot existing fish seed supply

systems Facilitate livestock (focus on fodder) value

chain• Challenged Ponds Technology Development

Work with research partners to:

2013 Strategic and System Level Research

• Climate change adaptation Rice field habitat restoration research (for increased

fish populations)

• Ecosystem services Overview of agro-biodiversity resources with focus on

local crop varieties

• Gender systems level research Cage aquaculture technology risk research with focus

on women Gender and social analysis in AAS Villages

• Nutrition systems level research Understanding of equitable intra-household food

distribution

Work with research partners to:

OBSERVATION

Low rice production

RESPONSE

BreedingDefine salinity Fertilizer trials

Slow adoption of new varieties, low input use

DemonstrationsParticipatory selectionTraining

Share crop system (1/3 of harvest). No access to credit. No control over water.

??????

Must have “own” local rice varieties for own consumption and guests

????

The WorldFish work on “challenged ponds” is exploring this same model: Why is there low productivity? Is it a lack of technology or are there other underlying factors?

Identify groups interested in

research agendas and benchmark

farmer's experiences

Initiate and design research for suggested

technologies

Coordinate researcher visits for technical backstopping and farmer-researcher

interaction

Identify and build networking

opportunities between farmers, communities

and orgaznizations

Analyze, document and share final results with

community, researchers and organizations and

plan next research agendas

Establish dialogue with farmers on

specific issues for better

understanding and suggest best

practice options for PTD (easy win)

Train staff on research topics and

research design

Field visit support and dialogue visits

Co-writing publications

Science Advisory Group

Write publications and provide

support/training on report writing &

publication

Support staff on effective

communication methods

Train on PAR processes, gender equity, monitoring

tools and technique

Provide thought leadership and

documentation of PAR processes

Process Support & Documentation

Farmer Led Action Research

ScienceQuality

FarmerScience

ProcessScience

Thank

You