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Value Added Agriculture
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Illiteracy, insecure food,
malnutrition, unemployment and poverty are the main common
feature of a developing country like Bangladesh. According
to calorie intake 44.7 percent people are poor (as defined
by a minimum calorie requirement of 2122 kcal per day per
person) As many as, about one-fourth of the population, are
designated as hard core poor whose calorie intake remains
below 1805 kcal per person.
The
ultimate purpose of the project is to improve livelihood of
Resource Poor Farmers (RPF) [Farmers having cultivatable
land of 0.1 to 1 Acre], However, the specific purposes
are adoption of High Yielding Variety (rice, vegetables,
spices, fruits and other horticultural crops), livestock
raising, poultry rearing and fish culture by every RPF
household, reduce soil degradations, enhance protein supply
in daily diet of RPFs, popularize integrated rice based
farming, innate off-farm activities, strengthening of
linkages among the stakeholders, increase employment
opportunities and income, establishment of livelihood
network and improvement of resource poor farmers social
status and livelihood
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Project
objectives are:
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Adaptation of suitable high
yielding varieties of rice, vegetables, spices, fruit trees
and other cash crop as well as other horticultural crop to
fit into the cropping pattern with higher economic return.
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Improvement of farmer’s
social status through intervention of new and profitable
technologies as income generation activities.
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Improvement of employment
opportunity in the project area by adopting improve
cultivation practices and diversification including non-crop
commodities
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Minimize degradation of
soil fertility and improve human nutrition by incorporating
leguminous crop in the rice based farming system
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Popularization of improve
rice – based farming through integration of independent
components fisheries, homestead, livestock etc.
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Improvement of traditional
cropping pattern through adoption of short duration rice
varieties and incorporation of other improved varieties of
crop.
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Strengthening linkage among
researchers, extension providers and farmers to expedite
technology transfer process along the line of approach of
pluralism in technology dissemination.
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Water is the single most important factor in agricultural
production in Bangladesh. Training in On-Farm Water Management
techniques and intensification and diversification of open field
crops for farmers will constitute an important aspect of the
project. Affordable technologies that at the same time limit the
drudgery of manual irrigation System (Deep-set Treadle Pump,
Mobile Treadle Pump, Pressure treadle Pump, Drip Irrigation
System, Sprinkler Irrigation) are still rarely available despite
the widespread use of Treadle Pump. Main elements of the
dissemination strategy for this short of equipment are, first,
to make equipment at costs that even landless and marginal
farmers can afford, second, mass marketing and awareness
campaigns, third, development and training of diffuse network of
local manufacturers, dealers, and installers.
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Establishment of
Collaborative programs with local GO, voluntary private
organization, NGOs, rural banks, and private sector
marketing and input supply agencies to bring about a joint
effort for common welfare of poor farmers
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