brief on southern master plan
TRANSCRIPT
Preparation of Master Plan for Agricultural Development
in the Southern Region of Bangladesh
Background:
Bangladesh is part of the largest deltaic floodplain in the world. It slopes gently
from the north to the south, meeting the Bay of Bengal at the southern end. The southern
region overlaps with the coastal zone, which is physiologically and ecologically diverse and
environmentally most vulnerable. It includes important agriculture, fisheries, livestock,
forestry and wildlife resources. The region lies within three hydrological regions – south
central, south west and south east. These three hydrological regions illustrate i) tidal and
salinity affects to a large portion; ii) the rivers are subject to frequent tidal surges and coastal
inundation; iii) the area is severely vulnerable to climate change including sea level rise
leading to occasional devastations; iv) besides shorter cool winter period limits cultivation of
many high value Rabi crops.
Due to the vulnerability of these areas to cyclone, storm surge and tidal inundation, salinity
intrusion and water logging, the agricultural, livestock and aquaculture activities are at
serious risk and need additional support. Considering these challenges, climate change
vulnerabilities and unexplored potentials of the region, the Government of Bangladesh has
undertaken a task to prepare a comprehensive ten‐year master plan to provide a road map
for an integrated development in the southern region of Bangladesh aiming at i) increased
agricultural productivity and sustainable food security; ii) poverty reduction and iii) alternate
livelihood development for the poor. The Master Plan will focus on emerging new potentials
in the region, mainly i) technological breakthrough for increasing productivity‐ new varieties
and breeds, plant and animal health systems, farmer groups, etc; ii) harnessing seasonal and
occasional quality surface water availability for irrigation and iii) enhancement of agricultural
productivity through increased cropping intensity, reducing post‐harvest losses, modeling of
climate events and options of crop diversification.
The Master Plan will unlock the potentials through interpretative analytical outputs, these
includes the followings but not limited to these only: soil, land and water resource mapping
& zoning; special mapping for land and water suitability to crops/cropping based on seasonal
variability; area specific vulnerability assessment with suggested adaptation measures;
alternative development options by sectors for boosting sustainable production;
identification of investment opportunities; and linkage with the Sixth Five Year Plan and the
Country Investment Plan (CIP).
The following Task
accomplished under the Southern Master Plan project till‐to‐date:
• Concept note developed;
• Regional Plan following the CIP;
• Literature review;
• Formation of Inter‐Ministerial Committee (IMC) and Local Expert Groups;
• Regional Consultations (4): Barisal, Khulna, Noakhali and Chittagong;
• Consultation with GoB Departments: all National Agricultural Research System
(NARS), Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh Water Development
Board (BWDB), Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED), Department
of Public Health and Engineering (DPHE) and Bangladesh Agriculture Development
Corporation (BADC);
• Meeting with DPs: LCG Water Group meeting, Dutch Embassy;
• Field visit: Covered all four regions;
• Sectoral report: Draft of sectoral reports sent to relevant Government departments
for review;
• Scenario development: Projections based on interactions with stakeholders;
• Potential interventions: Tentative list of immediate, short‐term and medium‐term
schemes has been prepared;
• Main report: Zero draft has been completed.
The process of formulation is being monitored by an Inter‐Ministerial Committee headed by
the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture. The Government set local level technical committees
to provide and validate information. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations is facilitating the entire process through an interdisciplinary team of national experts
with occasional backstopping from FAO technical divisions and International Rice Research
Institute. In the preparation process, participation of relevant Departments of the
Government and others stakeholders including farmers, NGOs, civil society, knowledge
institutions, private sector and development partners are being ensured.
In the process of preparation of the Master Plan, FAO organized four regional consultation
workshops were held:
Region of Consultation
Workshop
Venue
Barisal Department of Agricultural Extension
office, Barisal
Khulna Circuit House, Khulna
Noakhali Local Government and Engineering
Department, Noakhali
Chittagong Chittagong Veterinary and Animal
Science University, Chittagong
The regional consultations were organized with the aim to share the goal of the master plan
and to collate technical knowledge and information on existing constraints/challenges and
identify potential areas of investment and improvement. Information was collected for
diverse areas of agricultural sector: crop, horticulture and agro‐forestry, livestock, fisheries,
natural resource management, agribusiness, water resource and polder management. Apart
from this information, some cross‐cutting issues, such as, climate change and nutrition have
also been collected. A large a number of officials from various GoB Departments,
representatives from knowledge institutions, development partners, NGO’s, civil society and
private sectors actively participated in the regional consultation workshops. From time to
time, the FAO expert team visited respective government offices for technical assistance as
well as to collect some key information on agricultural development issues. The draft Master
Plan is prepared and process of finalizing is ongoing.
A zero draft has been completed in December 2011. The draft was presented in the Inter
Ministerial Committee held at the Ministry of Agriculture on 3 January 2012. Discussions that
centered round the presentation were recorded and were taken into cognizance for
finalization of the report.
The process of finalization will include:
The master plan finalization process would involve the following activities.
• Consultation with relevant departments and other stakeholders;
• Regional consultations in the four region for prioritization and validation;
• Synthesis of the findings and prioritization of programmes (emergency, short, mid
and long term);
• Programme costing and phasing up implementation;
• Reviews by FAO technical divisions (RAP & HQ);
• National validation workshop (GoB, DPs, Private Sector, Academia, CSOs); and
• Finalization and submission of the report to Ministry of Agriculture.