Highlights from IFAD funded “Small Fish and Nutrition” project in Bangladesh

Shakuntala Haraksingh ThilstedSenior Nutrition Scientist, WorldFish

Project Sites and Target Households

North-west: 1,500 households with small homestead ponds

North-east: community groups, 500 households managing water bodies

Project duration: 32 months; completion May 2013

Projects Goals

• Increase household income• Improve nutrition (focus on the first

1,000 days of life)

through increased fish (nutrient-rich) production and consumption

Innovative Integrated Approach

• Vegetables (orange sweet potato (OSP)) on pond dykes and in homestead gardens

• Promotion of consumption of nutrient-rich fish and vegetables and increased dietary diversity

Project Highlights

Fish production

• Large increases in nutrient-rich small fish production

• 3.5 fold increase in total fish production in household ponds

• 2 fold increase in fish production from waterbodies

• Increased production of dried small fish from waterbodies

Project Highlights

Increased Fish Consumption

• Quantity and frequency of nutrient-rich fish consumed- In women- In children, starting with complementary feeding from

6 months of age

Project Highlights

Strengthening family and community engagement

• Men and women in decision-making and work load sharing in production

• Women’s work load • Intra-household food allocation• Men’s purchase of foods

• Community women as promoters for production and consumption

- empowered - status - mobility

• Adoption of pond aquaculture and OSP production by non-project households

Project Highlights

Knowledge Sharing and Technology Transfer

• Government of Bangladesh: Departments of Fisheries and Extension - national and local

• Implementing projects- USAID Feed the Future: FTF Aqua - Multi-Year Assistance Programs (MYAPs)

Way Forward

Within the framework of the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems

Bangladesh: e.g. IFAD funded Haor (wetlands) Infrastructure and Livelihood Improvement Project (HILIP)Regional: e.g. Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar