Right to Food

Supporting Communities Affected by River

Erosion in North-west Bangladesh

South-Asia Right to Food Conference June 1, 2015

Hope for million living on the edge of mighty rivers in Bangladesh.

Nazmul Chowdhury, Practical Action Bangladesh 2005.

Transforming lands, Transforming lives

“I have no doubt that it is possible to give

a new direction to technological

development, a direction that shall lead it

back to the real needs of man”

E.F. Schumacher

NATURAL CONTEXT

Flood River Erosion

Changing climate

GLOBAL WARMING and MELTING GLACIERS

Seasonal vulnerability

Limited

access

to prod.

resource

Food

insecurit

y Hunger

& Monga

Displace

ment &

migration

Social/G

inequity

&

Marginali

sation

Limited

Voice

and

Choice

Natural

Disasters

RE/Flood/

Cold

Community

Context

Vulnerability reduction

strategies

Hunger

and Employment

Social Inclusion

&

Empowerment

Income

Generation & Two

Step Graduation

The ultimate bigger challenges

Raising poverty & fear of hunger

1.4 billion people are at risk of hunger

Intervention Areas

Disricts-5

Upazila- 16

Unions-70

Village-200

Over 50,000 Extreme Poor

households reached since

2004

Graduation Model Proposed By Practical Action

Stage

Graduation Stage II

Sustainability &

Growth

Increase Income

Market facili tationAsset Generation

Community led service

Off Farm

Farm

Capacity Building,Access to Resources

Y1 Y2

Time

Diversification of JobPermanent Skill-

Self employment

Graduation Stage I

Production

Food Security

Value Appreciation& Asset Protection

Institutional

support

Social

Protection

Physical

Protection

Y3

Graduation Approach

Technology options & livelihood packages

Agriculture

Fisheries

Livestock

Small Ent.

Dev.

Light-

Engineering

Food

processing

social &

Disability

Promotion of Community Based Extension System

For

Long-term Sustainability

Sandbar Cropping

Hope for millions living on the edge of mighty

rivers in Bangladesh

Resource and opportunity

Technology Transfer

Production and Harvest

Harvest and Storage

Local level Marketing

Nation wide Market linkage

Total production in 6 years (2009-2015) = 54094 MT by 12857 BHHs

Total sell recorded = 43,275 MT (80%) worth Tk. 34,62,01,600 (£

3m) based on local sell price Average 8 Tk/kg.

Total Product value (Cons.+ Distr.+ Sell) = 43,27,52,000 ( £ 3.8 m )

Product value based on urban market @ 16 Tk/kg =

86,55,04000 Tk = £ 7.5 m

Pumpkin marketing:

Supported by 164 middleman/Market actors.

Immediate Impacts Md. Abdur Rahim

Harvested 2450 pumpkins from 600 pits in year-1

Used the return for food, clothing, treatment and asset generation and housing

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35% 32%

25%

20%

6% 5% 4%

2%

6%

Total population 4812

Investment of profit

Squash

Lettuce (green)

Lettuce (red)

Straw berry

Red beat

Broccoli

WHAT NEXT ?

Crop diversification trial in collaboration with Agricultural Universities

in Bangladesh and Rheine Waal University, Germany

Media Coverage

Local, National and Global

ATN PUMPKIN TV- UK

Devex Do Good. Do It Well

Mati O Manush

Global Ideas

BTV World

Publications

Over 200 news/web articles have published in the national and local

newspapers

International Recognition

Cannes Corporate Media & TV

Awards 2011 DW-TV

What’s the

Future potential?

41,000 HHs living on embankment in NW

An appropriate POLICY

can make

a big DIFFERENCE

180,000 ha of sandbar fallen during

dry season

MILLIONS COULD BE BENEFITTED

THROUGH POLICY SUPPORT

Food

Security

HH Income

& Employment

Family

Nutrition

Reduce burden of

safety net

Lean season

management

Asset generation

How only pumpkin can contribute?

Recent thought

Commercial Integration

Commercial integration &

scale

Economic opportunity

Transitional Land

1.Operational access to barren lands/sandbar for the resource poor displaced communities living on flood protection embankments.

2.Financial and technical support mechanism to run the activity

3.Dissemination at national and international level to benefit wider communities.

Promise to keep, Dreams to fulfill,

still we have long way to go

“To talk about the future is only useful if it leads to action now.”

E.F. Schumacher, Author of “Small is Beautiful”

For something exceptional

It is not how much we do,

but how much love we put in the

doing.

It is not how much we give,

but how much love we put in the

giving.

~ Mother Teresa

Acknowledgement:

We are greatly thankful to the donors of Practical Action

Bangladesh

Thank you

Let’s give them a smile!

Nazmul Chowdhury

nazmul@practicalaction.org.bd

Sandbar cropping Harvesting in all 37 spots:

In PY-3, a total of 1500 beneficiaries implemented sandbar cropping at 37

sandbar spot at 5 PNGOs working area. Final harvesting of pumpkin has been

completed in this month at all spots.

-

DISSEMINATION BY OTHER UDPS LALMONIRHAT

Ocean of Pumpkin, Ocean of hope 2013-2014

season