First Visit to Bangladesh

In April, CIMMYT together with project members of Bangladesh Agriculture University (BAU) and Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Services (RDRS) had a successful visit to Rangpur to start understanding the current context for diversification, and to learn from farmer preferences. Discussion among the team first centered around six key areas of diversification - Field crops, Fruits and Vegetables, Fisheries, Livestock, Agroforestry and on-Farm Livelihoods. The focus was placed on identifying locations that are not highly diverse in terms of livelihood options but allow for opportunities to diversify. In addition, the team discussed identifying potential areas with a focus on integration (e.g., aqua-agriculture, livestock-agriculture) instead of substitution.

Three key questions were finalized for the field visit:

1. So many livelihood options are available, which one has the best opportunity for you in the future?

2. Why are you not doing it already?

3. What do others in your community think? Is this true for others?

With these questions, a short introductory field visit was conducted in nearby communities to explore the themes discussed and understand the various livelihood diversification strategies currently in practice. Based on the short interactions, the team then deliberated and formulated a checklist for exploratory FGDs. The checklist was further prioritized to explore key themes (future ambition and information systems) that would build on existing learnings from SRFSI research studies. The CIMMYT team visited two separate communities (Rangalikhet and Nalapur) to conduct a total of 3 Focus Group Discussions.