How to make rice production more sustainable in Bangladesh?

Researchers identified sustainable crop production models and technologies that farmers and researchers in Bangladesh can adopt to revolutionize their farming practices in a workshop hosted by the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) on Sunday, 18 September 2022 at Fars International Hotel and Resort in Dhaka. Scientists from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) facilitated the workshop.

The amount of technologies agricultural scientists develop is largely disproportionate to the number of them being adopted by end users including farmers and researchers. This low adoption rate is compounded by other factors including climate change, poor access to market, and lack of know-how. To address this gap, stakeholders from the BADC and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have been working together for the past three years to develop solutions that would improve the adoption of technologies for more sustainable crop production in the country.

During the workshop, BADC team members and IRRI researchers identified that the “Crop Cafeteria Model” is the most suitable model for BADC to validate the demand for rice varieties, helping to make the crop production more efficient. It is also considered the fastest way to ensure technology transfer toward different stakeholders. Crop Cafeteria is a replicated trial to promote the diffusion of the different rice varieties among stakeholders and allow them to carry out a systematic comparison of these varieties, and eventually select their most preferred varieties.

Participants also learned about the SeedCast app for seed demand estimation and rice variety information. SeedCast is a digital tool designed to reliably collate demand for rice seeds from dealers, generated based on farmer’s demand.

Md. Sayedul Islam, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh graced the event as the chief guest. In his speech, Md. Sayedul Islam emphasized…