Rice farmers in Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Satkhira and Barisal region of Bangladesh saved more than 125 USD per bigha during the previous farming season thanks to the multi-scale agromet advisory service rolled out by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) through the ARRCC program. This was one of the findings revealed at the National Learning Sharing Workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh earlier this week. According to the finding, farmers in adjoining areas without the service faced losses amounting 142 USD during the same season.
At the event, various initiatives implemented through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded ARRCC program in collaboration with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) and UK Met Office were showcased to the participants. This included identification of user needs, initiation of a co-production approach for the application of seasonal to sub-seasonal products, capacity building of stakeholder organizations, development of the decision support system SESAME+, holding of the Monsoon Forum and the first Winter Forum and piloting experimental field on Agromet Service among other initiatives.
Representatives from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and other divisions, departments of the Government, UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs and UKMet office participated in the event. The chief guest, Director General of DAE, Mr. Benojir Alam, appreciated the program’s initiatives in Bangladesh and advised uptake of learnings from this phase in the program’s subsequent phases.
Meanwhile, other participants at the event also lauded the program initiatives and recommended expanding them to the adjoining areas. For instance, one of the participants from BMDA (Barind Multipurpose Development Authority) suggested that the forecast service could be very useful in the Barind areas where rainfall is scarce and groundwater is volatile. Another participant from DAE said that due to the increase in weather anomalies in recent times, stakeholders should have sub-seasonal to seasonal focus for strategic decision making.
Dr. Abdul Muyeed, Formal Director General of DAE and National Sectoral Agricultural Expert, RIMES, Bangladesh, Md. Azizur Rahman, Director, BMD, Dr. Mohammad Khalequzzaman Director (Research), BRRI, Dr. G Srinivasan, Chief Scientist – Climate Applications, RIMES were also present at the workshop. In his final remarks, Dr. G Srinivasan thanked the attendees for their participation and constructive feedback.
The Asia Regional Resilience to a Changing Climate (ARRCC) program is being implemented in various countries of South Asia including Bangladesh with an aim to build climate and environmental resilience by improving the application and access to weather and climate services at thregional to national level. In addition, the program is supporting development of new technologies and innovative approaches to help vulnerable communities use weather warnings and forecasts to better prepare for climate-related shocks.