Sustainable Agri-Livestock-Fisheries ensuring Food Safety

Though the agricultural situation of Bangladesh is developing day by day but the sustainability has not yet established on both farming system and the marginal farmers.

Being the students of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh we managed to research on a village named “Dakkhin Chor Kalibari” on community development. There we managed to find out the number of marginal farmers were 60% and the rest 40% were small, medium and semi medium farmers. And these greater part marginal farmers facing the problems most than others . Our plan is to solve their problem in scientific way and develop sustainable agri-livestock-fisheries and ensuring food safety by storage, preservation and processing to supply to the consumers. And this total process confirm the communication development ,sustainability, food safety & security, healthcare and also fulfill 1,2,3 Sustainable Development Goals also.

We have recognized some problems faced by the farmers mostly the marginal farmers all over the Bangladesh. We will solve their problem on scientific and modern method avoiding conventional method for maximum production. Problems have been selected on different sectors :

Agriculture :

• System of total cultivation process.
• Lack of awareness in quality seed determination.
• Less  use of mechanical equipment.
• Lack of knowledge of cropping system (e,g: crop rotation, cropping intensity, mix cropping, cropping pattern)
• Poor marketing system with wastes of raw products.

Livestock :

• Unawareness about the scientific method of livestock farming
• Lack of high yielding variety
• Lack of Quality and selected feed for beef and dairy cattle production.
• Lack of AI (Artificial Insemination) facilities
• Lack of production of milk and meat

Fisheries:

• Lack of knowledge on pond construction and water management
• Quality feed problem
• Inappropriate management system.

As our project is all about the producers and the consumers. The people involved in the food system will be served.

• Mainly the marginal farmer : By sharing the knowledge and work with the full cultivation and production process in a unique way considering science, mechanics, sustainability, the food security
• Qualified and unqualified unemployed youth.
• By providing the opportunities to work in the 4 categories in our project
• Food consumers
• By supplying both processed and fresh food products directly collected from the farmers and obviously by providing food safety.

After completing this full system farmers can get their fair price and the consumer's food security can be achieved thus the whole nation will be benefited.

Our workings will be started by forming four categories where one is related to other one.

CATEGORY 1

We will start our work with the food producers which will be economically in a non profitable way for us but beneficial and sustainable for the farmers as well as the whole country. Here our targets are –

• Spreading knowledge about the scientific methods
• Modern management system establishment

  AGRICULTURE

• Unite the related farmers working individually in different fragmented plots. They should be motivated to work co-operatively together collectively since the technical efficiency and productivity get higher.
• Making sure to use Quality Seed  for maximum production.
• Total cultivation method including ( land preparation, inter-cultural operation, fertilization, use of pesticides, harvesting process and further post harvesting work) everything should be under mechanization.

LIVESTOCK

• Scientific farming management (housing, feeding, breeding) should be introduced.
• Ensuring quality feed supply.
• Introducing AI ( Artificial Insemination) for hybrid & crossbred production i.e. Brahma for meat production and Holstein, Jersey for dairy purpose.
• Animal by-product processing & waste management through bio-gas production along with compost making.

FISHERIES

• Pond construction and water management,
• Introducing RAS (Re-circulating Aquaculture System) and
• GAP (Good Aquaculture Practice)
• Post harvest management.

CATEGORY 2

Then there will be a bridge for our project by which we will start a profitable startup considering food security. This work will be mainly collecting the fresh products and transfer it to the  storage & processing center for further manufacture.

CATEGORY 3

 At this category we will make sure the storage facility and processing of raw materials. For this a storage and processing plant (chilling plant for milk) would be established near to the rural area.

CATEGORY 4

This category  will introduce about the marketing system. The product collected on category 3 will be marketed on this way. We will develop a super shop in the urban area where those products will be sold to the customer. The super shop would contain fresh vegetables, various livestock products (e.g., milk and milk made products ,egg, fish etc)  what would be safe for consumption and health hazard free.

Working with these categories can set up a chain on modern way from the beginning of cultivation to the marketing process of agro products.

Day by day the cultivable lands are dividing into small plots as the population is increasing which makes difficult for total mechanization specially in weeding and harvesting which is hardly 8%. Here our idea is to bring all the related farmers together where they will work both scientifically and mechanically. It will save time, increase yield and proper utilization of natural resources. We want to develop storage, processing and preservation center near the rural areas which will increase self life of some products and wasting of raw products can be minimized easily along with ensuring food security.

Being the students of different faculties in Bangladesh Agricultural University. We have the opportunities to gather knowledge about agri-livestock-fisheries and know the real situation in this sectors.
We directly talked with the people related with agriculture specially marginal farmers about the problems they are facing. We also discussed with our experienced Professors and Agricultural Extension Education Dept.
Finally, on the basis of all these we came up with our solution which will be not only sustainable,scientific and mechanized but also it will ensure food security and fulfill some of the important features of SDG along with increasing the socioeconomic growth of Bangladesh.
We want a revolution in agriculture which tends to be impossible with our current agri system.That's why we want to modify and build up some specific and sustainable process from production to marketing. And thus the revolution can take place.

1. Current number 10-12 farmers (only category 1 stage)

2.One year 1000-1500 farmers in one Upazilla (only category 1 & 2)

3.Five years 10000 farmers on different ares of Bangladesh ( with all categories activation)

We must face some difficulties during this solution program-

• Communication and co-operative gap would occur with the farmers.
• Supply of quality seed, fertilizer, feed (livestock,fisheries) problem.
• Lack of availability of mechanical equipment.
• Developing storage, preservation and processing would be a challenge on the rural area.
• Skilled and experts would be crying need.

Obviously it’s a long term process, day by day all barriers will be removed by proper management. Like-

• Funding of Tiger Challenge can help through over coming funding problem.

• We have to find out educated unemployed population on first and they would be trained under our program, this can help us gathering man power.
• Communication gap should be removed through arranging seminar, workshop and getting attached to rural environment.
• We would make sure to avail mechanical equipment and supply of different products through renowned and experienced companies like ACI, LALTEER, KAZI FARMS etc.

Part Time staffs 6

We are the students different faculties like Agriculture, Animal Husbandry , Fisheries , Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology that we are working for village farmers and their problems and finding solution.

The major path to get sustainability would be on funding, investments etc. Further the start up by processed food marketing through super shop would be permanent path to sustainability.

Tiger challenge is an international platform to help us through funding our project to develop. And of course funding is one of the most important barriers toward the solution. Being selected can make sure the achievement of price money what would be helping us establishing our program fruitfully.

Governmental Co-operation,which can help us overcoming many barriers and faster growing of solution program.