Agroecology for Climate Justice: Stories from the Global South

Agroecological practices reduce women’s climate vulnerabilities

by Pavel Partha and Silvanus Lamin 

Abstract

The narrative focuses on 60 rural women from 10 villages in the south-western coastal zone of Bangladesh who combat climate-induced vulnerabilities through agro-ecological practices and movements. Facing extreme climatic shocks such as cyclones, floods, heatwaves, tidal surges, and salinity, these women adapt by utilizing local genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and locally-led adaptations. They trial locally adaptive crops, engage in participatory action research and plant breeding for saline and climate-tolerant rice, and prepare bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides. They practice crop rotation, mulching, and initiate nutrition gardens in their homestead to ensure good yields, nutrition, and soil fertility. In order to maintain the availability of native and climate-adaptable varieties, these women have established community seed banks and exchange seeds. They also store food and use traditional forecasting systems. The narrative highlights how these women contribute to climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience through innovative agricultural practices such as high raised beds, hanging gardens, sack gardens, and saline-tolerant rice breeding. These women also engages in climate campaigns and movements to persuade state authorities to adopt appropriate measures and policy reforms to address climate change and promote agroecology. BARCIK believes this narrative provides a clear picture of women-led climate solutions through agroecological practices which ultimately contributes to establishing climate justice.

Introduction

Climate change is one of the major threats which poses risks and problems to the people in Bangladesh. Despite producing only 0.56% of the global emissions, Bangladesh ranks 7th on the list of countries most vulnerable to climate devastation, according to Germanwatch’s 2021 Global Climate Risk Index (CRI)^[1]. Due to climate change and other human induced causes, including people in the country the target areas are hit by frequent disasters such as floods, cyclone, thunderstorm, riverbank erosion etc. Climate induced disasters such as floods, drought and cyclones damage the country’s physical infrastructures, crops, lives and livelihoods accelerating its vulnerability and creating economic loss. According to a report, from 2000 to 2019, Bangladesh suffered economic losses worth $3.72 billion and witnessed 185 extreme weather events due to climate change^[2]. Furthermore, a U.S. government study report states that 90 million Bangladeshis (56 percent of the population) live in “high climate exposure areas,” with 53 million subjects to “very high” exposure^[3].

Satkhira district, located in the coastal region of Bangladesh, is a unique and vibrant area characterized by its rich biodiversity, cultural heritage, and economic significance. The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and is located in this area and is home to the famous Bengal tiger, along with numerous other species of flora and fauna. Satkhira, faces the dual challenges of salinity intrusion and frequent cyclones, which significantly hinder agricultural activities. It is highly susceptible to climate change-induced disasters, affecting not only agriculture but also fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism, thereby threatening the livelihoods of the local population. However, in spite of those challenges the community people in this area, particularly women have been practicing local led adaptation in agriculture to reduce their loss, improve their livelihood status and uphold their existence. BARCIK has been facilitating development intervention in the area since 2001 and has documented the adaptation practices, in some cases mitigation initiatives of the coastal communities which help them coping with the climate induced disasters. Nonetheless, the people in the coast generally depend on agriculture for their livelihood. The farmers of the area produce rice, vegetables and other crops to earn their livelihood. BARCIK has documented the stories of 60 women in 10 villages of Satkhira districts who have been practicing environment friendly cultivation systems to produce crops in their lands and homestead gardens. These women prepare organic fertilizers and pesticides by themselves and apply in their crop lands. They conserve seeds and are engaged in participatory action research to select climate tolerant varieties of rice and other crops from the native ones. They cultivate diverse varieties of crops to ensure their food security. These women also use their indigenous knowledge to adapt to climate change by practicing crop rotation, mulching, cultivating vegetable using sacks, and using surface water to irrigate their crops, etc. By adopting this environment friendly way of crop cultivation these women have been able to improve their livelihood status enabling them to cope with the challenging situation caused by climate change.

Methodology

The methodology employed in this article is comprehensive and multifaceted, ensuring a strong collection of information regarding the coastal region of Bangladesh. The approach is divided into two main categories: primary and secondary data collection. Primary data has been collected through a series of focus group discussions, structured meetings and interviews with various stakeholders, community leaders, and representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In addition to general interviews, key informant interviews were conducted with individuals who possess specialized knowledge or experience related to the coastal ecosystem, economic activities, and environment. Secondary data were collected through reviewing literatures. This involved analyzing a wide range of sources, including newspapers, scholarly articles, and books available on the internet. Secondary information was also extracted from reports published by BARCIK and other NGOs. Websites and online resources were utilized to access relevant documents and reports. Once the data was collected, a systematic analysis was conducted to identify patterns, themes, and correlations within the information gathered. This involved qualitative analysis techniques to interpret the insights from focus groups and interviews, as well as quantitative methods where applicable.

Result with analysis

With an underlying objective of reducing risks and vulnerabilities to climate change impacts, the national adaptation plan of Bangladesh envisions to build a climate-resilient nation through effective adaptation strategies that foster a robust society and ecosystems and stimulate sustainable economic growth.^[4] BARCIK, a non-governmental organization has been working to build a climate resilient society through promoting agroecology, which includes nature based and organic. To encourage the farming community adopt agroecology, BARCIK advises farming communities conserving native seeds, use of organic manure and bio pesticides and biodiversity conservation to counter climate change effects. Due to this mobilization and encouragement today the farming communities of one of the areas in the coastal region has started to yield some benefits. While working to promote agroecology BARCIK always involves the local farming organizations in the process and takes initiatives to develop the capacity of the members of those organizations on different thematic issues including sustainable agriculture principles.^[5] Hence, through the joint initiatives of BARCIK and farming communities farmer’s led applied research was conducted to select climate adaptable crops varieties as well as conserve the almost extinct native varieties. The farming communities through their efforts and BARCIK’s supports conserve seeds and biodiversity and selected climate adaptable (Saline tolerant, deep water rice) varieties. The farming community, particularly women have been able to cope with climate induced disasters through adopting the principle of agroecology. They also apply their indigenous knowledge and innovations in coping with these climate induced disasters. They cultivate crops through elevating beds in water logged and flooded situation. Some of them use sacks and racks to cultivate crops during floods adopting organic methods. The overall initiatives of women farmers with the facilitating supports from BARCIK plays significant role to increase crop diversity, agricultural produces and seed diversity in the area and increase their climate resilience. Below are some climate change adaptation practices of some women among the selected 60 women in the coast that enable them to produce crops to improve their livelihood status and ensure food security of their family including earning cash that elevates their social status fostering their empowerment.

Agroecological Practices Strengthen Climate Resilience

Agroecological practice enhances climate resilience of women in the coastal region. Aditi Rani (44) of Kalmegha village in Shyamnagar Upazila in Satkhira has been contributing to restoring biodiversity of the region through her agriculture practice. She plants diverse vegetable, spinaches and native fruits, woods and medicinal trees in her homestead land. She produces vegetable and crops using compost and vermicompost in her lands. At the same time, she uses organic pesticides and sex pheromone trap technology to suppress crop pests. She said, “I conserve the seeds of all the crops that I grow every year. I can even produce crops in spite of different climate disasters. I distribute seeds to 15-20 people every season and provide technical support to others in making vermicompost. I received technical support from BARCIK to continue practicing agroecological practices. This helps me to produce crops in spite of being hit with frequent climate disasters”. Chakina Begum of Kochukhali, Sujata Barman of Paschim Jelekhali and Rozina Begum of Purchekhali villages are vibrant characters in the area in term of agroecological practices who have improved their livelihoods through cultivation of diverse crop without harming the nature.

Nature-Based Agriculture Sustains Livelihoods and the Environment

Parul Rani (36) of Borokupot village of Shymnagar in Satkhira has been adapting with the climate induced disasters adopting indigenous knowledge based agriculture. She inherited this sort of nature based food production system from her ancestors. She produces vegetable in her homestead land in different seasons through the year. There are vegetables and medicinal plants as well as uncultivated plants in her homestead. Parul Rani grows all these vegetables and crops adopting environment friendly method. She does not use chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides. There is a fresh water pond next to the vegetable field that  she uses to irrigate her crops throughout the year. Apart from growing vegetable Parul Rani also rears livestock which meets her protein demand. Parul Rani said, ‘I try to maximize the use of my lands by growing crops and vegetable throughout the year adopting nature based agriculture. I farm all kinds of vegetables in my lands prioritizing my choice. I also earn additional cash by selling the surplus of my produce in the market which financially benefits me. Since I do not use chemical,, I contribute to keeping the environment and nature alive and healthy.’ Including Parul Rani Arpita Rani of Purba Jelekhali, Purul Mondal of Paschim Dhankhali and Sazida Begum of Kalinagar villages of Satkhira enriched theirs with diverse crops and plants. This rich biodiversity has contributed to protecting and conserving the agricultural heritage, culture and sustainable livelihood of the coast. This nature based farming has also enabled these women to produce crops in spite of being hit with frequent disasters.

Local solutions to climate change related problems

Saline water intrusion after cyclones, unplanned expansion of shrimp farming using saline water and water logging forced many farming families to abandon agricultural production. But some women in the coastal region have found some ways to solve their climate change related problems using their knowledge, observation and experiences. Anita Rani Mondal (41) of Betangi village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira district is one among these women. She spends several hours a day in her homestead where she has been cultivating a variety of vegetables round the year using her innovative ideas. Anita Rani realized when saline water evaporates; it leaves excess salt in the soil, increasing the salt concentration every day. To avoid salinity contamination she used to sow the seeds in the gunny bag, sacks and concrete pots etc. She has been using cork boxes to grow vegetable as gunny bags are not as durable as cork boxes. Cork boxes are available because there are many shrimp farms-which use it for carrying shrimp fry from market to farms. Anita found difficulties due to regular natural disasters like heavy rain inundated her court yard that made gunny bags unusable. She come into a new idea and developed the new strategy using cork boxes instead of gunny bags for growing vegetable round the year even her courtyard inundated. This is how Anita Rani has been successful in adapting to climate change situation and finds local solutions to climatic problems. She said, “I have used my observation to cope with the climate related problems and now have been able to produce crops in spite of the salinity. Now I am supporting my family and my children’s education by selling vegetables.” Anita’s case is unique in the region.

Native Seed Conservation: A Lifeline for Coastal Agriculture

The culture of seed conservation and exchange has faded away in coastal area due to natural disasters and practice of modern agriculture. But there are still some farmers, particularly women in the coastal region of Bangladesh who still adapt sustainable agriculture and try to bring back rich agriculture tradition and heritage of the coast through conserving and protecting the native seeds ensuring seed diversity in the area. Alpana Rani Mistri is one among the farmers. She has dried some types of vegetable seeds in her yard which she conserved. In her yard different types of vegetable seeds are kept in different containers. Her initiative to conserve seeds and practice sustainable agriculture has attracted the attention of other farmers. So far she has exchanged seeds of more than two and a half hundred varieties of medicinal plants in her house with other farmers of the village. Farmer Alpana Rani Mistry said, ‘we are losing local seeds due to climate induced disasters and high prevalence of hybrids.’ According to her, native seeds and biodiversity conservation will keep the coast safe and this will enable farmers to find varieties which are resistant to climate stress. Lakshmi Rani Mandal of Badghata, Rabeya Parveen of Antakhali, and Madhuri Sarder of Mothura villages of Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira also collect, conserve and exchange native seeds among others to contribute in restoring the seed diversity of the coast. According to these women, native seeds

Innovative Solutions for Surviving Disasters

Anita Rani Mandal is a woman farmer from Betangi village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira district. Due to regular climate induced disasters and heavy rains, her vegetable fields which is located comparatively in low lands were getting damaged leading her to count huge loss. However, in order to cope with the changed situation as well as to reduce the loss Anita Rani devised a new strategy. She said, ‘I have a fish farm, I buy carry fish in the plastic made basket to release the prawn in the farm. After releasing the fish, I would throw away the plastic basket in the open nature. But I found that the plastic basket never gets mixed with the soil and nature.’ She went on saying, ‘So I decided to make the proper use of it to recover my loss due to heavy rain and disasters. Since all my vegetables are being damaged due to extra rains for several days in a row, I filled this plastic made basket with soil and applied organic manure on it. After that I planted vegetables in this plastic made basket. Today I discover my vegetable does not get damaged in spite of heavy rain. I can farm vegetable throughout the year using these basket. There are spice, ginger and lemon and some other spinaches which I planted using the plastic basket as base.’ Anita Rani added, ‘I used to fill the sacks with soil and plant vegetables but after a few days the sacks are damaged and the soil is gone. That’s why I am using the plastic basket. By using the plastic basket which does not get rotten and mixed in the nature and soil in one hand, I recover the loss due to heavy rain on the one hand, I am contributing in maintaining the balance of the environment.’ Seeing the success of Anita Mandal Deepali Joarder of Terokati, Mita Rani Mandol of Shiltola and Ambia Khatun of Vetkhali village replicated their learning in their areas after visiting Anita Rani’s house.

Nutrition Banks: Pioneering the Safe Food Movement

Family level Nutrition Bank is a method to grow diversified vegetables in an environment friendly manner where farmers are very conscious about safe food and nutrition value of the productions. Through the Nutrition bank model rural women are facilitated knowledge about nutrition. Apart from this, these women also consider safe food and gender aspect of the food.^[6] Nonetheless, through this model BARCIK selected and facilitated 400 houses in its 4 working areas and these 400 houses are known to farmers and others as Nutrition Banks. Famers, particularly women are encouraged to maximize their courtyard, adjoining area of their house for food safe food production adopting organic method. They are encouraged to organize courtyard meetings and discussions and conduct movements to fight for their rights. Neela Rani (45) of Abad Chandipur village of Satkhira has developed her house as an integrated agricultural farm being inspired from the Nutrition bank model. She has been able to produce crops adapting with the climate change situation due to adopting nature based agriculture practices. She cultivates various types of vegetables and crops. All kinds of vegetables and crops are produced through intensive cultivation and care in an environment friendly manner without using external inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Neela Rani conserves all types of crop seeds so that  she could cultivate in the next year or can help others who face seed crisis. She plants fruit trees such as mango, banana, coconut, guava, sabeda, jamrul, lemon, date, kul etc. Neela Rani said, “If you produce diverse crops it enables you to have nutritious foods. Consuming nutritious foods helps to increase our health immunity.” Dipali Rani of Kholpetua River in Sadar Union of Satkhira also practices sustainable agriculture to improve her livelihood and ensure nutrition foods for her family members. Her house is also treated as ‘Nutrition Bank’ to other farmers. However, production of diverse crops, rearing livestock and farming fishes in a sustainable way surely meets the nutrition demands of the communities. BARCIK intends to facilitate farmers making their own house as ‘safest store’ of nutritious foods. Alike Neela Rani and Dipali Rani, Kohinur Begum of Sonamugari, Delowara Begum of Badghat, Koruna Rani of Betangi, Shefali Begum of Datinakhali and Nilima Rani of Arpangashia adopt Nutrition bank Model and have been able to produce vegetable ensuring safe foods for family members coping with the climate change situation.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. The adverse effects of climate change have a particularly devastating effect on agriculture, tourism and aqua culture of Bangladesh leading the farming communities facing immense problems in food production. However, some Bangladeshi women communities have developed indigenous knowledge based agricultural adaptation strategies to cope with climate variability and extreme events. These women have been able to cope with climate induced disasters through intensive practicing agroecology that include using organic fertilizers, pesticides, involving in applied research to select climate tolerant rice and crop varieties and planting diverse crops, practicing crop rotation etc. Additionally, they have been successfully applying their indigenous knowledge and innovations in coping with climate extreme through practicing crop farming in sacks, boxes and elevating beds as well as using cork boxes. These practices should be expanded and shared among other communities in other areas and encourage them to replicate these in their perspective areas to cope with climate induced disasters. However, some of these practices may need to be adjusted to face additional climate risks associated with climate change. The major constraints to applying agricultural adaptation practices in Bangladesh is lack of knowledge, expertise and data on climate change. Therefore, in order to minimize the gaps in knowledge and expertise it needs to further develop the capacity of the farming communities and enhance their knowledge through conducting trainings and fostering more research works. Furthermore, initiative needs to be taken to improve and strengthen human capital, through education, outreach, and extension services, improves decision-making capacity at every level and increases the collective capacity to adapt to climate change.

^[1] https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-crisis-impacting-bangladesh

^[2] https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-crisis-impacting-bangladesh

^[3] FRAGILITY AND CLIMATE RISKS IN BANGLADESH, 2018, USAID)

^[4] National Adaptation Plan of Bangladesh (2023-2050)

^[5] BARCIK annual progress report

^[6] https://www.barcikbd.org/barciks-nutrition-bank-model-to-fight-against-covid-19/

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‘Eco-friends’ – ‘Nattarivu Padana Kendram’ in Wayanad, Kerala, India – A farmers’ collective that promotes agroecology as a way to adapt climate change

By Ramachandran K G, Keystone Foundation, India

Abstract: This paper showcases how a group of local farmers, from Wayanad, a relatively isolated and poor district in Kerala in South India, have adapted to erratic weather conditions by introducing agroecological practices to their traditional methods of farming. This is an important achievement in a district where nearly 90 percent of the people are either directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, mostly in the form of integrated farming, or allied livelihood systems like dairy farming and homestead poultry etc.

The villages of Wayanad are susceptible to diverse climate shocks and stresses. There were back-to-back natural disasters in the form of flashfloods and deluges which occurred in most of the parts of Kerala in 2018 and 2019. Wayanad was one of the worst affected districts.  Hundreds of landslides were reported. Many lost their lives. As the ratio of population mentioned above would indicate, farmers were inevitably the principal victims of all climate crises. Thousands of farmers lost their cultivable land in the disaster. Topsoil was washed off thousands of hectares of farming land. Losses were estimated in millions of rupees.

‘Eco-friends’ is a voluntary group of farmers formed in 2020 by Keystone Foundation to assist in rebuilding from the flood crisis disruption. It is a group of dedicated farmers who practice organic farming. Their farms are diversified with multiple varieties of crops that include both subsistence and cash crops.  The group makes effort to conserve traditional indigenous seeds, tubers and other crop varieties known for their climate resilient characteristics. They also exchange and promote these seeds in order to foster awareness of the importance of building local resilience. This is done in part through organizing seed and food fests.  The members of the group cultivate a diversity of crops in their gardens following organic methods, with the output used mainly for subsistence. Many are committed to saving the seeds of these diverse crops, and have set up a community seed bank. After the harvest, they will exchange them with other farmers in return for either seeds or cash. Traditional as well as scientific knowledge is applied to soil, plant and pest management activities. Periodically, the group organizes diverse sessions on organic farming and on the importance of agro-ecological farming among the local and regional farming communities through their ‘farmer school’ known as ‘Nattarivu Padana Kendram’ (Local Knowledge Learning Centre). Group members help each other solve farm-related problems and challenges. This group shows determination to overcome threats to their livelihood, and to adapt to unpredictable climate events through synchronizing multiple elements in their approach towards agriculture. The story of these Wayanad eco-friends is a vivid lesson in how committed individual farmers collaborate to find local solutions in the face of recurrent climate-induced crises.

Introduction:

The farming sector in Wayanad and elsewhere in Kerala is going through a great crisis. The crisis is brought about by various factors ranging from climate change to socio-cultural changes. These issues are briefly described through the lenses of farmers in the eco-friends farmers collective.

Issue of Climate change: Master farmer, Mr. Manuel P.J. the CEO of Eco-friends says, “There is no rain at the time of seed sowing or planting; it rains during the harvest; rain at the time of paddy pollination; there is no rain while the pepper shoots come out and the rain suddenly appears when the coffee plants bloom; it rains at the time of the harvest of coffee and pepper. Intense rain due to the climate change had a big toll on farmers. The topsoil of the farming land has been completely eroded along with the run-off- water in the heavy and intense rainfalls. It caused a serious decline in the land fertility. All crops that the farmers cultivated have also been desiccated in the drought occurred soon in consequent to the rainfall.” He continued, “Climate change has affected the practical adaptation of knowledge of the tradition. For instance, the tradition says that “Farmers get no harvest if the paddy seeds were sown after the Malayalam month of ‘28th of Chingam’ (Month of August-September)”. But, they have now changed the sowing of paddy seeds to the end of next month, ‘Kanni’ (Month of September-October) due to change in the monsoon pattern. Thus, the changes became inevitable in the traditional agricultural practices also. They were forced to update their traditional knowledge in the course of time. This is the responsibility of various agriculture universities but it is not happening. It is often not practical for a farmer to do research and farming for their livelihood simultaneously”.

Issue of the use of the chemical pesticides and fertilizers: For instance, it takes four days of work for a farmer to prepare the organic manure called ‘Jeevamritham’. But the farmers can save both time and labour to get ‘Urea’ (a synthetic chemical input) from a fertilizer shop. The ratio of the deadly chemical elements such as cadmium and arsenic were found to be very high in some of the chemical fertilizers used in the past. The number of kidney patients increased in those areas where the farmers started cultivating by using these fertilizers with high concentration. Farmers in the Nattarivu Padana Kendram said, the chemical pesticides are harmful even though they are used in a scientifically suggested proportion. The pesticides are detrimental to some of the friendly-insects when sprayed aiming on the pests. On top of that, farmers do not use the pesticides in a recommended proportion, going beyond permissible limits in most cases. In fact, the agriculture experts are also hiding the side effects of chemical fertilizers.  A farmer who cultivates using chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc. will never get the kind of psychological pleasure that an organic farmer gets by conserving the earth and producing good food for others. Such farmers might get money, but money would not give happiness. Another challenge is that the methods introduced to increase the production have caused the deterioration of the fertility of the land; increased the potency of the pests and increased the crop diseases.

Socio-cultural issues: Non-availability of laborers is one of the main challenges in the agriculture sector these days in Kerala. The implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) schemes in the rural areas has made many people idle who otherwise have good potential agriculture skills. They prefer to waste their time working on such odd works that require not much labour or effort. Moreover, the farmers have no respect in society these days except on paper. Young men who are engaged in farming activities do not get brides just because he is a farmer. Farmer families are also not an exception in this respect, who hesitate their children to get married to a farmer. The low rates received by farmers for their products is also a reason farmers staying away from farming.

As mentioned above Nattarivu Padana Kendram is group of dedicated farmers and experts who practice organic farming, got together to support each other by retaining and exchanging the rich treasure of traditional knowledge, to facilitate various training and workshops on agroecological practices and to devise local strategies against the erratic nature of weather patterns.

Methodology

The methodology used in this article is multilayered. and the data collection approaches can be categorized into primary and secondary. Primary data has been collected through focus group discussions, structured interviews with various member-farmers from the farmer collective (Eco-friends- Nattarivu Padana Kendram) and other organizations who associate with the farmer collective. Secondary data and information were also extracted from reports published by Keystone Foundation and articles published in newspapers and internet. Once the information was collected, qualitative analysis techniques was used to interpret the insights from focus groups and interviews, as well as quantitative methods where applicable.

The group synchronize agroecological principles and People-Led Development (PLD) approaches

Eco-friends-(Nattarivu Padana Kendram) addresses and synchronizes multiple elements and components of Agroecological principles in their activities. As mentioned above the group is a collective of farmers from various quarters who dedicate their lives to farming. At present there are 126 members in the group. Most of them are fulltime farmers. They believe in the collective effort and action that is one of the foundations of PLD approach. We glimpse the four basic principles of agroecology namely, environmental, economic, political and socio-cultural, closely imbibed into their actions and approaches. Let us explore how their actions reflect the principles of agroecology as follows;

Socio-cultural component

Agroecological practices promote the diversity and solidarity among people, and ensuring the women and youth empowerment as well. It also promotes healthy diets and local livelihoods by strengthening food producers, local communities and their traditional culture and knowledge.^[1]

Traditionally, the farmers in Wayanad have been involved in producing only food crops hence, the farmers in the group follow the same traditions as far as possible. The farmers in this collective conserve traditional indigenous seeds, tubers and other crop varieties known for their climate resilient characteristics. According to them, cultivation of these seeds is the only way to conserve the seeds. The seeds cannot be kept for a longer period of time by the farmers. Some of these farmers are conserving seeds following their ancestral practices. For some, it is their passion. They search for the diversities across the landscapes for new cultivars or species. Aesthetic values of some of these crops have also been a motivating factor to some of these farmers.^[2]

According to farmers in the collective, the practical application of traditional knowledge is often very difficult. But they claim that they would have solved many issues prevailing in the agriculture sector if all that knowledge could be practically applied. One of the important ‘traditional knowledge’ is ‘to do farming looking at the seasons. Each seed has its own period of growth till the time of harvest. A farmer should be certain about each phase of that period of growth. If the farmers need to harvest on the targeted time, then they need to sow the seed on the correct time of the season.

Women farmers and tuber farming: One of the primary principles of agroecology is to be inclusive. Eco-friends with support of Keystone foundation identified different community women groups that expressed for tuber cultivation. Every women group consists of 10 members each. There are 28 different groups from four Grama Panchayats who cultivate different types of tuber crops were supported with 8 different cultivars of 5 different species. Tubers are one of the staple foods widely consumed by the people in Wayanad. Roots and tubers are integral sources of subsistence and nutrition to many people. Tuber is known for its surviving capacity in adverse climatic conditions, thus called as ‘food for the future’ by many experts. Tuber is one of such major crops once widely cultivated in Wayanad district. But last decade,  the cultivation of tuber has drastically been reduced. Availability of quality seeds are one of the reasons for the decline given by the farmers with whom we had communicated. Most of them expressed their interest for cultivating tubers if they are getting good tuber-seeds. The cultivation of tubers does not require much of dedicated attention as is given to the crops like paddy and vegetables. Besides, the tuber crops can withstand adverse weather conditions. All these crops can be replanted for many years from the same stock of the seeds. It’s a onetime investment unless the crops were affected by diseases. A series of trainings on Tuber farming practices were organized for women led by veteran tuber expert by Mr.P J Manuel of Eco-friends farmer’ collective. He trained the community women about the product  chain of tuber farming. Many other experienced farmers in the collective shared their views, knowledge and experience about the cultivation of tuber crops.  The importance of tuber, Comparison between organic and inorganic fertilizers, Impacts of Chemical fertilizers on soil, making of organic inputs for tubers are the main topics covered through all these training sessions.

Environmental component

The agroecology enhances the integration of various elements of agroecosystems (plants, animals etc.). The practice particularly eliminates use of and dependence on agrochemicals thus eventually nourishes biodiversity and soils. It supports the resilience and adaptation to climate change.

According to the farmers in the collective, farming itself is an act of ecological conservation. A farmer protects domestic animals and birds; they conserve different species of plants, fruit trees as well as other trees on the farming land. As farmers, they do such activities to conserve the erosion of topsoil also; they prepare rain-harvest pits to drain water into the earth. Most of the farmers in their collective these days returned back to mixed farming from monoculture farming. Mixed farming reduces pest attacks, and farmers may not face a loss, even if one crop fails to get a good price in the market.

Community seed bank: The group has a seed bank that caters hundreds of farmers who engaged in various forms of farm-based activities. One of the farmers who conserves more than 80 indigenous tuber cultivars on his farm. Another farmer in the collective conserve more than 34 different local varieties of paddy seeds and 13 different varieties of black pepper including many local varieties preserved by another. A farmer in their group, conserve more than 200 varieties of banana in his orchard. The infrastructure center of seed bank is used as center of seed exchange by the group members. According to them, it is practically very difficult to establish a seed bank because each seed has its own storage period limits. The seed becomes unusable after a particular period. So, they should only be able to keep such seeds that are suitable to the existing local weather conditions and also after a proper analysis of the market trends. The seeds needed to be traded off within the same season. Paddy seeds can be used to convert to rice, but tubers can’t. It is better to keep such tubers’ seeds in the seed bank that has a demand at the market. Either the tubers should be kept in the farmland or it becomes a waste. But the seed banks are necessary since it makes the exchange of seeds possible between farmers who cultivate  and those who require the seeds. Seed banks play a role of middleman here. They should also be capable enough to exchange different information about the seeds such as the details of the availability of the seeds, the merits, issues and values of farming such seeds etc.

Agriculture Calendar: The climate crisis affects all types of crops irrespective of their nature and character. The damage done by the extreme climate crisis on crops like paddy, bananas, vegetables, tubers and other cash crops is also unparalleled. When rain, wind and temperature are going wrong in their patterns and intensity and create unimaginable crises for farmers, the only way forward is to adopt alternative means. In light of this, the farmers in the Eco-friends along with other farmer organizations of Manathavady taluk of Wayanad created a new agricultural calendar that incorporated traditional agricultural knowledge with necessary modifications and climate predictions based on the last four years of weather data that taken changed weather phenomena into account. Separate columns are arranged in this calendar to record the agricultural activities performed by the farmers in each month and to record the observations of the farmers on crops, weather and other matters. Each year, revisions are made in the timings for sowing and harvesting based on the observations of farmers and agricultural organizations from the year before. Therefore, it is clear that the concept of Wayanad Agricultural Calendar can be fully developed and perfected from the shared observations and knowledge of farmers. The farmers can survive in the agricultural sector only if they adjust their crops and farming methods according to the changed climate. This agricultural calendar as a weather agriculture advisory is expected to pave the way for a new survival in which farming practices are modified and made profitable as per the changed climatic conditions.

Economic component

The agroecology helps to enhance the power of local markets and build on a social and solidarity economic vision. It aims to increase the resilience through diversification of farm incomes and strengthens community autonomy. It promotes fair, short, distribution webs, producers and consumers working together.

Local value addition and micro enterprises: Some of the members in this collective engages in value addition of locally harvested farm produce. They collect the yields straight from the farmers at better rates than the open market, then, value add them for the sale.  A few local enterprises were established keeping this purpose that provided employments to the local people. Thirunelly Agriculture Producers Company is one of the production units which collects organically cultivated paddy from the farmers and later value add and sell the products in the local as well as commercial markets. They focus only on the production and marketing of traditionally grown local variety of paddy crops. Presently, 55 farmers are part of this farmers producers’ company. A couple of microenterprises have also been established to support such farmers who cultivate paddy, coffee, pepper, tubers and banana crops, with support of Keystone Foundation. These enterprises are run by marginalized women in the rural area.

Organic input production unit: One of the challenges that organic farmers face in general is the availability of quality organic input products. The rate of organic inputs available in the market is also very expensive and not affordable for those marginalized farmers who wish to follow organic farming. Hence, the group decided to start an organic input production unit so that the local farmers could access quality organic inputs at a comparatively cheaper rate. Biofertilizers and neem cakes are the main products at the moment. The processed fertilizers undergo rigorous tests to ensure that they contain the necessary nutrients before the packing is done. Organic compost fertilizers can be used for all types of crops. Neem cakes and Neem oil produced out of neem seeds have demand from the local market and nearby local farmers.

Political component

The agroecology encourages stronger participation of food producers or consumers in decision making. It promotes new forms of decentralized, collective, participatory governance of food systems. The control of seeds, land and territories are put in the hands of people.

Issue of fortified rice distribution in Wayanad: The group actively intervene in the political decision-making process in the agriculture sector and food system related matters within the district, extending to state level issues. ^[3]In 2021, The government of India selected a district each in 15 states to the distribution of fortified rice as a pilot scheme. Wayanad is one of the districts selected for the fortified schemes in Kerala State. From March 2023 onwards, it introduced it in ration or the public distribution system (PDS). India has the second highest sickle cell disease burden incidence in the world and the largest number of children with Thalassemia-major in the world. The government did not study the impact of the intervention on public health or on anaemia or how the individuals with certain health conditions would tolerate this rice. The iron-fortified food should also not be given to those with other conditions such as severe malnutrition, and newly diagnosed tuberculosis. Wayanad is the district in which highest number of sickle cell anaemia cases reported in Kerala. The member farmers of eco-friends actively campaigned against the implementation of fortified schemes in Wayanad. One of the members of Nattarivu Padana Kendram, as part of Right to Food Campaign, filed a public interest litigation in the supreme court of India over the impact on the health of such vulnerable groups. The Court as the Government to respond instantly. As a result of their campaign, notice boards were set up  before the PDS outlets exhibiting the warning against the risks of consumption of the fortified rice.

Wayanad Climate Summit: The Eco-friends played an integral role in organizing a climate summit in the District of Wayanad together with other organizations and Wayanad district administration. ‘Impacts of climate change on Agriculture-diversity’ was the main theme of this summit. The purpose of the summit was to equip both local governance institutions and the farming community and enable them taking appropriate precautions against the challenges brought by climate change. The event has also aimed at increasing the awareness on various adaptation strategies among farmers regarding the effects of climate change upon their livelihoods by way of seminars, classes and exhibitions. The event also released of the Wayanad carbon note report, which is a document on carbon emissions specific to the district. The summit has also been featured with many exhibitions of agricultural products and the sale and exchanges of seed. The summit brought together experts, policymakers, and community leaders to discuss strategies for mitigating these impacts. The event highlighted the importance of preserving forest cover, which is crucial for maintaining the region’s climate stability. Discussions also covered sustainable agricultural practices and the integration of traditional knowledge with modern climate resilience strategies. The Wayanad Climate Summit will be remembered as an attempt as well as a model for other regions facing similar kind of challenges, demonstrating that local action could contribute significantly to global climate goals. The outcomes of this summit are expected to influence policy at both state and national levels, fostering a more sustainable future for the region.

Conclusion

Farmers represent the majority of Wayanad’s population, that includes the migrant farmers and farmer-tribal communities, such as the Kurichyas and Mullu kurumas, who largely depend on agriculture as means of their livelihood. A collective like Eco-friends – Nattarivu Padana Kerndram is hope in the sector of agriculture. Most of the members of the collective are seasoned farmers. Their enthusiasm and energy have always been motivational for many youths who wish to pursue farming as an occupation and means of livelihoods. Many of their stories, though, have been left unwritten but, will keep motivating many local youths in the forthcoming days as well. But the agriculture scenario is not very promising. The master farmers in the collective expressed their concerns regarding the future of farming activities in Wayanad or any other place elsewhere in India. They said that the practice of farming would continue like what we see now till the end of this generation. After that, the farmer in India would, most probably, turn to agriculture labour on contract, produce according to what some monopolist companies demand them to produce. Agriculture sector would end up in the hands of a few corporate companies. They continued that there must be a decent income generated from the farming in order to attract new generation into agriculture. The standard of the farmers should be elevated to the standards of public servants at the least. For instance, the Government should ensure all the benefits like pension and other allowances received par with an ordinary government employee to a farmer. This might lead many youngsters to think about agriculture as a livelihood option. The climate change crisis is very evident, especially in the agricultural sector, even in a place like Wayanad, that is surrounded by forests and rich in precious biodiversity. Agriculture here, which was based on traditional knowledge and chronology of sowing, reaping and other agricultural activities, is challenged by climate change in such a way that it cannot be tested in the fields on a practical level. New microclimates are continuously forming in places like Wayanad and beyond, making it increasingly difficult to make any sort of predictions for farming patterns in specific areas. The collective opens platform before the farmers to ponder deeply over the issue of climate change and try to act upon the issue by way of preparing agriculture calendar, promoting organic methods of farming and lobbying at district level and state level on several issues of climate change and food system policies.

The farmers in ‘eco-friends collective’ strongly believe that the farming community deserves more respect, and hope that people need to be aware that the human existence is depending, to a certain extent, on the hard work of the farmers.

^[1] Review of principles of agroecology, Chito P Medina, Masipag

^[2] Natural historians-tuber farming- the organic way- News Letter of Nilgiri Natural History Society- Issue 10.2

^[3]  https. // thewire.in/article/rights/ Plastic-Rice-why-union-govts-experiments-with an-artificial-grain-is hard-to swallow-for-rural-adivasis

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Economic and social resilience from MASIPAG farming and community solidarity

By Velayo, Leodegario¹ and Buena, Maria Rowena²

Abstract

In many communities in the Philippines, farmers are facing not only climate risks but economic and political risks as well, and while most Filipinos are considered hardy, constant exposure to these risks is not making them resilient but victims of continuous injustice. Contrary to the dominant definition of resilience, which is the ability to immediately rise after a disaster,  resilience for MASIPAG is a long process built on the interdependence of technical, economic, social, and political realities on the ground. Communities’ capacity to rise is not only after a disaster or adversity or any difficult life event but also the ability of a community to adapt and mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change. During the recent El Nino in the Philippines, Mr. Leody Velayo’s example vividly illustrates adaptation to climate change which contributes to resilience, combining careful planning informed by MASIPAG’s climate advocacy, his experience with trial farming, and an understanding of the links between crop production, climate, and his family’s food security. Velayo’s efforts embody MASIPAG’s approach to climate change through adaptation, mitigation, and resilience strategies. Resilience-building includes developing methods to withstand pests and climate challenges like drought, flooding, and saltwater intrusion. Mitigation efforts strengthen social infrastructure through community organization, policy advocacy, and partnerships for sustainable practices. Adaptation involves breeding rice varieties that can resist climate extremes, including floods and droughts. This model led to MASIPAG’s Climate Change Resiliency Program in 2016, aimed at enhancing farmers’ capacities to manage climate impacts. The program includes disaster risk reduction training, mangrove planting and preservation, and climate justice advocacy. These combined efforts strive to create a resilient agricultural system capable of withstanding and adapting to climate challenges.

Introduction/background

The El Nino phenomenon profoundly affects agriculture in the Philippines, primarily through its influence on rainfall patterns, temperature variations, and the overall hydrological cycle. This is influenced significantly by the changing climate, ultimately exposing farmers to economic, health, and political risks associated with the phenomenon.

The El Niño phenomenon is characterized by periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which significantly alters weather patterns across the globe, including Southeast Asia and the Philippines. During El Niño, the country often experiences reduced rainfall, particularly in the dry season, leading to significant water shortages for irrigation and crop production (Stuecker et al., 2018). The lack of precipitation during critical growing periods can lead to delayed planting and reduced yields, exacerbating food security issues in a country where agriculture is a vital component of the economy (Dait, 2022). Additionally, the variability in rainfall associated with El Niño can lead to increased instances of extreme weather events, such as prolonged dry spells followed by intense rainfall. This fluctuation can disrupt planting schedules and crop management practices, making it difficult for farmers to adapt (Liao et al., 2021).

Climate change is a significant factor amplifying the adverse effects of this phenomenon. One such impact is the intensification of its frequency and severity. Studies indicate that the variability of El Niño events has increased in recent decades, with climate change contributing to stronger and more frequent occurrences of these phenomena (Grothe et al., 2020).  During El Niño years, the frequency of tropical cyclones making landfall in the Philippines tends to decrease, as the atmospheric conditions shift (Corporal-Lodangco et al., 2016; , Corporal-Lodangco & Leslie, 2016). However, the intensity of cyclones that do form can be heightened due to the warmer ocean temperatures associated with El Niño, which can lead to more severe weather events when they do occur (Patricola et al., 2018).

In March of 2023, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA, announced that the country might experience a strong El Nino which may last until the second quarter of 2024. Upon learning about the possible impacts of a strong El Nino to the farmers, MASIPAG immediately called for a national educational discussion regarding El Nino and invited experts from the Manila Observatory and Pampanga State University to provide more scientific information and explanation to the farmers.

MASIPAG documented the complex extent of damage by the recent El Nino event across its network of farmers in the three major island groups of the Philippines. In the Luzon island group, farmers observed a significant decrease in water supply from rivers, springs, and tributaries, stunting and drying of crops due to water shortage, heavy insect and rat infestation, which affects yield and food availability.

But it is not only the crops that have been affected by El Nino. Farmers also observed that even livestock were negatively affected by the prolonged, intense heat. Due to water shortage that affected forage growth, pasture for animals became scarce. Swine were observed to be irritable due to intense heat which also increased the cost of their maintenance since farmers have to water the pens more frequently. Chickens were often dehydrated, and water in fishponds was also heating increasing the mortality of fry.

Farmers themselves are not spared from the effects of El Nino. Due to the intense heat, they have adjusted working hours to avoid the scorching heat, which also increased their cost since they have to add more labor to fast-track farm activities. Aside from this, pumping underground water for a longer period has been more expensive because they also need to buy more gasoline. Some farmers migrated to adjacent communities to look for other jobs to support their families, while all of these are happening, farmers await the elusive financial, material, and production support from the government.

Methodology

To identify the economic and social resilience of MASIPAG farming and community solidarity through examining the ability of farmers to produce rice varieties that will adapt to the specific conditions which will also ensure good harvest, documentation of the success of Ka Leody’s rice production practices, and adaptability of the varieties was done.

Profiling of the the village was done to understand the socio-economic, political and environmental situation of the community. Organizational, farmer profiling, and interview of key informant were done to determine the extent of the effects of El Nino on a farmer family’s food security, income, and livelihood.

Results

Community Profile

Bungo is located 9 kilometers away from the main road of Gapan City, province of Nueva Ecija. The small community has a population of 2,633 individuals as of 2020 which represents 2.14% of the total population of Gapan City, which is a 4^th class city with an average annual income of PhP 90,000,000.00 or around USD 1,600,000, which mainly comes from its footwear, agricultural and industrial production.

While Gapan has been a component city since 2001, the majority of its income comes from farming and other agricultural activities. Barangay Bungo, where MASIPAG has one its member organization, is on the boundary of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan. Bungo is nine kilometers from the main road of Gapan town, Nueva Ecija. The only main source of income for the villagers is farming, some of them are also homemakers, overseas workers or carpenters. Many of the young people have finished elementary and high school and most of them become farmers as well.

Although Nueva Ecija is part of the Central Luzon plains which is known as the “Rice Granary,” there is no irrigation facilities in Brgy. Bungo and farmers rely solely on rainwater to grow rice. Some farmers use mechanical water pumps while other farmers constructed small reservoirs as water storage facilities.

This was the only way Mr. Leodegario Velayo, popularly known as Ka Leody, and his family were able to plant rice during the dry season.  They constructed a small rainwater reservoir in 2007 which has been their source of irrigation for their 1-hectare farm.

Farmer and Organizational Profile

Ka Leody Velayo is a pioneer member of Gabay sa Bagong Pag-Asa Bungo (GBP-Bungo) organized in 1986 by the Social Action Foundation for Rural and Urban Development Inc. (SAFRUDI). GBP-Bungo started with social enterprise programs then eventually became a member of MASIPAG in 1999. The members of the Gabay sa Bagong Pag-asa ng Bungo cultivate small parcels of land and grow it with rice. Some members adopt natural and organic farming while others are still into conventional farming due to land ownership issues.

GBP Bungo established their trial farm, an area wherein 50 varieties of rice are planted, maintained, and observed for adaptability and selection for mass production based on farmers’ criteria. Ka Leody maintains the organization’s trial farm since among the members of GBP Bungo, his farm has the nearest access to irrigation water through their families’ water reservoir. He plants both rice and vegetables in his family-owned 1- 1-hectare farm but mainly for family consumption. Having a big family of 12 children, Ka Leody said that income from rice farming will not survive his family thus a more steady and bigger source of income is needed to sustain his family. He is raising seven water buffalos for milking which is the main source of their family’s income.

From the organization’s trial farm, he selected varieties that are tolerant to drought since there is no irrigation facility in Bungo like in many communities in Nueva Ecija. Due to the limited availability of water, Ka Leody is only able to plant rice once a year. He then plants vegetables to maximize the residual moisture and then leaves the field during the dry season which also serves as a fallow period. When rain is abundant and they can harvest enough water in the reservoir, only then can have two rice cropping.

Effects of El Nino

The El Nino brought Ka Leody a different level of concern since they are already experiencing water shortage during “regular” cropping season. After hearing the news and attending the El Nino Forum organized by MASIPAG, he quickly planned on what he is going to do to ensure the food for his family, for at least until the next cropping season. Ka Leody selected two varieties, PAS-1, a locally adapted variety from his verification trials, and M21-1, an early maturing MASIPAG variety from his verification trials.

In April of 2023, farmers started to feel the effects El Niño. After harvesting his second cropping in April, Ka Leody quickly sowed the  PAS-1 seed, although his usual practice is to fallow his rice field from May to July and wait for the rainwater to come. He was able to transplant the rice in June using the leftover water from the reservoir. He said that he expects to harvest in September and plant M21-1, which he expects to be harvested in January.

According to Ka Leody, he was able to harvest 13 cavans of palay (rice) from the dry season (June – September 2023) using PAS-1 and 22 cavans of M21-1 for the wet season (November 2023 – January 2024)  with a total of 35 cavans which is 42% lower than his usual average of 60 cavans per year. The estimated gross income of each variety is listed in Table 1 and 2.

Table 1. Actual harvest and gross income during regular harvest season.

 

Variety	Regular harvest in sacks	Regular Harvest in kgs @ 57*kgs/sack	Estimated Gross Income @26PhP
PAS 1	28	1,596	41,496
M21-1	32	1,824	47,424
Total	60	3,420	88,920

*average content/sack

 

Table 2. Actual harvest and estimated gross income during El Nino.

Variety	El Nino Harvest in sacks	El Nino Harvest in kgs @ 57*kgs/sack	Estimated Gross Income @26PhP
PAS 1	13	741	19,266
M21-1	22	1,254	27,588
Total	35	1,995	46,854

The price of palay during that time is around 26PhP for conventional rice, however, Ka Leody is not selling his harvest and reserves all the rice for his family’s needs. Still, the yield is low compared to the previous harvest and this means that they will be buying additional rice to ensure its availability to the family until the next cropping season. Despite this, Ka Leody still felt lucky because not all his neighbors were able to plant due to water unavailability and shortage.

The effects of El Nino at a wider scale

For most farmers in the western portion of the country, including Ilocos Region, MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula, the El Nino phenomenon caused massive yield loss, with several provinces declaring a state of calamity to be able to release and spend their calamity fund to support farmers and other sectors. According to Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific, the total damage caused by El Nino reached USD 168.79 million.

While this is happening in the western portion of the country, the eastern seaboard is experiencing flooding due to intermittent but heavy rains. Reports from MASIPAG communities in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Surigao del Sur and Norte mentioned that the heavy rains resulted in flooding forcing several communities to evacuate to safer places in Mindanao.

The drought in the west and heavy rains in the east confused many MASIPAG farmers, affecting their resolve to prepare for the worst. However, MASIPAG farmers have been preparing since its inception in 1986. The CIMME and breeding program of the organization aim to collect and develop rice varieties that adapt to the local agro-climatic condition. Since 1988, Masipag has produced 1,085 improved varieties through its rice breeding program, while the farmer has developed their bred rice, and from these improved rice are what MASIPAG called locally adapted varieties.

Social and economic resilience through MASIPAG programs

Through the years, MASIPAG farmers documented the performance of these varieties and were plotted in a map to have a visual representation of how diverse and differ these varieties perform in different communities. In 2022, MASIPAG documented a total of 114 locally adapted varities; 39 lodging resistant; 8 flood tolerant; 33 drought tolerant; 9 pest and disease resistant, and 3 salt-water tolerant varities.

Aside from adaptability, conservation, and breeding are essential for farmers’ survival as rice producers. They saw that seed conservation and breeding allowed them to have rice seeds available anytime, free of charge and worry during erratic weather conditions. There are varieties that will survive and they will still be able to harvest and still have seeds for the next cropping season to plant and share.

Conclusion with recommendations

Resilience is the ability to effectively recover in a timely, efficient, and equitable manner after a disaster.  But resilience is the outcome of a long process built on the interdependence of technical, economic, social, and political realities on the ground as illustrated in this MASIPAG farmers’ experience. Communities’ capacity to rise is not only after a disaster or adversity or any difficult life events but the ability of a community to adapt through enhancement of capacity and knowledge and mitigate through establishment and strengthening of social infrastructure, biodiversity conservation, continuous campaigning and advocacy for climate justice, local marketing and processing.  Resiliency is best as a community action.

Pathways to resilience, in most cases, narrow to strengthening social infrastructures in a community, even knowledge creation and success of adoption of this knowledge in Masipag are dependent on the needs of many, which is why this pathway is more sustainable although challenging to many who were shaped towards individualism. The sustainability of this resilience is reflected in how MASIPAG members in the Philippines are gaining grounds not only for their sustainable agriculture practice but also in their capacity to influence and lobby for policy change, and ability to change the mindset and perspective of fellow farmers and duty-bearers.

Figure 5. MASIPAG Climate Change Resilient Map.

Not all farmers have enough knowledge to prepare like Ka Leody. He said that farmers need to think carefully about their strategy and plan to be prepared for any threat that will affect their livelihood.

To be able to do this, the government needs to listen to the farmers, hear about their real situation, and hear their demands. “The solution and support should be based on the needs and not on what is available.” Many are unable to reach or receive information to prepare and often do nothing without harvest due to disasters or El Niño threats.

Long-term solutions such as irrigation systems, early provision of information to farmers in preparation, suitable seeds that do not require expensive chemical fertilizer or poison to insects and continuous education about the worsening effects of changing climates are needed by more farmers to adapt and ensure food at each table.

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¹ _{Vice-Chair, MASIPAG Board of Trustees}

² _{Regional Coordinator, MASIPAG Luzon Secretariat}

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References

City Government of Gapan. (2016). Political Profile of Gapan City. https://www.cityofgapan.com/b.html

Corporal-Lodangco, I., Leslie, L., & Lamb, P. (2016). Impacts of ENSO on Philippine Tropical Cyclone Activity. Journal of Climate, 29(5), 1877-1897. https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-14-00723.1

Dait, J. (2022). Impact of Climate Change and Economic Activity on Philippine Agriculture: a Cointegration and Causality Analysis. Universal Journal of Agricultural Research, 10(4), 405-416. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujar.2022.100410

Dawe, D., Moya, P., & Valencia, S. (2009). Institutional, Policy and Farmer Responses to Drought: El Niño Events and Rice in the Philippines. Disasters, 33(2), 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2008.01075.x

Feng, J., Chen, W., & Wang, X. (2018). Asymmetric responses of the Philippine Sea anomalous anticyclone/cyclone to two types of el niño–southern oscillation during the boreal winter. Atmospheric Science Letters, 19(12). https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.866

Grothe, P., Cobb, K., Liguori, G., Lorenzo, E., Capotondi, A., Lü, Y., … & Toth, L. (2020). Enhanced el niño–southern oscillation variability in recent decades. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(7). https://doi.org/10.1029/2019gl083906

Liao, W., Fan, Y., Zhu, S., Huang, Y., & Yang, L. (2021). Monthly variations of the winter precipitation over the Philippines during the mature phase of eastern Pacific El Niño. Frontiers in Earth Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.625455

Patricola, C., Camargo, S., Klotzbach, P., Saravanan, R., & Chang, P. (2018). The influence of ENSO flavors on western North Pacific tropical cyclone activity. Journal of Climate, 31(14), 5395-5416. https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0678.1

Stuecker, M., Tigchelaar, M., & Kantar, M. (2018). Climate variability impacts on rice production in the Philippines. Plos One, 13(8), e0201426. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201426

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Community enterprise approach in floodplain management for climate action

Author: Sakiul Millat Morshed (ed.shisuk@gmail.com)

Introduction

The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 by Germanwatch ranks Bangladesh 7^th among the countries most impacted by climate change from 2000 to 2019. The country faces significant environmental challenges, with a land area of 147,570 square kilometers; Bangladesh is predominantly composed of floodplains, in some years, flooding can affect more than 60 percent of the country. Most of these floodplains are composed of private lands, owned by different owners that are mainly used for agricultural purposes during dry seasons, while livelihood activities in the rainy season are confined to limited capture fisheries when many farming households suffer great hardship. These natural resources lost their productivity due to overexploitation, indiscriminate use of pesticides, pollution, and climate change effect. Most of the floodplains remain underutilized and ungoverned due to high transaction costs for coordination, limited information, and the capacity gap for investment-based resource development. In absence of livelihood opportunities, many opted for seasonal migration to urban areas and sometimes became victims of human trafficking. Due to the climate change effect, more areas would be flooded, which would disrupt existing agriculture practices and livelihoods and create more climate-induced migrants and victims of trafficking.

 

High-density aquaculture systems, which occupy around 0.5 million hectares, are significant contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Conversely, Rice is the primary food crop, covering 80% of the cultivable land. In addition to the energy sector, rice cultivation is a notable source of methane (CH4) emissions. In contrast, Bangladesh has 2.8 million hectares of flood plains^[1], which are robust, renewable resources contribute relatively little to fish production. Studies have reported that if only 25% of the floodplain areas can be brought under community management, then about 6.7 million people would benefit, including 2.7 million landless people.^[2]  Floodplain aquaculture can lead to lower pesticide use, higher earnings from rice yield as it increases the subsequent rice yields due to the fertilizing effect of the fish^[3]. Adopting integrated agriculture-aquaculture systems in floodplains could enhance rice and fish production while enhancing carbon sequestration, reducing emissions, and replenishing soil carbon.

The Community Enterprise Approach (CEA) is a community-driven business model designed to revitalize neglected and underutilized common pool resources (floodplains) using ecological solutions. By aligning individual interests with community goals, CEA turns community members into shareholders of these initiatives. Local households collectively invest in environmentally friendly infrastructure and businesses, leading to sustainable development. The approach has proven effective in pilot projects, improving floodplain fisheries during the monsoon and promoting ecological agriculture afterward. This approach aims to boost productivity with regenerative practices, lower carbon emissions by enhancing soil and water management, minimizing the use of harmful chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) particularly in rice cultivation. Enterprise initiatives have successfully generated diverse employment and livelihood opportunities for under-employed communities, increased nutritional intake, improved gender relations, and promoted sustainable community development. The CEA has significant potential for broader adoption and can support Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) indicators.

Embedding National climate policy context & sector policies

According to the updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted on August 26, 2021, Bangladesh aims to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 27.56 MtCO2e, or 6.73% below a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario by 2030, relying on current local capacities and internal financing. Additionally, with international financial and technological support, Bangladesh intends to further reduce emissions by 61.9 MtCO2e, or 15.12% below BAU by 2030.

In 2012, Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) accounted for 27.13% of GHG emissions. Key mitigation actions include effective water management, organic matter management, and reduced tillage practices, which are crucial for reducing methane (CH4) emissions from rice fields under both unconditional and conditional contributions. The eco-friendly management of floodplains, guided by the Community Enterprise Approach (CEA), will cover a large area of rice cultivation within the country’s floodplains. This approach is expected to make a substantial indirect contribution to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture and livestock sector by 2.95% by 2030, as outlined in the updated NDCs.

The regenerative management of floodplains is in harmony with national policies and international commitments related to sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience. This project supports several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 10, and SDG 13 through SDG 15

Climate Action – Adaptation, Mitigation and Resilience technologies / practices

 

Adaptation: Conserve and use locally available natural resources

Biodiversity is a resource for farmers for food and fiber production and these are specifically managed by these small food producers. As defined by FAO^[3] ,“Agro-biodiversity is the result of the interaction between the environment, genetic resources and management systems and practices used by culturally diverse peoples, and therefore land and water resources are used for production in different ways”. Addressing agricultural production and livelihood improvement in climate-affected areas is a significant challenge. Poverty often leads to overuse of environmental resources, while environmental degradation further limits access to these resources. A community-wide integrated approach is necessary to lift households from extreme poverty and institutionalize economic gains sustainably.

CEA is founded on environment-friendly community-led collective enterprise initiative based on local potentials, offering opportunities for greater participation and ownership, thereby community make decisions for sustainable management of their community resources and do not take any harmful decision which could have adverse effect on their land, water, environment and their health. Following CEA in floodplain management brings positive result not only in increase productivity but play a significant role in ensuring sustainable use of the resources and conserving bio-diversity and climate change adaptation through promoting

Conservation and enhancing fisheries bio-diversity:

Conventionally, the open floodplains are dried up and poisoned to exploit the last resort of the fisheries, which destroys the breeding grounds of the wild fish. CEA aquaculture maintains at least 10% of the floodplain as sanctuaries for the wild brood of fishes and to stock small fishes for the next season, which helps to protect and improve the biodiversity in the floodplain.

Besides conserving the biodiversity, community enterprise approach also help to enhance the fisheries biodiversity by introducing the threatened species through inter-exchanging uncommon species among the projects or collecting form neighboring natural sources.

Effective water management/ water conservation

In Bangladesh,  flash flood water comes around May/June and remains up to October; most of the water runs away to the sea without any use. The CEA based aquaculture approach includes connecting neighboring villages with environmentally-friendly bunds to regulate floodwaters. This  also enhance connectivity, improve social interaction, and protects crops from flash floods. This approach incorporates effective water management techniques, such as systematic water drainage before the planting season, reducing groundwater reliance and promoting the recharge of groundwater tables by retaining surface water for 2 to 3 months longer till the end of December.

Maintaining soil fertility and pest management :

Farmers of CEAFM experience reduced chemical fertilizer needs due to improved soil fertility from supplementary fish feed residue and fish droppings. Communities are encouraged to use organic fertilizers and bio-pesticides, which supports integrated agroecology in agriculture-aquaculture systems.

In open floodplains, invasive species like water hyacinth are rampant, which is a good means for pest breeding, these are also significant methane emitters. Farmers used to spend a good amount for weedicides and cleaning weeds, water-hyacinth, etc. after the monsoon. But the Community Enterprise Approach for Floodplain Management (CEAFM) aquaculture prevents the growth of weeds and helps keep floodplains clean and well-organized that results fewer pest infestations eliminate the need for pesticides; Prevent weedicide use and Zero cleaning (weeds) cost.

Controlling harmful pesticide use and less use of chemical fertilizer helps to protect and improve the biodiversity in the floodplain.

Promoting Agroecology and agro-biodiversity 

The concept of agroecology is still not popular in this area due to lack of research/experiments, collective initiative, and farmers’ demonstration plots.  The aquaculture in floodplain not only improves the fish production and livelihood opportunities in the community, also creates opportunity for practicing agroecology through reducing the use of pesticides including weedicides and chemical fertilizers and improving soil fertility and yields.

1. Promote agroecology practices in the existing CEA based floodplain aquaculture through awareness campaigns and strengthening the capacity of stakeholders- farmers, women, youth and agricultural workers and initiate field learning sites (FLS) in collaboration with key farmers practicing agroecology.;
2. Facilitate community enterprise initiative of floodplain aquaculture and ecological agriculture farming in new areas through partnerships with communities for replication. Facilitate capacity building of NGO representatives, and stakeholders in the new areas.
3. Develop consolidated strategy and framework, based on the action research results on socio- economic and environmental impact of the interventions in CEAs; and the development of information education and communication (IEC) materials including modules, video documentation, training materials, etc.
4. Conduct Policy Advocacy to upscale the CEA based on sustainable fisheries management and agroecology practices in the flood prone areas; and building resilient communities to adapt/mitigate climate change impacts.

Most of the floodplains are composed of private lands, which are mainly used for agricultural purposes during dry seasons and remain unutilized during monsoon. The approach has proven effective in pilot projects, improving floodplain fisheries during the monsoon and promoting ecological agriculture afterward.

Besides, the tidal floodplain which is basically one crop zone of traditional aman with less yield. SHISUK has undertaken initiative to introduce Boro rice in the tidal floodplain area utilizing the surface water, which increased the crop intensity by introducing fish in monsoon and crop in dry season without disturbing the eco-system.

Moreover, due to fish culture there was less vegetation in the floodplain which also have a saving effect of soil micro nutrient and keeping the floodplain clean to prevent pest manifestation.  Thus increase productivity and reduce production cost using fewer inputs.

Focus on food security first (not at the expense of products for the market)

Food and nutrition systems have become more inclusive with access to more diversity, community enterprise, augmented income, availability

• CEA has increased fish production in floodplain @4MT/ha in intervention area whereas the national average is less than 100kg/ha.
• The increased productivity of collective enterprise initiatives improves the availability of nutritional food at an affordable price.
• Priority marketing for local consumers at wholesale price supports increased food and nutrition intake for the community.
• Women and mothers can buy the fresh food of their choice at the farm gate.

Currently SHISUK is implementing programs to develop a “Agroecology zone” model to ensure Safe Food Production in Daudkandi upazila, Cumilla.

 

The community enterprise approach is an adaptation model to make use of the changing conditions with improved productivity. Moreover, the approach instills togetherness and collective governance to build a resilient community.

 

Gainsharing, when used collaboratively, has the potential to significantly accelerate. In the absence of insurance coverage, small individual initiatives face high risk in any disaster. As a result, it is quite challenging for a solo producer or entrepreneur to bear the entire loss. Community Enterprise shares risk in any disaster (accident, market fall, climate change effect, etc.) and, through collective effort, helps to come back.

Small farmers and entrepreneurs can pool their resources, knowledge, and skills to better manage climate risks and improve their productivity, including-

• adopting climate-resilient farming practices
• investing in climate-resilient infrastructure and
• diversifying their income streams to reduce dependence on a single crop or product.

This can help to increase their profitability and reduce their vulnerability to climate risks.

 

Diversify livelihood

• Community Enterprise can generate Jobs and Livelihoods in backward and forward linkage in the intervention area, priority is given to the community members in backward and forward linkages and to become entrepreneurs
• CEA not only generates income and jobs for the community, but the participation in decision-making and implementation of the projects turn the community members into entrepreneurs, empowered and resilient. Community enterprise enables the ability of smallholders, farmers to produce value-added products and to maintain value-chain factors (production, quality control, transportation, preservation, shelf life).
• Community enterprise is also a means for technology transfer. It is a costly intervention to outreach and capacity-build the smallholder and individual farmers; they do not accept innovation or new technology easily, but through community enterprise outreach is easy. Once the enterprise leaders are convinced, they are ready to adopt innovation and new technology.
• More available market information, network, ability to shift the product to the right market (shared cost of learning)

 

CEA-based aquaculture generates 23 category Jobs and Livelihoods in backward and forward linkage in the intervention area (@3.9 HH/ha).

Backward linkages (Input services) 1.      Using small household ponds for Fingerling nursery 2.      Fish Hatchery operators 3.      Fingerling traders 4.      Fish feed sellers 5.      Lime and  Fertilizer traders 6.      Transport worker (Carrying  inward): Rickshaw / Van/ truck /  trolley 7.      Transport owner (Carrying  inward): Rickshaw / Van/ truck /  trolley 8.      Cow dung /poultry litter based compost supplier 9.      Fingerlings rearing workers 10.   Project staffs (admin, security) 11.   Local Money lenders

Forward linkages (Output services) 1.      Ice plant operators 2.      Ice suppliers / middlemen 3.      Local Entrepreneur (whole sell buyers) 4.      Fish Traders?/ wholesalers 5.      Retail buyers for local market 6.      Transport worker (Carrying  Outward): Rickshaw / Van/ truck /  trolley 7.      Transport owner (Carrying  Outward): Rickshaw / Van/ truck /  trolley 8.      Fish Drying 9.      Food venders 10.   Fisherman Harvesting, 11.   Project staff  marketing 12.   Local Money lenders

 

Drawing from the success of the Daudkandi pilot model, the Enterprise Approach is expected to enhance production and create substantial economic benefits and employment through various backward and forward linkages. The CEA’s success in Floodplain Aquaculture (FPA) in the Daudkandi piloting area has resulted in the production of over 20,000 metric tons of fish annually during the monsoon season, transforming what were previously unproductive floodplains.

 

Ownership of the resources

The Community Enterprise Approach for Floodplain Management (CEAFM) focuses on mobilizing and utilizing private owned local resources, local opportunities, and social networks—through active community participation. The CEA is centered on collective community investment. It is an enterprise of the community, by the community and for the community.  The enterprises are owned by the local community itself, which not only generates income and jobs for the community, but the participation of community members in decision-making, management and implementation of the projects turn the community members into entrepreneurs. This approach is also distinct because it emphasizes the involvement of larger community, not specific segments of the local community, including marginalized farmers and underprivileged community members. In this approach, part of the enterprise profit is also invested back in the community for social development.

 

The equitable Gainsharing of the enterprise are helpful to resolved the conflict across different social and cultural groups, regardless of class, religion, profession, or gender and strengthen social capital by fostering community ownership and decision-making for the sustainable management of CRP (common resource pool)/ shared resources.

Benefit to the Marginal Farmers/ Landless/ fishermen ◦      Share of Lease value for their land ◦      Dividend of their shareholdings ◦      Full beneficiaries of Employment and ◦      Entrepreneurial opportunity in backward and forward linkage ◦      Welfare support ◦      Reserve share for Underprivileged ◦      Reserve fund for charity  (5-10% of the net profit) ◦      Empowerment ◦      opportunity for participation and ownership  in big investment ◦      Equal voting rights

 

Social solutions

Community enterprise is a People Led Development mandated beyond economic activities and includes other development goals. Community enterprise particularly in the rural areas means about how people come together, work together with their land, water or common properties.  How they can improve their production and productivity, how they will be ready to take risk and how they can manage the risk, how they can reduce the chances of loss. And it also includes how they can fix their goals, mobilize resources, use the latest technology, acquire appropriate knowledge and skills to achieve their goals that make them into an enterprise.

These efforts contribute to a carbon-neutral development pathway while fostering peaceful coexistence, reducing insecurity—especially for women—and enhancing gender relationships within the community through collaborative efforts for collective and individual benefits.

The NGO/ CSOs can play a catalyst role, mobilize the community to adopt CEA concept strengthen social capital by fostering community ownership and decision-making for the sustainable management of CRP (common resource pool)/ shared resources. CEA helped to align individual interests with community interest through making community members shareholders (owners) of the projects, and also empowering all community members to democratically elect their representatives for board of directors, who made management decisions. In the demonstration initiatives SHISUK provided technical know-how and acted as a trusted arbiter for conflict resolution in the community and also as an oversight body to ensure transparency and accountability. Most importantly, SHISUK provided part of the financial capital for the projects (>30%) for a true partnership (share profit and loss with the community) and self-reliant follow up intervention.

Reduce Exposure to Economic risks

Community enterprise is working together with land, water, or common properties. How they can improve their production and productivity, how they will be ready to take risk, and how they can manage the risk to reduce the chances of loss. How they can fix their goals, mobilize resources, use the latest technology, and acquire appropriate knowledge and skills to achieve their goals that make them into an enterprise.

Community enterprise can change the dynamics of market governance and politics, enhance communities’ capacity for management of big collective initiatives and build entrepreneurial skills;. The bulk production of the community enterprise and collective production by the small farmers and the regular availability of the product can attract more market players (input suppliers and buyers of different levels) and consumers at the farm gate create a marketplace itself and negotiate in favour of the community enterprise.

Instead of middleman domination, the aggregators compete among themselves to satisfy the producer (community enterprise) to ensure their supply chain. It also helps other neighboring farmers connected to the mainstream market to get a fair price for their products. Community-based collective production enables traceability to build trust and relationships between producers and consumers (along with other market actors) to transform the value chain.

Scopes of Community Enterprise

• Low input costs as a result of bulk purchasing
• supply of high-quality inputs,
• Availability of quality products at a reasonable price.
• Low production and harvesting costs.
• low transportation costs for bulk quantities aggregated,
• competitive, fair price for farmers and smallholders. Market syndicates have less influence because they compete with one another to attract large suppliers.
• Minimize the unscrupulous agents’ cost.
• More personal and monitory security.
• Last Mile Delivary

 

Community Enterprise Approach a Vehicle for Technology transfer

• local and indigenous knowledge, technology generation by farmers (peasant science) recognized and integrated into farming practices
• Improved technology can easily transfer through the collective CBO/ Enterprise platform
• Enhance ability to cope with situation resulting from climate change such as floods, droughts and salinity through collective initiative.

Carrying fish safely after harvesting, sorting the fishes from the net and keep it alive in the boat	Cost effective way for transporting bulk quantity fish to the market with  Ice. FAO consultant Mike Dilon observing the local technique
In the tidal floodplain most of the potential project area are adjacent to or surrounded by tidal canal. In this case the major problem is the escaping stocked fish through the rat-hole landslide (locally called Chella). So the site selection should be carefully done otherwise the project might incur losses. The community[1] applied innovative local technology to protect their project escaping stocked fish through Chella, putting sand in the middle of the band/ embankment to fill-up the rate-hole immediately and prevent leakage (chella).		KGF team at Baghajora project observing the innovative solution by the community.

 

 

 

Mitigation potential

Mitigation potential in tCO2e *

What is the envisioned GHG mitigation potential in tCO₂e (rough conservative estimate, a range of values “from XXX tCO₂e to XXX tCO₂e” is acceptable) of the project over the implementation period?

150 to 200

Mandatory-Field

Methodology and calculation

In Bangladesh, 11378kg of CO2 is emitted per ha in rice fields. The proposed intervention will cover 1400 ha of land. So, the project will reduce a minimum of 50% from direct interventions. The reduction is anticipated to rise to 10 times the direct intervention from the organic replication of similar projects

 

Business case / model

The Community Enterprise Approach for Floodplain Management (CEAFM), widely known as the Daudkandi model, was initiated by SHISUK in 1997 as an independent pilot project with minimal external support. This model gained notable attention due to the 30–100% annual increase in enclosure-based private seasonal floodplains observed in the following decades. Despite some criticisms related to elite capture and environmental degradation—stemming from vested interest groups adopting the production model—the CEAFM’s key strength remains its emphasis on community ownership. This aspect ensures that floodplain management stays within the hands of the user community, promoting sustainable use.

The community will be encouraged to invest in establishing the Floodplain Management Business Model (FPA) for infrastructure development and operational activities once they are educated about and motivated by the additional profits from adopting eco-friendly agricultural practices. The costs associated with mobilizing and building the capacity of local community representatives should be covered by external funding sources.

Funding from the Mitigation Action Facility can support the demonstration of reduced GHG emission costs. Additionally, the return on investment (ROI) and opportunity costs for new investors will be validated through the benefits of integrating sustainable aquaculture with agriculture, which helps reduce carbon footprints in key flood-prone areas of the country.

Potential for transformational change

The Community Enterprise Approach (CEA) to floodplain management leverages local resources, opportunities, and social networks through active community engagement. This method, known as CEAFM, has shown significant positive economic and social effects. It enhances productivity, income, and employment within the fishing sector, reduces agricultural production costs, and supports agroecological sustainability. Not only does this approach help alleviate poverty, but it also promotes sustainable agricultural practices and environmental conservation, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at low cost.

Additionally, this approach helps mitigate forced migration and displacement by creating livelihood opportunities within communities, empowering women, and fostering social interaction and organizational skills. By emphasizing collective governance and community cohesion, CEAFM builds resilience and encourages organic replication in neighboring areas, potentially driving broader regional transformation. With sustained political support, the CEA model has the potential to serve as a leading example of climate action and sustainable development in flood-prone, impoverished regions, as demonstrated in its pilot areas.

Scalability

The specific management system of community-governed FPA of the Daudkandi model pioneered by SHISUK, by way of the CEA, has been adopted in the 8th Five Year Plan (July 2020-June 2025) of Bangladesh under ‘Aquaculture Development’ as one of the priority strategies. It integrates fisheries with agriculture to make optimum use of resources available sustainably and ecologically soundly. Because of the floodplain water body’s Common Pool Resource (CPR) nature, the fitness of the model’s management rules within Ostrom’s design principles has been tested. Most of these principles match management rules. They can be replicated for other eco-friendly farming activities that may envisage a large extent of community engagement and scope for profitability

Sustainability

The CEA emerged in 1997 through action research of SHISUK (Google– SHISUK community enterprise) and successfully sustained, improvised, and replicated by the neighboring communities at the pilot project area as a trickle-down effect without much external support. However, in the absence of institutionalization of the process- consolidated framework and communication materials- a lack of research, demonstration, and necessary facilitation support for replication did not happen much beyond the neighboring communities.

Challenges:

A collective initiative in private floodplains seemed difficult or simply inconceivable to implement because of floodplain water bodies’ seasonally differentiated uses and the involvement of various numbers of landowners, among other reasons. Formation of a Floodplain Aquaculture would also require considerable investment in infrastructure because of the water body’s nature and fish culture-related investments. A few scattered initiatives failed due to a lack of agreements about and conflicts over sharing costs and benefits, alternative seasonal uses of floodplain lands, etc. (Thompson 2005). Besides, modification is needed in the context of socio-economic conditions, the geophysical nature of the floodplain, and people’s practices and behaviors. An adaptable model of collective and self-organized Flood Plain Aquaculture (FPA) management must demonstrate that such obstacles can be dealt with and considerable returns can be generated from aquaculture activities in floodplains.

The lack of policies to support community-based collective enterprise initiatives is a significant challenge in Bangladesh, hindering the scale and sustainability of the CEA. Traditional cooperatives and self-help groups perceived negative notions because of bureaucratic and political interference. On the other hand, compliance with the traditional Company Act is difficult for the rural farming community, besides the risk of capture by outsiders.

Reference

1. The Daudkandi model of community floodplain aquaculture in Bangladesh: a case for Ostrom’s design principles file:///H:/Website%20materials/Published%20Paper%20on%20SHISUK%20CEA/511-5619-3-PB%20(1).pdf
2. Common Interests, Private Gains – A Study of Co-operative Floodplain Aquaculture Rick Gragory and Kazi Ali Taufique http://pubs.iclarm.net/resource_centre/WF_37454.pdf
3. The Political Economy of Community-Based Fisheries Management in Bangladesh Mushtaq H. Khan https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/19619/1/The%20Political%20Economy%20of%20Community-Based%20Fisheries%20in%20Bangladesh.pdf
4. Floodplain Aquaculture – World Fish Center documentation https://digitalarchive.worldfishcenter.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12348/1704/080311_Floodplain.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
5. The first independent evaluation was done by CIRDAP in 2002 by Muhammad Solaiman and Md Shafiqur Rahman. Titled Community Initiative for Fisheries Development. Floodplains: Augmenting community based fisheries: Dr Muhammad Solaiman  http://archive.thedailystar.net/2007/02/23/d702231801111.htm
6. The evolution of a floodplain aquaculture management system in Bangladesh https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324721164_The_evolution_of_a_floodplain_aquaculture_management_system_in_Bangladesh/fulltext/5ae1caf8458515c60f6691f3/The-evolution-of-a-floodplain-aquaculture-management-system-in-Bangladesh.pdf

 

^[1] The lesson was learned from the community in Baghzora of Pirojpur district in Bangladesh during the implementation of a pilot project under Krishi Gobeshona Foundation (KGF) Bangladesh.

 

 

^[1] The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014

^[2] Dey and Prein, “Community-based fish culture in seasonal floodplains,” (2006)

^[3] M. Halwart, “Trends in rice fish farming,” in FAO Aquaculture Newsletter (1998), 3-11.

^[4] FAO. Undated. What is Agrobiodiversity?. https://www.fao.org/3/y5609e/y5609e01.htm

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Climate-Resilient agricultural practices and community adaptations: A case study of “Maigar Organization” in Badaiyataal rural municipality, Bardiya

Name of Organization: Social Work Institute, Nepal

Prepared By: Ashis ThaniAbstract

This study explores the  agricultural practices and adaptation strategies for climate resilience.of the Tharu community led by the Maigar Organization in Badaiyataal Rural Municipality, Bardiya, Nepal  By focusing on traditional farming techniques, conservation of local genetic resources, and cultural resilience strategies, the community effectively mitigates the impacts of climate change. Data were collected through participatory rural appraisals, interviews, and focus group discussions. The study reveals that these practices not only enhance food security but also contribute to the sustainability of local ecosystems.

Introduction/Background:

Climate change poses significant challenges to agricultural communities worldwide, particularly in developing countries like Nepal. The Badaiyataal Rural Municipality in Bardiya faces erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and increased temperatures, which impact agricultural productivity. The Maigar Organization, a local community-based organization, has been at the forefront of promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices in this region.

The Maigar Organization focuses on the conservation of local genetic resources, sustainable agriculture, and the empowerment of local farmers through training and community engagement. Their approach combines traditional knowledge with modern agroecological practices to build resilience against climate change impacts. This study aims to document and analyze the effectiveness of these practices in enhancing the adaptive capacity of local farmers.

Methodology

Community Background
The Tharu community in Badaiyataal Rural Municipality has long relied on agriculture as a primary source of income and sustenance. Historically marginalized, the Tharu people, including freed Kamaiya (bonded laborers), face unique challenges related to land ownership and access to resources. The Maigar Organization supports smallholder farmers in the community by providing training, facilitating access to local resources, and advocating for sustainable agricultural practices. This community-based approach has proven effective in building resilience to climate change​.

Geography
Badaiyataal Rural Municipality is located in the Terai plains of Nepal, a region characterized by fertile soils but highly susceptible to climatic extremes, such as floods and droughts. These climatic events disrupt farming cycles, leading to reduced agricultural productivity and food insecurity. 

Timeline of Information Gathering
Data collection for this report took place over two years, from 2022 to 2024. A variety of participatory tools were used, including resource mapping, historical timelines, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and direct observations with farmers. These methods helped document the autonomous adaptation strategies farmers employed under the Maigar Organization’s guidance​.

Results and Analysis:

1. Climate-Resilient Crop Cultivation

One of the primary adaptation strategies promoted by the Maigar Organization is the cultivation of local and climate-resilient crop varieties. Farmers in the region have adopted crops such as Anadi rice, millet, maize, and pigeon peas, which are known for their drought tolerance and ability to thrive under harsh conditions. These indigenous crops require less irrigation and are resistant to pests, making them ideal for the changing climate in Bardiya.

Additionally, farmers practice diversification by rotating crops and integrating livestock into their systems. This approach not only enhances the resilience of the farming systems but also increases biodiversity on the farms. By cultivating a wider range of crops, including wild plants and underutilized species, farmers reduce their vulnerability to crop failure due to climate stressors​.

2. Sustainable Agricultural Techniques

The Maigar Organization encourages the adoption of sustainable agricultural techniques that conserve natural resources and improve soil health. Zero tillage, mixed cropping, mulching, water management, agroforestry, legume integration, and crop rotation are widely practiced by farmers in Badaiyataal Rural Municipality. These methods help maintain soil fertility, conserve moisture, and reduce the dependency on chemical inputs.

Zero tillage, in particular, minimizes soil disturbance and prevents erosion, which is critical in regions prone to floods and heavy rains. Crop rotation, on the other hand, breaks pest and disease cycles, thereby reducing the need for chemical pesticides. Mixed cropping—planting multiple crops together—ensures that if one crop fails due to adverse weather conditions, others may survive, thus providing a safety net for farmers.

Organic farming is another key practice promoted by the Maigar Organization. Farmers are trained to use compost and bio-pesticides made from locally available materials, reducing their reliance on costly chemical inputs. These practices not only reduce production costs but also contribute to the health of the ecosystem by promoting biodiversity and enhancing soil carbon storage​.

3. Seed Sovereignty and Organic Inputs

Seed sovereignty is a crucial element of the Maigar Organization’s strategy for building resilience. The organization promotes the conservation and use of local genetic resources by encouraging farmers to produce and store their seeds. This reduces dependency on commercial seed markets and empowers farmers to maintain control over their planting decisions.

Community seed banks and seed fairs are regularly organized to facilitate the exchange of indigenous crop varieties and promote biodiversity. Community seed banks have been established in Maigar organizations within Badaiyataal Rural Municipality. These banks conserve over 50 local varieties of cereal crops, legumes, and vegetables. Annual seed fairs are organized to facilitate seed exchange among farmers. These events have become popular social gatherings that strengthen community bonds.

Farmers are also trained in the production of organic fertilizers and bio-pesticides, further reducing their dependency on external inputs. Additionally, the production of organic inputs is encouraged: Farmers prepare their organic fertilizers using locally available materials such as cow dung, crop residues, and forest litter. Biopesticides are made from neem, garlic, and other plant-based ingredients. These are effective against common pests while being environmentally friendly.These practices reduce input costs and enhance farmers’ self-reliance

Food and Seed Storage: Storing food in granaries made from organic materials.

Adoption of Organic Methods: Use of ash to control aphids, use of ash for cleaning pots, and placing red-colored cloth flags in the field.

Organic Houses: Houses made from organic materials provide shelter for both humans and insects.

4. Socio-Cultural Adaptation Practices

In addition to technical farming practices, the Tharu community integrates socio-cultural practices that play an important role in climate adaptation. Rituals such as Harot and Kalwa Khaina are performed at key stages of the agricultural cycle to ensure good harvests and protect crops from pests. These ceremonies also strengthen community cohesion and help preserve indigenous knowledge, which is passed down through generations.

For example, the Harot ritual involves prayer for good rainfall and successful farming, while Kalwa Khaina is a communal meal where farmers ask for forgiveness from the insects and pests that may be harmed during the farming process. Such practices not only reinforce the spiritual and cultural significance of farming but also contribute to the resilience of the community by fostering collective action and cooperation​.

5. Diversified Livelihoods and Value Addition

The Maigar Organization recognizes the importance of diversifying livelihoods to reduce economic vulnerability in the face of climate change. Maigar engages in value-added activities, such as processing agricultural products, which provide additional income and employment opportunities.

For example, farmers in Badaiyataal Rural Municipality are increasingly cultivating medicinal plants and other non-traditional crops that can be sold for food, fuel, and ornamental purposes. This diversification reduces farmers’ reliance on a single source of income and helps buffer against climate and market shocks. By promoting the processing of crops for sale, the organization also ensures that farmers can earn more from their produce while creating employment within the community​.

Maigar also started the farmer’s market in local area. They started the market on every Saturday. It is initiated by the farmers. Each farmer visit to the market with their products. They sell the product in the local market. This  local market help to reduce the carbon foot print and also promote the local healthy food.

6. Conservation of Natural Resources

Efforts are made to conserve local natural resources, such as water, soil, and forests. Agroforestry, rainwater harvesting, and community-based watershed management are some of the methods used to mitigate climate impacts and preserve biodiversity.

7. Local Markets and Shorter Food Supply Chains

The Maigar Organization promotes local farmers’ markets to reduce food miles and associated carbon emissions, ensure a larger share of sales revenue goes directly to farmers, and strengthen local food systems and community resilience.

These markets held every Saturday in Badaiyataal Rural Municipality, have become important social and economic hubs. They provide a platform for farmers to sell diverse products, from fresh produce to value-added items food products, and handicrafts.

8. Advocacy and Policy Engagement
   The Maigar Organization actively advocates for agroecology and climate-resilient agriculture, working closely with local government, NGOs, and civil society to influence policies that support sustainable farming and strengthen community resilience​.
9. Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building

The Maigar Organization places a strong emphasis on continuous learning and knowledge dissemination such as learning, sharing programs are conducted to share best practices in agroecology, and exchange visits organized between different villages to facilitate peer-to-peer learning

Conclusion and Recommendations:

The Maigar Organization’s approach to climate-resilient agriculture in Badaiyataal Rural Municipality demonstrates effective strategies for adaptation and mitigation. By combining indigenous knowledge, sustainable practices, and community organization, they have created a resilient agricultural system that addresses both immediate climate challenges and long-term sustainability goals.

Key recommendations for scaling these efforts include:

1. Strengthening seed sovereignty initiatives through expanded community seed banks and regular seed fairs.
2. Intensifying training programs on organic farming practices and agroecological techniques.
3. Enhancing local governance structures to support community-led climate adaptation initiatives.
4. Fostering stronger networks among farmer organizations to advocate for supportive policies at regional and national levels.
5. Documenting and disseminating traditional knowledge and successful adaptation practices to inform broader climate resilience strategies.
6. Increasing investment in small-scale, appropriate technologies for water management and post-harvest processing.
7. Strengthening market linkages for organic products.
8. Enhance community-based natural resource management to protect biodiversity and mitigate climate risks.

 

References

Primary References:

• Interviews and focus group discussions with Maigar Organization members and local farmers.

Secondary References:

• IPCC reports on climate adaptation and mitigation.
• Research on agroecological practices and community resilience.