Participatory and Institutional Approaches to Agricultural Climate Services: A South and Southeast Asia Regional Technical & Learning Exchange

In order to share experience and boost capacity in agricultural climate services, a three-day workshop titled ‘Participatory and Institutional Approaches to Agricultural Climate Services Development: A South and South East Asia Regional Technical and Learning exchange” was held between September 17-19, 2017, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with more than 50 leaders in agricultural climate services from 11 countries attending. The workshop was sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) behalf of the Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD). The workshop was organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) alongside the SERVIR and Climate Services Support Activity and CSRD South Asian partners

SOCIOECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF ALTERNATE SHRIMP-CROP FARMING IN BANGLADESH

The study was designed to analyze the comparative profitability of alternate shrimp-crop farming and to determine the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of shrimp farming in coastal areas of Bangladesh. In shrimp growing areas, four different farming systems were studied - alternate shrimp-rice farming, alternate shrimp-salt farming, and year round shrimp or rice production in the shrimp farming areas. It was found that, combined economic returns from producing shrimp and salt was substantially higher than those of combined returns from shrimp and rice production under alternate shrimp-rice farming system. Shrimp and rice were also produced individually as year round crop. In year round shrimp farming per hectare production of shrimp was higher compared to the production of shrimp under alternate shrimp-crop farming but in terms of farm income, farmers producing year round shrimp earned lower income than the combined income earned from shrimp and salt production. Under the present farming system, farm income from year round rice production within the vicinity of shrimp growing areas was the lowest among the four different farming systems in the study areas. The results of the study clearly indicate that shrimp farming and other related activities accrued socioeconomic benefits to the shrimp farmers. The coastal communities including women had chances to improve their socioeconomic condition through their direct and indirect involvement in coastal aquaculture. The study revealed that the existing unplanned shrimp culture has adversely affected the production of cereal crops and vegetables, trees and plantation, poultry and livestock in shrimp growing areas. Shrimp farming has also negative effects on coastal environment and agro-ecosystem, which have moderately changed the bio-diversity in the study areas

Climate Services for Resilient Development in South Asia Annual Report: January to December 2019

Climate Services for Resilient Development (CSRD) is a global partnership that connects climate science, data streams, decision support tools, and training to decision-makers in developing countries. CSRD addresses the climate challenges faced by smallholder farmers in South Asia. The partnership is led by the United States Government and supported by the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID), the UK Meteorological Office, ESRI, Google, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the American Red Cross. The CSRD in South Asia initiative3 ran from November 2016 to December 2019 and was led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and funded by USAID. The consortium worked to increase resilience to climate change in South Asia by creating and making available timely and useful climate data, information, tools and services. These activities aligned with the Global Framework for Climate Services and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). In South Asia, the CSRD consortium focused primarily on Bangladesh (in alignment with Objective 1 as described above), with a secondary emphasis on Nepal and India (supporting Objective 2), and overall capacity development and awareness raising efforts across countries (Objective 3). To improve the usefulness and agricultural relevance of climate information and weather forecasts, the consortium developed strong science partnerships, and moved research into action and impact. The overarching goal was to develop and sustain the capacity development of agricultural climate services in the region. Throughout its duration, the consortium benefited from valuable inputs and guidance from USAID and its multi-partner CSRD Steering Committee