AAPI News Bulletin Volume 25, March 31, 2013

AAPI NEWS BULLETIN Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement (AAPI) Volume 25

A project supported by USAID in collaboration with DAE Notes from Chief of Party, AAPI

Inside this issue:

UDP Improving Rural Business

3

Wave of Change in Shibpur, Satkhira

4

UDP Technology in 5 Agriculture Diploma Course Syllabus Report from DAE:

6

Activity Achievements January 24 to March 26, 2013

7

AAPI Events in April 2013

7

Inspiring Result of Guti Urea in DAE Vegetable Demo Plot

AAPI News Bulletin is a monthly publication of the AAPI project.

Subscriptions are free.

International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) is a Public International Organization (PIO) based in Alabama, USA. IFDC focuses on increasing and sustaining food security and agricultural productivity in developing countries.

Managing Editor: Ishrat Jahan Resident Representative IFDC Bangladesh Eurasia Division and Project Coordinator, AAPI Design and Layout: Syed Afzal Hossain Data Management Unit, AAPI

Our weekly monitoring data showed we achieved our Boro coverage target of 760,000 hectares (ha) in the first week of March. This was in spite of the delayed start of the season due to cold weather and the associated constraints of seedling damage and age. In fact, the crop looks to be in good condition, and we are confident we will have a bumper harvest as we did last year. While farmers have been discouraged by the higher costs of irrigation, they have been encouraged by the improvement in paddy prices.

All of our Boro activities are now complete, and our general staff meeting in Dhaka on March 25 will finalize our work plan for Aus 2013 season beginning in April.

This month, we have reported the results of our gross margin surveys from Aman 2012 season. They show little latitude between profit and loss in the broadcast fertilizer system, but urea deep placement (UDP) technology makes a significant improvement.

Rubina Islam, AAPI Gender Specialist, has written an article about an enterprising family business in Sherpur district. Sonia Kutubuddin has written a story of success in Sathkira and the relationships among the farmers in a block, their Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer (SAAO) and the briquette shop owner. Stories such as these are repeated across the project

March 31, 2013

and give us confidence that activities being initiated by the project will be sustained by the beneficiaries – the farmers, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and private enterprise.

A critical milestone was achieved last month when the Technical Education Board of Bangladesh approved including UDP technology in the Agriculture Diploma Course Syllabus.

The technology will now be taught in all Agricultural Training Institutes (ATIs) across the country. Dr. Shaharuk Ahmed and Md. Iqbal Hoque, both AAPI Agricultural Specialists, have been instrumental in liaising with DAE to achieve this result.

We also received encouraging report on UDP technology from the upazila agriculture officer of Kawkhali of DAE. They developed UDP demo plots on turnip in a farmer’s field under their supervision. Farmers are getting good results using UDP technology in crops other than AAPI crops. *** Results from Gross Margin Survey During Aman 2012 Guti urea produced a 284 percent increase in gross margin compared to broadcast urea. The average gross margin/ha gained from using broadcast urea was Tk 5,745/ha, while

The views expressed in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the United States Government

AAPI NEWS BULLETIN AAPI News Bulletin Contact Persons: Ishrat Jahan Grahame D. Hunter Address: Dhaka Office: Road No. 62, House No. 4B, Apt-B2 Gulshan - 2, Dhaka -1212 Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-9894288 880-2-8817391 Fax: 880-2-8826109 Website: www.aapi-ifdc.org www.ifdc.org Barisal Office: “Zohora” 834 (New) Police Line Road, Barisal Tel: 0431-2176566 Jessore Office: 1351 Police Line Road Talikhola, Puraton Kasba Jessore Tel: 0421-60986 AAPI Management: Ishrat Jahan, Project Coordinator; Grahame D. Hunter, Chief of Party; Md. Mofizul Islam, Sr. Agriculture Specialist; Dr. Shaharuk Ahmed, Md. Fozlul Hoque, Md. Iqbal Hossain, Dr. Badirul Islam, Agriculture Specialists; Md. Shamsul Alam, Abul Hossain Mollah, Mahmood Hussain, Dr. AKM Farhad Training Specialists; Dr. Md. Abdul Mazid Mia, Mainul Ahsan, Soil Scientists; Md. Nurul Islam, Market/Business Development Specialist; Ram Proshad Ghosh, Mechanical Engineer; Dr. Abdul Wohab, Agriculture Engineer; Sonia Kutubuddin, Activity Coordinator, Rubina Islam, Gender Specialist; Syed Afzal Mahmood Hossain, Senior Data Management Specialist; Farin Islam, M&E Specialist; AFM Saleh Chowdhury, Chief Accountant; Bishnu Rup Chowdhury, Administrative and Procurement Officer

Volume 25 the average gross margin gained using Guti urea was Tk 22,089/ha.

The results of ongoing gross margin surveys during the rice seasons continue to show upward trends in farmers’ yields and ‘gross margins’ using Guti urea, compared to broadcast urea in rice cultivation.

‘Gross margin’ is an important Feed the Future (FTF) indicator of progress. AAPI used USAID’s definition for calculating gross margin: the difference between the total sales value of rice and the cost of producing the rice (excluding family labor) divided by the total number of units (ha) in production.

The cost of land rent was considered only for farmers who paid rent for land. Gross margin per ha, for rice, is a measure of net income for that farm activity. In accordance with the FTF indicator definition and guidelines provided by USAID experts, the gross margin is calculated first in financial terms, then by measuring the difference between earned revenue from sale of paddy and straw and the costs incurred during production of paddy.

An improvement reflects an increase in a farmer’s net income and profitability, leading to improved financial status and reduced poverty.

Consequently, the upward trend confirms that using Guti urea is a viable option for sustainable food production and food security.

Data Selection and Collection AAPI initiated the gross margin surveys from Aman 2011 rice season.

The most recent survey was conducted following the 2012 Aman harvest. Data was collected from both Guti urea deep placement and ureabroadcast plots. The upazilas were purposely selected from among those where Guti urea coverage is greater than 3,500 ha. The areas included 52 2

upazilas, of which 45 upazilas were in FTF districts, and seven upazilas from the Mymensingh and Sherpur districts.

The survey included 383 respondents (farmers) from a randomly selected, representative sample of farmers in AAPI project areas. The farmers were interviewed according to various enumerations – size of land cultivated, cost of inputs (such as seed, irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides), hired labor and land rent, production, quantity of paddy and sale price of paddy.

The Results Speak for Themselves As shown in Table below, the average total revenue/ha from the use of Guti urea deep placement technology were 27 percent higher than the average total revenue/ha from the use of broadcast urea. The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of the Guti urea plot was 1.34, and the BCR of the broadcast urea plot was 1.09. The farmers are realizing a return of Tk 1.34 on average per Taka invested in rice production with UDP. Weighted Average Gross Margin for All Sample Farmers of Aman in 2012 (Taka/ha) Item Total revenue Total cost Gross margin Gross margin in US $ Gross margin (percent) Benefit-cost ratio (BCR)

Guti Urea

Broadcast Urea

87,308 65,218 22,089 273

68,949 63,204 5,745 71

34

9

1.34

1.09

Source: Field Survey on Gross Margin, Aman 2012 Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest one. US $1=BDT 81 during the survey period.

***

AAPI NEWS BULLETIN

Volume 25 things were out of the question. We always thought about the improvement of our family conditions.”

UDP Improving Rural Business Ms. Jahanara Begum, age 35, and her husband, Nur Alam, age 45, live in the village Dohalia in Nalitabari upazila. They married in 1995 and had their first child in 1997.

The change began in the Boro season 2011-2012, when they started to promote the sale of Guti urea by holding meetings with irrigation block managers and starting a labor group to deep place Guti urea. Nur said, “When we requested farmers to use Guti urea, farmers asked to provide skilled labor for Guti urea deep placement. Considering the needs of farmers, I formed a labor group with eight laborers and trained them with the help of the AAPI FMO. I have seen my initiative bring very good results. I sold 200 tons of Guti urea in Boro 2012 and 85 tons Guti urea in Aus of 2012.”

Nur began employment in 2001 as a trader at Naljora bazaar in Nalitabari upazila, with financial capital of Tk 200,000 (US $3,846). He borrowed the capital from the Krishi Bank, which specializes in agriculture, for the purpose of purchasing and selling diesel, seed, pesticides and agro-machinery parts. Annual sales during that time were from Tk 200,000 (US $ 3,846) to Tk 250,000 (US $ 4,808), with a net profit of Tk 50,000 (US $ 962) to Tk 60,000 (US $ 1,154). At that level of income, Nur and Jahanara were struggling to maintain their family.

With this success behind them, Jahanara and Nur established new strategies to expand the production of Guti urea during Boro season 2013.

They trained 20 expert laborers for Guti urea deep placement, set up a demonstration plot on their own land, started miking in nearby bazaars and blocks, arranged four meetings with irrigation managers, conducted regular informal meetings with farmers, printed publicity leaflets and distributed them among the farming community.

In 2011, Nur became a registered fertilizer retailer. In 2012, he acquired a dealership for seeds from the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC).

In July 2011, Jahanara attended a farmers’ training program organized by the AAPI project and learned about the benefits of Guti urea and the urea briquetting machine. After training, she approached Nur with the idea of obtaining a urea briquetting machine through the AAPI project, which would allow them to purchase the machine at a 75 percent reduced price. Her reasoning was convincing, and Nur contacted the AAPI field monitoring officer (FMO) Abu Bakar Siddique to learn more about the business.

Ultimately, on October 22, 2011, they bought a briquette machine at AAPI’s reduced rate of Tk 38,000 (US $465).

Each day, Nur held a scheduling meeting with his laborers and farmers to send laborers to different farms for deep placement of Guti urea. Nur also engaged a number of vans to dispatch Guti urea to the farmers’ fields.

Such initiative motivated farmers to use Guti urea.

Jahanara and Nur became very successful Guti urea producers – so much so that, between November 2011 and January 2013, their lifestyle changed. Jahanara explains, “In the year 2010, we depended on the income of a small business and the production from 0.70 acres of land from Nur’s father. With three school-age daughters, we were struggling to provide them with basic needs for their education and food. Luxurious

Nur Alam setting schedule of the laborers for applying Guti urea in farmers’ fields.

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Volume 25 Wave of Change in Shibpur, Satkhira

The demand was high for the products during the 2013 Boro season. Husband and wife joyfully said, “We produced and sold 300 metric tons of Guti urea. The net profit was around Tk 210,000 (US $2,688) or Tk 0.70 per kilogram (kg).” They also expressed their happiness by saying, “We bought 0.60 acres of rice land and leased two acres of land. In addition, we could cover expenses of around Tk 15,000 (US $ 192) per month in the educational cost of our daughters, which we could not afford two years back. Our operating capital has increased to Tk 1,000,000 (US $12,804) to Tk 1,200,000 (US $15,365) from the initial Tk 200,000.” Nur is now looking forward to become a Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) fertilizer dealer.

The adoption of Guti urea has initiated a wave of change in Shibpur, Satkhira. Sharecropper Abu Jafar, age 60, of Jagannathpur village under Shibpur union of Sadar upazila of Satkhira district, is happy and proud to see the paddy fields this Boro season of 2013. In Shibpur, Abu can see a stretch of land amounting to hundreds of bighas (one bigha equals 33 decimal) with month-old transplanted paddy where farmers have used Guti urea instead of broadcast urea. The new Guti urea technology, Abu adopted a few years ago, is making sense to all of his neighbors. Nobody he knows in and around his village wants to incur urea costs that can now be decreased. In addition, other benefits of Guti urea – such as more paddy, less weed, fewer insects and one application – has made Guti urea a favorite technology among the farmers.

The DAE SAAO Amzad Hossain of Shibpur block confirmed Abu’s ideas. In addition to the households in Abu’s village, almost all households of the four other villages of Shibpur block (Baropata, Dumurtola, Tetultola and Horishpur) now use Guti urea in the paddy fields.

Nur Alam’s laborers applying Guti urea in rice field.

The couple not only produce Guti urea; they also use it in their own land of approximately 330 decimals (3.30 acres). This year, they are expecting a very good yield from their rice field.

Nur has shared his strategy with other small businesses of Nalitabari upazila. He frequently invites farmers to his shop for tea and to explain the benefits of Guti urea. At last, he explains with pleasure, “Initially, it took two laborers to produce the urea briquettes, but this Boro season I could employ four laborers. Allah gave me the chance to provide a job opportunity for four persons.” Nur also conveyed his gratefulness to the AAPI project for improving his business.

Abu Jafar and his sister, Anjira Sultana, applying Guti urea in Boro paddy.

However, matters were not always as easy as they are now. When Abu first learned about Guti urea in 2006, he had to obtain it from Kodomtola bazaar of Sadar upazila, about 10 km from his house. Now there is a urea briquette shop in the neighboring village. The shop is run by 50-year old Md. Anwar Hossain, who found the production

(Note: The US $ rate was used for the respective period.) ***

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Volume 25 extra labor for Guti urea application. Guti urea is a household name in Shibpur now. Many women laborers of Shibpur, who previously were employed for weeding, now have an opportunity to work as Guti urea application laborers. Farmers employ women because they are cheaper and skilled at Guti urea application in paddy fields. For the women, Guti urea application is a new means for them to earn a livelihood.

and sale of Guti urea to be a good investment opportunity when he resettled in his village after retiring from his former job. Anwar has a good business selling the Guti urea needed for his block and the adjacent Khanpur block and, because some nearby lands have been transplanted recently and now are awaiting Guti urea application, is hopeful about prospects for selling more this season.

*** UDP Technology in Agriculture Diploma Course Syllabus On February 19, 2013, an important milestone was reached on the road to sustainability of UDP technology. On that day, the Technical Education Board of Bangladesh approved including UDP technology in the Agriculture Diploma Course Syllabus. The Syllabus Preparation SubCommittee of the Technical Education Board has decided to incorporate UDP technology as a topic in the Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Management course because of the relevance and value of the technology.

Anwar Hossain and his son in his briquette shop.

Anwar himself is an ardent Guti urea user in the lands belonging to his family. A briquette shop in the next union has taken some of Anwar’s business; however, he is happy because the total size of his business has grown.

The Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Management course is taught to the fourth semester agriculture diploma students. These students will be studying UDP technology during the May-September 2013 semester of the current session. The technology will be taught from both theoretical and practical perspectives. As a result, the agriculture diploma students from 14 government ATIs and 141 private ATIs will gain a clear understanding and thorough knowledge on the yield-increasing, costsaving and environment-friendly UDP technology for the agriculture sector of Bangladesh. The first group of students who study UDP will enter the job market in 2015. It may be noted that the 20112012 session, 6,084 students passed successfully from 155 ATIs.

As for Abu, he thinks that easy availability of Guti urea from a nearby place has made a sizeable difference in the adoption of Guti urea deep placement. Forty-one year old Nazrul Islam is a smallholder farmer and one of the leading proponents of Guti urea technology in Shibpur.

Like Abu, Nazrul is a member of Jagannathpur Integrated Pest Management (IPM) club. Md. Kamal Hossain, Kazi Mizanur Rahman, Abu Taher, Md. Mahbub Islam, Abu Sayed and Md. Liton Hossain also are club members. In addition, they are marginal and smallholder farmers of the same union who were motivated by Nazrul and Abu. Previously, these farmers broadcasted roughly one bag of urea in two to three applications for every bigha of land. Now they use half of that quantity.

AAPI project to have UDP technology included in the National Agricultural Diploma curricula commenced with the vision of the Project Coordinator Ms. Ishrat Jahan. With her authorization, two of AAPI’s capable senior officers, Dr. Shaharuk Ahmed and Md. Iqbal

Farmers use simple math to understand the cost and benefits of Guti urea, taking into account the 5

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Volume 25

Hoque, worked with the ATIs and the Technical Education Board. Dr. Shaharuk Ahmed and Md. Iqbal Hoque jointly prepared complete study material on UDP technology for consideration by the Technical Education Board. The Director of Training Wing of DAE, Mr. Abdul Kuddus, had a pivotal role in making this endeavor a reality. The Syllabus Preparation and Up-gradation SubCommittee for the Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Management course of the Technical Education Board made the final historic decision. As members of the sub-committee, Mr. Md Tauhadul Islam, ATI Senior Instructor Faridpur, Professor Dr. A. Razzak of the Department of Agriculture Chemistry of Sher-E-Bangla Agriculture University, Md. Shadat Hossain, Diploma Curriculum Specialist of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board, and AKM Shamsuzaman, System Analyst of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board, were in favor of the inclusion.

The forth semester diploma students of the current session will be taught UDP technology under the Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Management course by these trained instructors.

While the whole AAPI team is working for sustainable UDP technology, the team and IFDC headquarters particularly congratulated Dr. Shaharuk Ahmed and Md. Iqbal Hoque for their successful efforts. ***

Report from DAE: Inspiring Result of Guti Urea in DAE Vegetable Demo Plot DAE officials Mr. Md. Nasir Uddin Khan, deputy director, Mr. Abdul Aziz Faraji, deputy training officer, Mr. Md. Aftab Uddin, crop protection specialist of Pirojpur district, visited the vegetable demonstration plot of a farmer, Mr. Md. Arif Hossain, developed under supervision of DAE officials. Others present were Mr. Md. Farhad Hossain, upazila agriculture officer of Kawkhali, and Mr. Pobitra Roy, SAAO.

The knowledge of ATI diploma graduates will profoundly contribute to sustaining the technology. The graduates join DAE as SAAOs and as field officers in many agriculture projects and programs implemented by donors, the government and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The SAAOs implement and monitor agricultural programs with farmers at block levels. Their education, knowledge and cooperation are vital for successful agricultural activities for both the government and its partners engaged in agricultural development.

Mr. Arif had a fabulous crop of German turnips (knolkhol) in his demonstration plot. He informed the visitors that the total cost for the plot was only Tk 4,700. He used compost fertilizer and Guti urea in his field. The compost fertilizer was from his own stock.

In the past, a considerable portion of AAPI project resources have been dedicated to training and awareness-building of UDP technology among the DAE SAAOs. Now, with the technology included in the Agriculture Diploma course syllabus, there will be decreasing requirements, and eventually no requirement, for AAPI to educate SAAOs about UDP. However, AAPI will remain involved in organizing occasional motivational events.

Mr. Arif has already sold Tk 7,200 worth of knolkhol after consumption by family and friends.

He expects to sell the rest of his knolkhol at Tk 4,000. Mr. Arif is convinced that Guti urea has made a significant impact on production, and the results were visible in his plot. A number of motivational programs and demonstrations were organized by the upazila agriculture office to provide technical assistance and necessary advice.

The assistance and advice have created awareness and a lot of enthusiasm among farmers.Â

For UDP education to be sustained by the ATIs, AAPI has initiated Training of Trainers (TOTs) programs with the instructors of both government and private ATIs. The TOTs programs will include 310 instructors of 155 ATIs by May 2013.

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Volume 25 AAPI Events in April 2013 In the month of April 2013, AAPI is concentrating its activities for Boro and Aus paddy. In this month, the following activities will be carried out.  303 batches of training for Aus rice farmers  14 extension staff meetings  2 small business management training programs  2 local mechanic training programs  12 orientation training programs for demo and trial farmers  8 field demonstration established  10 motivational field visits  208 motivational meetings with old farmers  2 stakeholder workshops  27 urea briquette machine sold  10 open sky shows  130 Boro demo plot crop cut  6 Boro trial plot crop cut  166 Boro farmers field crop cut  15 field days

District agriculture officers and upazila agriculture officers of DAE visiting the UDP Knolkhol demo plot at Kawkhali, Pirojpur.

***

*** Activity Achievements January 24 to March 26, 2013 From January 24 to March 26, 2013, AAPI successfully completed activities as shown in the following Table.

Indicator

Unit

Boro season UDP coverage for Boro

ha

Farmer training

Batches

Extension staff meeting

Season Target

Achievement in February and March 2013

Season Total

% of Target

759,466

764,101

828,130

109%

2,823

409

2,828

100%

No.

39

7

54

138%

Field demonstration (Total)

No.

356

347

487

137%

Trials (Total)

No.

25

25

40

160%

Motivational field trips

Batches

42

-

35

83%

Stakeholder workshops

Batches

34

9

40

118%

Sale of briquette machines

Batches

82

1

71

87%

Briquette owner training

Batches

22

18

28

127%

*** 7

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