LALMONIRHAT, April 21, 2022 (BSS) - Experts at a 'Research follow-up and

progress sharing meeting' have said adoption of sustainable agricultural
technologies at farmers' levels have become crucial for achieving food and
nutrition security.

     RDRS Bangladesh organised the meeting under the research-oriented
'Farmers Behaviors Insights Project (FBIP)' at the Upazila Agriculture
Extension Office of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in
Hatibandha upazila on Wednesday.

     The project is being implemented in six upazilas of Dinajpur, Nilphamari
and Lalmonirhat since July 2018 under the Understanding farm-household
management decision making for increased productivity in the Eastern Gangetic
Plains project.

     The University of Western Australia is extending financial support to
RDRS Bangladesh for implementation of the project.

     Hatibandha Upazila Agriculture Officer Agriculturist Md. Omar Farooque
attended the meeting as the chief guest.

     Research Associate of the FBIP project of RDRS Bangladesh Md. Mahafuz
Alam presented details of the research findings.

     Lalmonirhat District Agriculture Officer of RDRS Bangladesh Md. Firoz
Bulbul, Field Facilitator Mofizul Islam, Machine Operators and
representatives of different farmers' groups shared their experiences.

     Mahafuz Alam said the project aims to improve productivity, income and
food security of smallholder farming households through a better
understanding of behavioural economics and its applications in farm
management decision-making.

     Adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies has become a need of
the time for development of the agricultural sector to ensure food and
nutrition security of small and marginal farmers who are playing a key role
towards the direction.

     "We conducted the research to find out the social, cultural and
psychological implications of farmers' decision-making process in adopting
new technologies and practices under the FBIP project," he said.

     Some 780 farmers were surveyed this year under the research program to
find out how their behavior influences the decision-making process in
adopting new technologies including conservation-based agricultural
technologies using their behavioral insights.

     "We monitored survey activities involving farmers and their behavior in
decision-making process in adopting and adapting to new technologies like
low-tillage farming of wheat, mustard and jute and zero-tillage cultivation
of maize and paddy," he added.

     The chief guest gave suggestions on the progress of research and special
instructions to the participating field-level Sub-assistant Agriculture
Officers (SAAOs) of the DAE on the extension and popularisation of new
agricultural technologies at the field levels.

     "Popularisation of new agricultural technologies and practices among
farmers have become crucial for facing new challenges of climate change to
improve productivity, profitability and farm-household incomes," he said.