National Workshop-2024 of the Agro-Meteorological Project held successfully

The position of Bangladesh is in the first row of countries at risk of climate change and natural disasters. Therefore, the timely delivery of reliable agrometeorological-related information to the farmers is very important for the agricultural sector of Bangladesh. As a result, crops can be protected from the harmful effects of adverse weather conditions, and agricultural production can be increased by utilizing favorable weather conditions to reduce production costs. That is why the Department of Agricultural Extension under the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing the Agro-Meteorological Information Systems Development Project with the financial support of the World Bank.

The main objective of the project is to provide better quality and reliable information on weather and river conditions to the farmers and increase the capacity of DAE to use advanced methods of information and data collection in this regard.

The national workshop of the project was held on June 10, 2022, at 2:00 PM in the conference room of the Cotton Development Board, Farmgate, Dhaka, to inform the concerned institutions, organizations, and officials about the project's activities and progress, as well as to review the future work plan. Dr. Malay Choudhury, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, was present as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the workshop. Mr. Md. Tajul Islam Patwary, Director, Field Service Wing, Department of Agricultural Extension, was present as a special guest. It was presided over by Mr. Badal Chandra Biswas, Director General, Department of Agricultural Extension. The main article and project activities were presented by the Project Director Dr. Md. Shah Kamal Khan.

Headquarters and field-level officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension, Project Directors, Ministry of Agriculture, Planning Commission, representatives of the Agricultural Information Service, scientists of the different research institutes like BARC, BARI, BRRI, BJRI, BSRI, BWMRI, and BINA, representatives of the Department of Livestock, Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Bangladesh Water Development Board, and representatives of electronic and print media including various eminent persons participated in the workshop.

The Project Director Dr. Md. Shah Kamal Khan highlighted the activities of the project in the main article. He said that through this project, reliable agro-meteorological advisories are prepared to be very useful to the farmers and are disseminated to the farmers through various extension methods. In order to implement this, the project has already set up the BAMIS portal, kiosks in 487 upazilas, 12 community radios, digital display boards in 64 districts and DAE headquarter, agro-meteorological analog display boards in 4051 union councils, 6664 tabs with internet connectivity provided to SAAOs for dissemination of agrometeorological advisories. Department of Agro-Meteorology have been established in two agricultural universities with the aim of creating skilled manpower in the field of agro-meteorology. 160 Agromet weather stations have been set up to facilitate access to agro-meteorological information. Also under the project, a sub-seasonal to seasonal forecast, crop weather calendar have been prepared.

In case of emergency, agro-meteorological related advisories are sent through SMS and voice message to the farmer representatives and the officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension under the project. Agro-Meteorological information and advisory are sent to the farmers through various extension methods and help the farmers to take appropriate measures to save their crops during adverse weather conditions.

The participants of the workshop gave their opinions and suggestions about the project activities. The senior officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension and the Ministry of Agriculture along with the Project Director exchanged views with the participants and sought the cooperation of all concerned in the successful implementation of the project. Guests and participants agree that this time demand smart agrometeorological project is contributing a lot to ensure climate smart agriculture and thereby in the economy of the country by saving crops, fishes and livestock through dissemination of agrometeorological advisories to the farmers and other stakeholders.