Nayakrishi Andolon

Bangladesh: Community Seed Wealth Centers and stress-tolerant crop varieties

4Oct

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Bangladesh: Community Seed Wealth Centers and stress-tolerant crop varieties

Nayakrishi Andolon || Sunday 04 October 2020 Brief history and functions of community seedbanks In the late 1980’s, small-scale farmers practicing monoculture and chemical-based agriculture experienced loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation. The costs of production were rising beyond their capacity. In search for alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides, farmers in the Tangail area of the country started Nayakrishi Andolon, a movement to support biodiversity-based ecological farming. The Tangail area was severely affected by the flood of 1988 causing severe loss of standing Aman crops (monsoon rice crops). The situation was similar in other parts of Bangladesh. Nayakrishi, initiated by the non-government organization UBINIG (Policy Research for Development...

Nayakrishi Beez Shongho: Training on Challenges of Seed Conservation

11Jun

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Nayakrishi Andolon

Nayakrishi Beez Shongho: Training on Challenges of Seed Conservation

Nayakrishi Andolon || Monday 11 June 2018 Healthy local seed is the key to ensure the natural and bio-productive foundation of the community. Nayakrishi Seed Network organized a training program to operationalize this principle of Nayakrishi Seed Network in Ridoypur Biddaghor, Tangail, during 13 to 15 May, 2018. The objectives were sharing the experiences of management and operation of the Community Seed Wealth Centers (CSWC) and the Seed Huts(SD) and identify strategic conceptual questions for learning by solving problems and on management issues. The anticipated outcome was to develop practical strategies to strengthen farmer's seed system. The specific objective was further improving the technical and organizational aspects of collection, maintenance and use of...

The Joy of Biodiversity: Visible and Invisible Economy of Nayakrishi

5Mar

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Nayakrishi Andolon

The Joy of Biodiversity: Visible and Invisible Economy of Nayakrishi

Nayakrishi Andolon The word ‘economy’, as originally derived from Greek, is not about numbers, quantities and calculations but about the management (νέμoμαι ) of the household (οίκος). Implicit in this notion of household is first of all the active role a household plays in the biological reproduction of both the members of the family as well as the ecological and material foundation of farming, i.e. the conditions of production and secondly, the exchange and distribution of the products that may or may not take monetary forms or calculated in monetary terms. Here we use the word ‘economy’ in this etimological sense in order to avoid distortions created by monetized and quantitative representation of the gains and returns that could only appear in the market and thus the real gain...

Nayakrishi Andolon: Farmers movement for biodiversity conservation and food sovereignty

28Aug

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Nayakrishi Andolon

Nayakrishi Andolon: Farmers movement for biodiversity conservation and food sovereignty

Farida Akhter Ecological meaning of ‘small and marginal’ farmers We know that ‘small and marginal farmers’ not only ensure food supply to 150 million people of Bangladesh but contribute to the conservation and regeneration of country’s agro-biodiversity and genetic resources. Small and marginal farms also perform various other ecological and environmental services. Farmers are the repository of social memory, wisdoms and knowledge practices without which agriculture can not contionue. However, the economic notions such as ‘small and marginal farmer’ or ‘subsistence agriclture’, etc., developed concurrently with the ideology of Green Revolution’, may become a hindrance in understanding the complex nature of agriculture and the functions they play in ecology and environment. G...

Addressing ‘micro-nutrient’ deficiencies in Bangladesh: a Nayakrishi Perspective

28Mar

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Nayakrishi Andolon

Addressing ‘micro-nutrient’ deficiencies in Bangladesh: a Nayakrishi Perspective

Farhad Mazhar and Dr. M. A. Sobhan 'Currently most research is invested in new technologies rather than in making better use of existing knowledge. Much more research is needed to turn existing knowledge into practical application.' (WHO 2013) UBINIG’s commitment to biodiversity-based approaches to agriculture, health and nutrition is based on a critical understanding of various technological approaches to solve some of the major problems of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Recent interest in biofortification, particularly of staple crops, is of critical interest to UBINIG, particularly to the network of Nayakrishi farmers, Specialized Seed Networks and the network of Dai Mas (traditional birth attendants). All of these networks are firmly grounded on valuable local know...

Maintenance of genetic resources ensures food sovereignty

12Mar

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Nayakrishi Andolon

Maintenance of genetic resources ensures food sovereignty

Jahangir Alam Jony and M.A. Sobhan The Nayakrishi farmers at Rajendrapur and adjoining villages in Baraigram upazila of Natore district have been maintaining indigenous genetic resources. They have been maintaining the seeds of local varieties of crops in cultivation. The seeds are maintained on farm as well as in the Nayakrishi Seed Hut at community level. The Nayakrishi initiative aims to ensure the livelihood of the rural community through community based biodiversity management by safeguarding genetic resources and environment against the introduction of invasive genotypes, hazardous technologies and the climate change variations. This initiative ensures secured access of farming communities to nutritious food and increasing income through practicing Nayakrishi . ...

Farmers are happy with Mamudpur Seed Hut

9Feb

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Nayakrishi Andolon

Farmers are happy with Mamudpur Seed Hut

Dr. M. A. Sobhan and Jahangir Alam Jony Mamudpur Nayakrishi Seed Hut (NSH) started its journey in 2001. UBINIG has been holding training session, exposure visit, farmer exchange, festival in Mamudpur and adjoining other villages on biodiversity based farming. Rina Begum along with other farmers of Mamudpur village received Nayakrishi (Biodiversity based farming) training conducted by UBING. Since then they have been practicing Nayakrishi. Gradually the other farmers started joining Nayakrishi. These activities have created awareness for conservation and management of PGR at community level. Rina Begum along with other Nayakrishi farmers realized the importance of seed conservation and became interested to collect local seeds for the improvement of their livelihood integration. Acc...

12Mar

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Nayakrishi Andolon

Nayakrishi & Green Deal

Farida Akhter A Nayakrishi Perspective on New Green Deal Introduction Global Green New Deal is on the road to make growth look green. How green it is for the southern countries; is an extremely important question. Policy Brief of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP March 2009)) on Global Green New Deal (GGND) is about the "worst financial and economic crisis'' and raises the question whether the response of financial stimulus of US$3 trillion globally is sustainable. UNEP recommends a green stimulus of 1% of global GDP (approx. 750 billion), which is only one-fourth of the total proposed fiscal stimulus could provide a critical mass of green infrastructure "needed to seed a significant greening of the global economy". However, the focus of the green stimul...