CEREAL SYSTEMS INITIATIVE FOR SOUTH ASIA IN BANGLADESH ANNUAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2014 i CEREAL SYSTEMS INITIATIVE FOR SOUTH ASIA IN BANGLADESH ANNUAL REPORT OCTOBER 2013–SEPTEMBER 2014 Submitted to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Dhaka, Bangladesh Submitted by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and WorldFish NOVEMBER 2014 CEREAL SYSTEMS INITIATIVE FOR SOUTH ASIA IN BANGLADESH ANNUAL REPORT 2014 Acknowledgments This report is based on contributions from a large number of CSISA-BD staff. The Chief of Party would like to acknowledge the work done by CSISA-BD staff through a year period and the excellent contributions they have made to the preparation of this report Timothy Russell Chief of Party, CSISA-BD USAID Disclaimer: This report is made possible through support provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Agency for International Development or the United States Government TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1. INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Background 4 1.2 Impact of civil disturbance on project activities 4 1.3 Project Mid-Term Review 5 1.4 Visitors to the project 5 1.5 Project area of operation 5 1.6 Project objectives and M&E system 5 2 SUMMARY OF FtF INDICATOR REPORT 6 3 RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 11 3.1 Increasing on-farm productivity (IR 1) 11 3.1.1 Adoption of improved cereals and fish varieties and agricultural management practices (Sub IR 1.1) 11 3.1.2 Seed systems 17 3.1.3 Farmers’ awareness of new varieties/management practices (Sub IR 1.3) 19 3.1.4 Improved agricultural technologies available to farmers (Sub IR 1.4) 31 3.1.5 Enhanced research and development capacity (Sub IR 1.5) 41 3.1.6 Increased use of enhanced agricultural services (Sub IR 1.6) 45 3.1.7 Private sector service provision of agricultural machinery (Sub IR 1.7) 46 3.2 Range of nutritious food consumed (Sub IR 2) 48 3.3 Women’s participation in food security activities (Sub IR 3) 49 4 PROJECT MANAGEMENT 52 4.1 Administration and coordination 52 4.1.1 Project personnel 52 4.1.2 Procuring equipment, vehicles, and logistics 52 4.1.3 Management and coordination in hubs 52 4.2 Project monitoring and evaluation 53 4.3 Communications 56 4.4 Partnerships 58 4.4.1 Partnerships with government organizations 58 4.4.2 Partnerships with NGOs and private organizations 58 Annex 1. List of LoAs, MoUs, and Service Contracts 60 CSISA-BD Annual Report FY 2014 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Area (ha) under improved technology or management practices as a result of USG assistance in Year 4. .............................................................................................................. 7 Table 2. USG-supported producers applying new technology in Year 4 ................................. 7 Table 3. Service-wise investment by importers, dealers, and LSPs in Year 4 ......................... 10 Table 4. Service-wise farmers’ coverage by gender in Year 4 ............................................... 10 Table 5. Application of improved technologies and/or management practices by sampled Year 2 CSISA-BD farmers. .................................................................................................... 13 Table 6. Ranked list of most important/useful improved technology or management practice learned by Year 2 CSISA-BD farmers. ................................................................................... 14 Table 7. Wheat seed production (tons) by CSISA-BD farmers, 2013-14 rabi season. ............. 18 Table 8. Data for Pioneer hybrid maize varieties applied in the fields of CSISA-BD farmers of Barisal hub, 2013-14 rabi season. ........................................................................................ 19 Table 9. Demonstrations on rice production. ....................................................................... 19 Table 10. Mean yield and income from five cropping systems (data mean of 18 randomly selected farmers for each cropping system). ........................................................................ 22 Table 11. Farmer training and farmer field days (FFD) on rice production ............................ 23 Table 12. Selected Year 4 maize- and wheat-based interventions for increasing on-farm productivity ......................................................................................................................... 23 Table 13. Yield and profitability of intercropping leafy vegetables with maize, Mymensingh (2013-14) ............................................................................................................................ 24 Table 14. Summary of some key aquaculture interventions, targets, and achievements for Year 4 .................................................................................................................................. 26 Table 15. Performance of Year 3 improved aquaculture technologies in PFTs/demos .......... 27 Table 16. Summary of farmer training on aquaculture in Year 4 .......................................... 27 Table 17. Summary of refresher training for fish farmers in Year 4 ...................................... 28 Table 18. Training materials printed .................................................................................... 29 Table 19. On-farm farmer participatory adaptive trials under CSISA-IRRI in Year 4 .............. 31 Table 20. Staff training for CSISA-BD wheat and maize program staff and partners, Year 4 . 43 Table 21. Household-based production model on homestead, pond dikes, or their banks .... 49 CSISA-BD Annual Report FY 2014 v Table 22. Selected technologies/management practices applied by indirect farmers sampled. ............................................................................................................................. 55 Table 23. CSISA-BD-organized regional and national stakeholder workshops ...................... 56 Table 24. CSISA-BD-organized workshops, seminars, fairs, and linkage events .................... 57 Table 25. Selected materials prepared by CSISA-BD in Year 4............................................... 58 Table 26. Common NGO partners among the CG centers, by hub. ....................................... 59 Table 27. List of LoAs, MoUs, and service contracts, IRRI. .................................................... 60 Table 28. List of LoAs, MoUs, and service contracts, CIMMYT. ............................................. 64 Table 29. List of LoAs, MoUs, and service contracts, WorldFish. ........................................... 68 CSISA-BD Annual Report FY 2014 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map showing project area of intervention .............................................................. 5 Figure 2. CSISA-BD Result Framework .................................................................................... 6 Figure 3. Gross margin and productivity of Year 2 farmers ................................................. 14 Figure 4. Packing seeds in a small company owned by a woman. ........................................ 17 Figure 5. Results of rice-mustard-rice and rice-rice cropping system .................................... 21 Figure 6. Dibble-planted sunflower emerging through a thick rice stubble mulch in Bagarhat22 Figure 7. Maize intercropping demonstration. ..................................................................... 24 Figure 8. Cumulative probability curves for gross margin of wheat under strip tillage (left) and bed planting (right) tillage methods, Faridpur hub (2013-14)........................................ 26 Figure 9. Woman farmer receiving award from Honorable Minister Mr. Amir Hossain. ...... 29 Figure 10. Aman-season rice variety trials, Jessore. ............................................................. 31 Figure 11. Grain yield of five rice varieties grown at sites with differing soil salinity. .......... .32 Figure 12. PTOS-planted mustard, Rangpur. ........................................................................ 36 Figure 13. Yield with time of planting .................................................................................. 36 Figure 14. Yield performance of maize hybrids in multilocation on-farm participatory adaptive trials, 2013-14. ..................................................................................................... 36 Figure 15. Grain yields of four hybrids vs. the mean grain yield of all hybrids tested in on- farm PVS trials during 2012-14 ............................................................................................ 36 Figure 16. Cumulative probability for profit of maize under saline soil in irrigated conditions in Satkhira, 2014 ................................................................................................................. 36 Figure 17. Profitability of maize cultivation under conservation agriculture in rainfed and irrigated areas under saline soil in Khulna/Satkhira, 2013-14. ............................................. 36 Figure 18. Sampling catfish and climbing perch showing good performance along with tilapia in a shaded pond trial, Barisal hub. ........................................................................... 37 Figure 19. Tilapia feed trial in a freshwater gher. ................................................................ 37 Figure 20. Development of year-round vegetable production in a gher. ..............................