KHULNA, Jan 29: The Agricultural Development Project has been started at a cost of Tk 5.70 billion in the four coastal districts including Khulna for improving livelihood of the of farmers.
The Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) is implementing the project through four offices. For the purpose 0.11 million hectares of land has been selected.
After completing the project, 0.15 million peasant families of the districts will enjoy the benefits.
Sources said the project was taken in March 2013. Till now work on 22 polders has already started. Of them 11 polders in Khulna, one in Satkhira, eight in Patuakhali and two in Barguna districts. The work will continue till December 2020.
Some 76 per cent of the fund is provided by the Netherlands and 24 per cent by the Bangladesh government. The WDB is working in various polders for community mobilisation, water resources management, agricultural production and food security, business development, disaster management, gender and training.
In this connection, 22 polders are divided into 513 units for the implementation, of them, 261in Khulna, 188 in Patuakhali and Barguna and 64 units in Satkhira.
In addition, farmers' field schools have been opened to facilitating conversion of the fate of the farmers and training 260 in Khulna district, 316 in Patuakhali and Barguna and 58 in Satkhira.
Water management team has been formed in every unit for the benefit of farmers, including construction of embankments, revival of sluice gate.
Blue Gold Programme senior quality control eng Azizur Rahman said about 50 per cent of the farmers have improved quality in the last five years. In many polders, farmers are able to produce three crops every on the same land.
Blue Gold Programme is working to reduce the poverty and improve the standard of living by diversifying the crops and by producing more crops. He said that through this project the farmers will be able to change their lot 100 percent by 2020.
Devbhat Dutta, sub-divisional engineer of Khulna BWDB (Division-2) said the water management team will enjoy cent per cent benefits. Work is underway to develop agriculture.
[email protected]
