The World Bank is providing 120 million or about 12 crores dollar to Bangladesh to ensure food security for 170,000 poor people at risk of climate change.
The money is being provided for the implementation of a project titled ‘Climate-Smart Agriculture and Water Management Project‘. The World Bank said in a statement on Wednesday (March 16th).
The project will help Bangladesh achieve sustainable food security through improved flood management, irrigation and drainage management, protection of food grains and fisheries through active participation of local people, the statement said. In this case, special importance will be given to controlling excess water during monsoon and water shortage in the post-monsoon season. Through this project, 19 flood management, irrigation, and drainage schemes will be re-activated in poor and climate risk areas.
One lakh farmers will be trained on climate-smart agricultural technology, crop diversification, and post-harvest management. In addition, cold storage will be set up for the cultivation and storage of paddy, fish, and shrimp and efforts will be made to develop the local market. According to the World Bank, the project will increase fish production by about 37 percent, vegetables by 10 percent, and rice by 7.5 percent. The loan from the World Bank’s International Development Association has to be repaid within 35 years with a five-year rebate, the statement said.
In this regard, Dan Dan Chen, Acting Country Director of the World Bank in Bangladesh said that the roots of Bangladesh’s success in the agricultural sector are very deep. With a large population and scarcity of arable land, the country’s food production is at a level that is a great achievement. But food security is under threat due to climate change and increasing natural disasters.
Earlier on Tuesday, an agreement was signed between the Bangladesh government and the World Bank at the Economic Relations Department (ERD) in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.