Climate change begins to affect Bangladesh

CLIMATE of Bangladesh is changing day by day.It is affecting Bangladesh in many ways. For instance, rising sea levels are making some coastal agricultural land more saline, affecting both the quality and quantity of the produce. Bangladesh urgently needs support to develop climate-resilient agriculture for its people to survive and prosper in the long term, according to some experts. In its southern districts where the land is only centimetres above the brackish estuarine water, large swathes of crop land are becoming arid. Crop yields are shrinking because of deeper saline intrusion due to a rising Bay of Bengal. Agronomists and agricultural experts worry that creeping salinity would engulf more and more land in the low-lying country. "The impact of climate change on agriculture is undeniable and will most certainly worsen if governments and donors fail to take suitable steps right now," Ghulam Mohammad Panaullah, former research director of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), warned. In the coastal areas, cocoa-nut and betel-nut trees do not yield half of what they did two decades ago, while banana groves are dying in hundreds, Panaullah told IRIN. Vegetables, from the coastal belt sold in urban Dhaka, Khulna and Rajshahi are deemed tasteless and fetch low prices compared to the produce from salt-free regions. In a country where almost 80 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, this is bad news. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh's agriculture sector accounts for about 22 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), and another 33 per cent of GDP comes from the rural non-farm sectors, though very much linked to agriculture. Around 54 per cent of the rural population is employed in agriculture. ActionAid in a report on the UN climate change summit in Poznan, Poland, said Bangladesh needs the support to develop its climate-resilient agriculture.Citing an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which said that South Asia might experience a 30 per cent drop in agricultural production by 2050, Action Aid said the slide was already evident. Food price volatility, which could be compounded by increasing climate change variability, is likely to be a serious problem in the foreseeable future, according to Action Aid. The report said support for sustainable climate-resilient agriculture was key to enabling farmers to adapt and increase food security. To address the problem, farmers have taken to the new technique of raising their vegetable beds. To preserve the soil's moisture they cover the seedbeds with straw and leaves. The technique prevents excessive evaporation and erosion. They are also increasing the use of organic manure to raise crops.Others are readjusting their cropping patterns altogether, the report said. "Bangladesh is one of the worst affected among countries that are facing the early impacts of climate change," said A.K.M. Rezaul Kabir, secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. In 2005 the government prepared a National Action Plan on Adaptation (NAPA) identifying 15 projects that need to be undertaken. But, "unfortunately three years have already passed and we have only just started implementing the first project," the official said. Bangladesh tops the Global Climate Risk Index 2009, followed by North Korea and Nicaragua. Launched at the UN climate change conference in Poznan on December 04, 2008, the index, drawn up by the international NGO Germanwatch, lists 170 countries. Natural calamities in Bangladesh claimed 4,729 lives last year, and the average loss of property in Bangladesh due to natural disasters stands at over US$4.0 billion per year, the NGO said. These changes in climate are already having major impacts on the economy and on the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people, said a World Bank report. Rainfall increases, during the summer monsoon, could increase flooding in more vulnerable areas in Bangladesh, say the forecasts. In the longer term, global warming could melt many glaciers to swell the rivers in South Asia, the report said. If that happens, green Bangladesh would turn into a grey desert and most people would die of starvation.

Therefore,we should take nesessary action to protect our Bangladesh from affecting climate change.

Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture -on Asia

Nowadays,Climate change is burning issue for globally.Climate is changing day by day.Some research work have been done in this regard.The facts and finding are as followes:
· According to the study, the Asia-Pacific region will experience the worst effect on rice and wheat yields worldwide, and decreased yields could threaten the food security of 1.6 billion people in South Asia.
· The crop model indicates that in South Asia, average yields in 2050 for crops will decline from 2000 levels by about 50 percent for wheat, 17 percent for rice, and about 6 percent for maize because of climate change.
· In East Asia and the Pacific, yields in 2050 for crops will decline from 2000 levels by up to 20 percent for rice, 13 percent for soybean, 16 percent for wheat, and 4 percent for maize because of climate change.
· With climate change, average calorie availability in Asia in 2050 is expected to be about 15 percent lower and cereal consumption is projected to decline by as much as 24 percent compared to a no climate change scenario.
· In a no-climate change scenario, the number of malnourished children in South Asia would fall from 76 to 52 million between 2000 and 2050, and from 24 to 10 million in East Asia and the Pacific. Climate change will erase some of this progress, causing the number of malnourished children in 2050 to rise to 59 million in South Asia and to 14 million in East Asia and the Pacific, increasing the total number of malnourished children in Asia by about 11 million.
. To counteract the effects of climate change on nutrition, South Asia requires additional annual investments of 1.5 billion USD in rural development, and East Asia and the Pacific require almost 1 million USD more. Over half of these investments in both regions must be for irrigation expansion.
Source: International Food Policy Research Institute, Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation, 2009
Additional Facts
·The Asian countries most vulnerable to climate change are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Nepal.
·Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal are particularly vulnerable to declining crop yields due to glacial melting, floods, droughts, and erratic rainfall, among other factors.
·Asia is the most disaster-afflicted region in the world, accounting for about 89 percent of people affected by disasters worldwide.
·More than 60 percent of the economically active population and their dependents—2.2 billion people—rely on agriculture for their livelihoods in developing parts of Asia.
Source: Asian Development Bank, Addressing Climate Change in the Asia and Pacific Region, 2009

Money Is Not Everything

We were just talking a few minutes ago over lunch with a lady who consulted us on how to go about developing her dream farm a year ago. She is a daughter of a former mayor who left behind several hectares of upland farms that have not been made productive for so many years. In one farm, a 7-hectare property that was willed to her, there’s a caretaker who has been doing nothing productive except to harvest the nuts of the few coconut trees that have been planted many years ago.
The lady is a highly educated professional who until lately was doing a lucrative consultancy work in Europe, China and elsewhere. Apparently, she has accumulated a sizeable nest egg, and probably felt that in this life there are more important things than just making money. She gave up her consulting job so she could develop her dream farm and in the process contribute her share in developing the community.
When we first met, we suggested that she consider growing high-value vegetables. Which she liked very much for a number of good reasons. Vegetables have a short gestation period and they could be grown year-round with the use of the latest technologies.
We suggested to her then that she visit as many vegetable farms as possible. And more important, she should attend trainings in vegetable culture. Which she did, not just once but twice. She attended the training course of Harbest Agribusiness in Cavite, and then the off-season course in vegetable production by East-West Seed.At our lunch meeting, she was excited about her project. She showed us her first harvest of beautiful tomatoes, her bamboo propagation project (11,000 propagules so far), and the beautiful farm house she is building. She has also bought a tractor to mechanize her land preparation.
She is very proud of her eight farm workers who work eight hours a day, just like they were working in an office. An on-farm training was conducted right in her farm with an invited trainor. She has already invested a big sum but she is confident that it will be recovered in no time.
Some meaningful friends have advised her not to go into farming, suggesting instead that she invest her money in some other financial schemes. But she would not listen. She was determined to make her inherited farm productive. She considers it a crime not to make the property useful. Her philosophy now is to plant and plant and plant some more

2010: The year of the fertilizer bargain?

Farmers see potential savings in '10 fertilizer buys

It's been a while since global fertilizer prices started sliding from record highs, but the beginning of the new year could usher in some good fertilizer buys for farmers.
The world market's dipped but returned from its lowest point. Still, prices are well below the highs from a little over a year ago, when prices for urea, phosphate and potash were all hovering at or near record levels. That means there could be some good buys out there.
"Fertilizer prices for the 2010 season should be a bargain compared to past years but you will need to comparison shop," says University of Nebraska Extension soils specialist Gary Hergert.
Nitrogen
Take nitrogen, for example. With urea prices at their lowest levels since 2006 and high ammonia inventories in the Corn Belt right now, it's not a bad time to nail down supply for the coming year before a current glut of inventory is spoken for and demand picks back up.
"World urea prices declined significantly since 2008 and were back to 2006 levels this summer. Prices rebounded somewhat recently and are showing some strengthening, but are still well below highs seen last year," Hergert says of urea, which currently ranges from $400 to $470 per ton in western Nebraska, for example. "The best nitrogen buy is ammonia. With the late corn harvest, there was little fall application through most of the Corn Belt and this has created high inventories. Ammonia FOB the Corn Belt is now running just over $350/ton with dealers asking $400/ton.
"World demand for fertilizer is still recovering," Hergert adds. "The Chinese had nitrogen export tariffs but are expected to lower these. The Russians have opened a new facility to load super tankers with ammonia which provides competition for world markets."
Phosphorous & potash
After huge jumps in the last 2 years, phosphorous and potash prices have, like nitrogen, sunk back to 2006 levels. That's after prices almost quadrupled for 18-46-0 DAP, which is now running around $330 per ton in the Corn Belt, Hergert says.
Potash prices have fallen by half from last summer to around $400 per ton and have "recently taken another small drop," Hergert says. This market's a little different than phosphorous and nitrogen, though, mainly due to geographic factors.
"In the western hemisphere, potash prices are effectively controlled by the Canadians who have much of the world supply," Hergert adds. "They have the advantage over the Russians and Europeans because they have lower transportation costs to get it to the U.S. Potash prices took much longer to decline than nitrogen and phosphorus."
Farm-level implications
In general, fertilizer is the crop input where most farmers say they can trim cost for the coming crop year. In a recent Agriculture.com poll, 47% responding said fertilizer represents the biggest potential money-saver.
"For my farm, the biggest expense is fertilizer, so when the price drops in half, that's a lot of savings," says Agriculture.com Farm Business Talk member Whitesand Farms. "Fall-applied NH3 last year was 85 cents a pound with applicator and delivered, and this year it is 35 cents a pound on 100 tons of NH3. That's a big difference."
If past high prices have caused you to change your fertilizer program in the past 2 years, Hergert recommends sharpening your attention on soil testing, making sure your soil profile is up to snuff and applying the right amounts of N, P and K.
"It may be a challenge to get soil test results this year because of the late corn harvest. Soil phosphorus and potassium levels do not change rapidly, so you can use historic field averages as a guideline," he says. "Follow a good soil testing program and if soil phosphorus levels are low, this would be a good year to build them. The key to maintaining profitability is to know your soil test levels and do a excellent job of fertilizer application to enhance efficiency."
Watching these soil test results closely -- namely, soil pH -- will determine which application method is best, Hergert adds.
"Strip-till or zone-till placement of phosphorus at shallower depths should perform similarly to row application and provide similar efficiency. In more neutral soil pH ranges, it may be time to look at broadcasting and incorporating phosphorus," he says. "Take a look at the nitrogen sources you have been using to see if changes could benefit profitability. Ammonia should be an exceptional buy and nitrogen solution is priced even lower than urea."