Local scheme in LIC food supplies: Jamalpur

• Background information

  • Northern district of Bangladesh on Indian border
  • 57% on income is from agriculture
  • Main crops = Rice, Wheat and Jute
• How it works

  • Practical Action charity supporting local farmers to increase income
  • Rice fish culture – fish added to Rice paddy fields
  • Fish eat pests and weeds and fish faeces fertilises the rice crop
  • Fields are built with dykes (bunds) around them to keep the water in. 2 ditches are dug at either side and the rice planted in the centre section. 
  • Nets cover the field to prevent predators eating the fish
  • At harvest the rice is cut first, then the field is drained so the fish move to the ditch where they are easily caught
• Positive impacts

  • Rice yields have increased 10% - surplus can be sold at markets and profits used to purchase wider diet variety
  • Fish add protein to local diet as well as increasing income without need for fertilisers and pesticides