IFAD President lauds Bangladesh's remarkable achievements in food production, climate-smart agriculture

President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Alvaro Lario has praised Bangladesh's remarkable achievements in food production, climate-smart agriculture, and including women and youth in rural enterprises.

He met Agriculture Minister Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque at the G20 Agriculture Ministers' meeting in Hyderabad, India, recently.

Successes of the 45-year-long partnership between IFAD and the Government of Bangladesh include crop diversification, business-oriented agriculture, youth capacity building, and private sector engagement were also discussed, IFAD said in a media release on Monday.

"Despite the fact that the multiple crises are staling global progress on eradicating poverty and hunger, we can still achieve our goals," said Lario.

"We know what works: climate-smart technologies, improved resilience, and commercially viable nature-based solutions are proven ways to build equitable, sustainable and inclusive food systems. But to realise this potential, we must invest in small-scale producers and boost the role of rural women and youth in value chains," he added.

"Continuous collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and development partners such as IFAD is vital to creating an inclusive and empowering ecosystem for our farmers to fortify resilience against climate change, foster sustainable food systems, and drive rural development with the ultimate goal of promoting rural prosperity," said Abdur Razzaque.

The delegation also discussed the three ongoing IFAD-financed projects implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

First, the National Agricultural Technology Programmes – Phase 2 (NATP-II) co-financed with the World Bank, strengthened the research abilities of the MoA and established extension offices at the union parishad level – both critical interventions in the transformation of the extension system in Bangladesh.

Second, The Smallholder Agricultural Competitiveness Project (SACP) enabled 250,000 coastal farmers to diversify crops, improve livelihoods, and build climate resilience.

The success of this model has opened up opportunities to extend the project's reach to an additional 420,000 farmers through a $31 million project, including a 20 million grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.

The Programme on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship, and Resilience (PARTNER), co-financed with the World Bank, is a $543 million sectoral transformation project promoting crop diversification, entrepreneurship, and climate resilience across Bangladesh.