A Case Study on Tanu Integrated Agricultural (TIA) Farm

Apr 2, 2025 | লেখালেখি

Case Study on Tanu Integrated Agricultural (TIA) Farm

Brief Methodology of the Study

This document is prepared based on several visits to the farm, in-depth interviews with the Farmer, Workers, surrounding farmers, and Local NGO leaders, and media coverage. Observation, photography, and videography were also key study methods. This is just a pre-study to determine the feasibility of further study and research on the farm.

Limitations of the Study

The case study was completed quickly, based mainly on in-depth interviews and observations. This preliminary document may contain some information gaps, misinformation, misinterpretation, and mistakes.

Introduction

The present world is in a real dilemma. We are at a loss to realise what to do in combating the challenges of food security & climate change, especially in a country like Bangladesh, which is one of the four most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Indeed, technological advancement in Bangladesh has substantially increased the availability of food grains, which is usually termed as food security by the policy makers of the country. We have almost decided that modern technological interventions based on green revolution technologies are the only way to feed the huge population of the country, which is not untrue. But, in the last four or five decades, it has been proven that the green revolution technologies neither benefit the majority of farmers nor produce safe and nutritious food for the people. We have lost our belief that our indigenous technologies could be improved for the sustainable growth of our agriculture to ensure our food security. Although lots of irrational elements of our food habits are a great hindrance to achieving food security of the country but we have a rich food culture. Fish & Rice are two major elements of our food culture, but we have almost lost our rich fish stocks due to running behind increasing rice production by using green revolution technologies. We are also losing huge amounts of our seasonal fruits along with seasonal crops like pulses, oilseeds & vegetables. Indeed, it was much needed to make our indigenous varieties high-yielding and sustainable. But, without doing the right things at the right time we have invited the alien technologies in a wholesale manner. As a result, we have lost our integrated farming system combined with fish, poultry, livestock, fruits, and varieties of crops. Such rich diversity contributed a lot not only to the food security of the country but also livelihood security of the people. We never thought that our integrated production system produced safe & nutritious food completely ecologically & organically.

The existing food production system has not only become a threat to food security but also worsened the health situation, as well as destroyed our soil, environment, and ecosystem. Moreover, the existing food production system is encouraging corporations to take full control over human food chain of Bangladesh and the world. If only the intake of carbohydrates could be reduced, our food demand could be fulfilled with our own HYVs without inviting hybrid & GM crops in such haste. By giving up our own integrated farming system, we have adopted monoculture, which is termed as commercially profitable. But the commercial viability of an integrated farming system mainly depends on diversity. We can get carbohydrates from different sources other than rice. But, in rural areas, where food security is under great threat, food is treated as nothing but an element of filling up the stomach as well as meeting the taste of the tongue. The mother teaches the children how to take more and more rice, ignoring the need for a balanced diet. But, before the green revolution diversity of food ensured our balanced nutrition in a hidden manner. Green revolution-based monoculture has emerged as a great threat to our food security within only four or five decades. In the meantime, we are going to lose our rich biodiversity source of food diversity. Our new generation only sees our own fish, fruits, birds, and animals in the pictures while they eat either junk food or foods full of poisons. As a result, they are getting ill and becoming dependent on medicines. On the other hand, our education system is making them consumers of corporate products. We are in an age where all basic human rights like food, clothing, health, education, and shelter are consumer products of corporations. Now, we have to have unlimited money to fulfil our basic human rights. Now we are conducting research with golden rice to ensure Vitamin-A intake by incorporating a gene into rice containing only 30µg of β-carotene, while almost all of our vegetables, including many wild vegetables like Kanchu Shak (aurum) contains more than 12000µg of β-carotene. But, surprisingly, we are putting almost no effort into conserving our rich biodiversity to ensure food security as part of the ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change. Now, the modern technologists are prescribing technical solutions by introducing hybrid & GM crops in order to combat the challenges of food security & climate change, inviting corporations to take over the control of agriculture from the grip of farmers. It is proven in the agriculture of America and Europe that the farmers are getting only one penny out ten pennies generated from the so-called modern agriculture. This is the right time to raise the questions, “food security for whom? And development for whom?” If we really prioritise the development needs of the farmers who are feeding the whole people of the world, we have no other way but reforming our agricultural production & marketing system.

Our agricultural production system was an integrated system for thousands of years. Fish, poultry, livestock, timber & medicinal trees, fruits cum timber trees, varieties of vegetables & other food crops, as well as cash crops were part & parcel of our integrated farming system. Our policymakers termed it unproductive subsistence farming and replaced it with monoculture-based agriculture without considering the ecosystem, environment, biodiversity, or our own culture. Nowadays, consumerism and individualism are becoming an integral part of our society. But we all know that a human being is a social being. Our family structure, which was a basic characteristic of our society, has been destroyed. We are losing our rich Bengali culture based on agriculture. We have done all these because we believed that there are no alternatives but to adapt alien technologies to feed the nation. Technological interventions are indeed necessary for increasing the productivity of our agriculture. We could do it without destroying our own production system that we could not do. We could not conduct the much-needed land reform to revise the feudal land tenure system imposed by the colonial British rule. We failed to protect the majority of people, the farmers, from the new colonialism in the name of neo-liberalism. As a result, Bangladesh is literally developing while the gap between the rich & poor is equally increasing. We are focusing more on increasing purchasing power to ensure food security, where the rich consume much more than they need, while the majority of people go hungry. However, the matter of hope is that we haven’t lost everything, but there is still an alternative. Tanu Integrated Agriculture (TIA) Farm could be a model in this regard to make the alternative visible for the decision makers of the country. The present study was only a preliminary study to investigate the matter. Further in-depth study is necessary to prove and establish it as an alternative model for replicating it throughout the country. This farm could be a model for the policy makers as well as for the farmers to decide what should be the future of our agriculture in combating the challenges of food security and climate change.

The Location and Socio-economic & Cultural Situation of the Farm Area

The farm is located in the village named Arajipalashbari at the bank of the dying river Dharala, only 2.5 km away from the centre of the Kurigram town. The area is well-known as a Manga (one kind of famine) affected area of the country where the people don’t have food & livelihood security. Very low productivity of soil, flash flood & drought are common phenomena of the soil & climatic conditions of the area. A few decades ago, the major crops of this area were Cown (one kind of grain), Jute, Mustard, Lentil, Aus & Aman rice of local varieties matching the climatic conditions of the area. For example, the farmers cultivated a mixture of Aus & Aman Rice of local varieties named Malshira, Ganjia, etc., which could grow under flood conditions. The crops were low-yielding on one hand, and the farmers didn’t get a profitable price for their major crop, jute, due to global Jute politics. Moreover, the farmers could not adapt to the new high-yielding technologies due to a lack of cash to invest. As a result, the farmers sold their land to the money holders of the township who introduced monoculture, eg, potato, maize, etc., in this area for maximising their profit. The farmers were compelled to change their profession to van & rickshaw puller as well as agricultural labourer in their own field. Due mainly to the monoculture of seasonal crops like potatoes, maize, etc., the people didn’t have work throughout the year, resulting in Manga. Massive actions were taken by the government as well as different NGOs to combat Manga in this area and have had significant success at least ensuring the availability of food and increasing the income of the people mainly through different service delivery programs, including social safety-net, but the sustainability of the programs is questionable. Still today, almost no education, very poor health & hygienic situation prevail in the area, along with a high rate of population growth, child marriage, dowry, violence against women, etc. The majority of people in the area are Muslim, having lots of prejudices and blind beliefs. But the majority of people are very simple and industrious.

Reasons behind selecting the Location

The main reason for selecting the location was the very low price of land, only 30000 Tk./acre, due to very low productivity. The lands of the area remain under water almost throughout the year, giving mainly one crop during winter. The earlier cropping patterns of the area, including the situation of the farmers, are already described. It also describes how the ownership of the lands was converted and how businessmen came into agriculture with monoculture-based technologies. Surprisingly but logically, Mamun (the founder of the farm) didn’t follow the monoculture, though he has introduced many modern technologies in the area, which are being followed by many other farmers and have increased the productivity of the area. As an agricultural technocrat, Mamun realised the associated risks of agriculture, which are intensified due to climate change. Considering all these, he decided to establish an integrated farm to increase both the productivity and the profitability of agriculture sustainably. Another reason behind selecting the location is that the area is also very close to the town, having very good marketing opportunities by developing consumer linkage.

About the Farmer

Khandakar Musaddek Al-Mamun, the founder of the farm, is the youngest son of Khandakar Mokhlesur Rarman, a retired government official, and Ms. Khodeza Begum, a retired government official. school teacher. All five of his brothers and one sister are also highly educated and serving in higher positions in different government and non-government offices, and are well-established in society. As a meritorious student of Rangpur Cadet College, Mr. Mamun was also expected to be an army officer or a higher government official by his family members. But he graduated from Bangladesh Agricultural University in 1998 and decided to become a farmer. Even in an industrialised country, an agriculture graduate is usually supposed to go into farming, but it was really very difficult for him to become a farmer in a country like Bangladesh, where farming is the most neglected profession in society, mainly because the farmers are the poorest segment of society. No educated persons, even if he is the son of a farmer, ever think of going to this profession other than if he can’t get any other job. So, his family members never allowed him to become a farmer due to logical reasons.

Mamun became devoted to agriculture since his childhood, when he used to go to visit their lands with his father and found that his father got almost nothing from the land. He realised that educated persons should come to this profession to develop this sector. He was also inspired by his elder brother Khandakar Mosharraf Hosain, who started farming during 1978-79, but by pressure from his father & mother, he had to join a government job, giving up farming. He taught Mamun about agricultural planning and helped him grow a devotion to agriculture. Then, Mamun set his aim in life to become an agriculturist for farming in their own land when he was an age of 12 years reading in Cadet College, because he found that farming is the most honest profession in the country, like Bangladesh, which is full of corruption, especially in the service sector.

The Start of the Journey

When Mamun finished his graduation from Bangladesh Agricultural University in 1998, he started farming in their own land in Tograihat, about 5 km away from the Kurigram town. But, his family severely retarded his initiatives and compelled him to join a local college as a teacher. But, due to his strong devotion to agricultural farming, he didn’t continue the job and convinced his eldest brother, Khandakar Mosharaf Hossain, to purchase some land near the town to establish his dream farm.

When monoculture became a trend in the agriculture of the country patronised by the government policies, Mamun started his integrated farm against the mainstream. As an agricultural technocrat, he realised that integrated farming is a must for his survival & sustainability as a farmer. He had many examples in front of him of many farmers, especially the modern farmers, making huge profits out of their monoculture of fruits, fish, poultry, livestock, maize, potatoes, or other crops. But, he found that this trend is not sustainable because such farming may give huge profit for a few people for the short term, but for sustainability in the long term, integration is a must. Moreover, he observed that the consumers prefer local fish, seasonal traditional fruits, and local poultry to the alien species. He also realised that if integration is possible, the local components could be more profitable in a sustainable manner.

Chronological development

At first, the farmer Mamun purchased 2 acres of land in the year 2000, which was not sufficient to establish an integrated farm. Then he continued purchasing land when available and went for the trial of different new varieties and technologies, mainly for his practical learning and to find out suitable crop varieties and technologies that best fit in this area. He started working on his farm when he could purchase about 10 acres of land by 2005. He immediately went for plantation on 2 acres of the land and started digging ponds. When he completed one pond in 2006, he started fish culture as well as started a fruit garden on the raised land in the same year. Thus, he could bring the farm into a preliminary productive stage by the year 2009, but still many things to do. During this development stage, he faced a huge number of challenges like barriers from his family, money constraints, ill village politics, climatic hazards, etc. He developed the farm by taking a long-term step approach. He could not invest all the necessary money at a time because, personally, he didn’t have any money to invest. His family members, except his eldest brother Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, were dead set against this initiative because everybody believed that agriculture had no future in this country. So, none of them came forward to support Manun as they treated his initiative as the work of a madman. On the other hand, he could not borrow money from the Bank or other sources because he couldn’t pay back immediately, as his return would take time on one hand, and he was also afraid of his success due to associated risks in agriculture on the other. Moreover, he couldn’t borrow money from a formal source as he has no land of his own. His eldest brother supported him in purchasing land by investing about Tk. 560000/- while he borrowed Tk. 300000 from Agrani Bank and Tk. 200000 from BRAC as a monthly instalment, which is increased to Tk. 300000 after recovery of the first loan. The regular returns of the farm were reinvested, which is difficult to work out at this stage because no records were maintained, just like other farmers.

Soil development

Soil is the key element for maintaining the productivity of an agricultural farm sustainably. It is already mentioned that the productivity of the land in the area was very low because of the sandy nature of the soil, as well as regular flooding. Keeping these in mind, Mamun developed the land of his farm in a planned way. By mixing the sandy and clay soil during the digging of the ponds, he improved the texture of the soil. He also improved the organic matter content of the soil by using cow dung and water hyacinth regularly. Now, the soil of this farm is favourable for growing almost all the crops.

The surroundings of the Farm

It is already mentioned that the surroundings of the farm go underwater during the rainy season and remain underwater for three to nine months based on the topography of the land. At present, in winter 2012, the other farmers have cultivated wheat on the western side of the farm, where Jute will be cultivated after harvesting wheat. Some farmers have also planted Eucalyptus on the dike of the wheat field, mainly in the upper lands, as seen in the picture. The southern side of the farm is comparatively lower, where irrigated boro rice is being transplanted at this moment. After harvesting boro rice, the farmers will also cultivate Jute in those lands. On the western side of the farm, the farmers have cultivated potatoes. It is to mentioning here that potatoes are cultivated here by some temporary big commercial farmers taking lease of the land from the farmers by using huge amounts of inputs like chemical fertilisers & pesticides, resulting in the destruction of soil & environment. As seen in the picture, the northern side of the farm is lower and contains some water. This portion usually remains fallow throughout the year, where there is ample opportunity for fish cum duck culture. The farmer Mamun has already planned for fish cum duck culture in his own portion. However, considering the replicability of this farm within the area there is ample opportunity to organise the surrounding farmers under a collective & integrated planning for developing the area by increasing productivity of the lands in a sustainable manner to combat the challenge of food security, climate change, and ultimately the Manga of this area. Individual farmer Mamun can’t do that. The development agencies of the government, as well as the NGOs, should come forward in this regard.

 Present components of the Farm

1. Plantation

From the very beginning, the farmer Mamun realised that a plantation should be a vital component for the sustainability and profitability of his farm. When the other farmers of the area have planted very few species of trees like Eucalyptus and Acacia even in the crop land, then Mamun has planted more than 4000 saplings of about 40 species of local timber trees, including neem & bamboo as two major items. The left picture shows that the farmer Mamun has planted Jujube, Neem, Lambu, and Jackfruit in a combination to get maximum benefit from his land. Such a plantation is seen everywhere on the farm. Actually, he has considered Jujube as a short-term item from which he can get returns within the short term. He also observed that Jujube is very much sensitive to climatic conditions and doesn’t give good yields every year. That’s why he has planted the other trees in a very well-planned combination as a strategy for his sustainability in case the Jujube fails due to climatic hazards. It is also interesting to note that the farmer Mamun has also planted Eucalyptus and Acacia in his farm, but in the right place, as seen in the picture, as part of the multi-tier system of a sustainable agricultural farm, where these plants have no detrimental effects on crop land.

2. Fruit Gardening

The fruit garden is one of the major components of the farm. When the other farmers replacing the traditional fruit trees by fast growing timber trees like Eucalyptus and Acacia in the homestead as well as going for monoculture of fruits like BAUKUL, Applekul even in the crop field occupying very scarce crop field for producing food crops with a hope to make huge money within very short time then Mamun have planted almost all kinds of local fruits including Palm, Date, Coconut etc. for not only family consumption but also as commercial purpose. He has planted both local and improved varieties of almost all kinds seasonal fruits including 370 plants of Papaya, 700 plants of Banana, 350 plants of Mango of more than 23 varieties where more than 200 plants of one popular but endangered local variety named Harivanga, 120 plants of Litchi of three varieties named China-3, Bombay & Muzaffari, 500 plants of Jujube of four varieties named BAUKUL, Applekul, Taiwanikul, Naricalikul (local endangered variety), and 100 plants of Jackfruits in commercial basis along with other seasonal local fruits. He has a plan to bring all other fruits under commercial production & marketing by turns. It is to mentioning here that this is the first and only commercial fruit garden in this area, when none can even imagine establishing any fruit garden in this area. Manun is the first and so far only supplier of endangered local Mango variety of this area named Harivanga, Kupahari & Kapilbangri which was out of thought for the other people and when many of such extra ordinary indigenous varieties of fruits are under great threat of extinction by the aggression of few commercial timber trees as well as imported exotic fruits like orange, grape, apple full of poisons.

It is to be mentioned here that the returns from fruit cultivation take at least three years, which gradually increase over the years. The returns from Jujube and Mango over the last three years are presented in Graph 1 and Graph 2, respectively. Although it is a commercial farm but due to its diversity of plants, it can be termed as a rich germplasm centre where almost all of the plants, species & varieties are available. Mamun has conserved the diversity as a strategy to combat the challenge of climate change on one hand and to fulfil the consumers’ demand throughout the year on the other. As a consequence, he has been able to create works for his permanent labourers throughout the year.

3. Nursery

Mamun has established a small-scale nursery in his farm mainly to fulfil the demand for saplings for his own farm. He also supplies saplings outside when he gets the order. For example, this year, being known from television news about this farm, one person from Dinajpur (another district of Bangladesh) has given him an order to supply 2000 mango saplings, though saplings are available in his own area. Many of the surrounding people like to purchase fruit tree saplings from his nursery because of the best quality, as well as getting technical advice from him. At present, he has about 1000 saplings of different fruit trees in his nursery.

4. Medicinal Plants

Many medicinal plants have also been planted on this farm, mainly as mother plants to go for extension in the future. At present, there are 29 kinds of medicinal plants on the farm, including Neem, Amlaki, Hartaki, Bohera, Arjun, Tulsi, etc. Mamun has a plan to go for the commercial production of medicinal plants on his farm in the future.

5. Fish Farming

Fish culture is a vital component of this integrated farm from the very beginning. It is worth noting that the fish sector has been separated from the agriculture sector by the policymakers, which again indicates the government’s policy towards monoculture. The growth of the fish sector and its contribution to GDP have been quite significant over the last few decades. The natural fish populations have already been eroded due mainly to water scarcity, partially maybe due to climate change, but mostly due to one-sided water transfer by India. However, the present trend of fish culture is based on monoculture of a few exotic fish varieties like Tilapia, Pangus occupying the crop lands by digging ponds, and based on a huge amount of external artificial feeds is not sustainable for the farmers, though very few people, like big investors as well as the feed corporations, are making huge money out of that. But, Mamun doesn’t follow that because he thinks those are profitable for the short term but not sustainable.

That kind of fish farming needs huge investments, but the return is very uncertain due to the changing climate as well as other associated risks. Moreover, consumers don’t like exotic fish. On the contrary, we still have a huge opportunity to increase the availability of traditional fish without occupying valuable crop lands. Mamun has set such an example of what the pattern of ponds for traditional fish culture in a profitable way. His profit from fish culture over the last four years is presented in Graph 3. The graph indicates that the return from fish culture is increasing day by day because he is using farm byproducts like cow dung, mustard oil cake, etc., as fish feed. At present, he cultivates mixtures of modern & traditional fishes named Rui, Katla, Mrigel, Silver carp, Carfu, Sarputi, Taki, Puti, Chela, Shoal, Shing, Magur, etc.

6. Livestock

Livestock is another integral part of an integrated farm, not only for the profitability but also to supply cow dung, which is necessary food for plants & fish. At present, there are 8 cows and 8 calves on the farm. The cows are mainly of local species, along with a few crossbreeds which are best adapted to our own climatic conditions. He started with 2 calves, one male and one female, in 2005, purchased with only 12000Tk. After one year, he sold out the male one for Tk 13000, and from the female one, he got 4 calves so far. By this time, he had also purchased two more cows. So far, he has invested Tk. 100000 to purchase cows, while the present valuation of all his cows is more than Tk 300000, besides the income from the milk, as well as the valuation of cow dung. He also has 5 goats in his farm valued at least 15000 Tk. He doesn’t need so much artificial feed to rear the cows and goats; rather, they eat the byproducts of the farm and also create work for permanent labour throughout the year. He has a plan to install local poultry & pigeons soon.

7. Vegetables

Now, the farmer is producing vegetables in a small scale in his limited land. This year, he has cultivated carrots on only 35 decimal of land, from where he has already sold Tk. 45000 from an investment of only Tk. 12000, except the labour cost (because he has permanent labour). When the other farmers cultivate vegetables mainly considering market demand to get huge profit at a time, then Mamun selects vegetables considering the soil, environment & climatic conditions, as well as feed for his livestock, along with market demand and profitability. As a result, when the other farmers remain in a very vulnerable position with their vegetables to get profit out of their huge investment, as well as risks from unfavourable climatic conditions, then the vulnerability of the farmer Mamun remains minimal due mainly to his integration. He also cultivates vegetables at his pond sides in a trellis from where he gets a considerable amount of profit without investing much.

8. Spices

The farmer Mamun also cultivates spices like Onion, Garlic, and Turmeric in a planned way, following proper technologies and timing. For example, this year the majority of farmers are not getting a profitable price for onion & garlic and are turning to other crops. When Mamun transplanted onions and garlic in his field, he was quite confident of getting a profit because he had a plan to preserve if the prices went low during harvesting time. Moreover, he has more market assessment ability than the other ordinary farmers.

9. Other Field Crops

Mamun also produces different crops on his farm. At present, due to his limited land and money for investment, he only produces a few selected crops on a very small scale. This year, he cultivated Jute, Lentil, Rice, and Mustard in his field, mainly for his own family’s consumption and to get byproducts for his farm. He cultivates mustard mainly to produce oil for his family’s consumption as well as to get mustard oil cake as food for his fish and cows. The reasons are the same behind cultivating lentil & rice, from where he gets food both for his family as well as for his livestock and fish. This year, he got a very good price of his jute because of timely sowing and harvesting, as well as the better quality. Among the field crops, he always adapts the high-yielding modern varieties developed by the research organizations of the country, uses quality seeds, and applies improved management techniques that give him the best yields at the lowest cost of production. He also follows the best-fitted cropping patterns considering the soil & climatic conditions of this area.

Marketing system

The existing marketing system is one of the biggest hindrances for the farmers because they are not getting a profitable price for their products, that retards their economic development. Nowadays, agriculture is considered unprofitable for the farmers. Despite the huge risk in agriculture, which has been intensified by climate change, agriculture is never unprofitable. The fact is that the middlemen are grasping almost the whole profit generated from agriculture. However, the present market system doesn’t affect Mamun much because of his proper planning and control over the middlemen due to his consumer linkage. The consumers prefer his products because of their better quality. As a result, a linkage has been established with a group of consumers within the community from where both he and the consumers are being benefited and satisfied. Consumers are getting the best products at a reasonable price, much lower than the prices in the market, while the farmer Mamun is also getting 70-300% profit out of his products. His wife plays an important role in community marketing because the women of the surrounding families give orders to her for different products, mainly fruits. Manun’s fruits are also going abroad through this channel. In this supply chain, the middlemen are just playing the role of suppliers for him, who also getting a reasonable profit instead of being all by the much-talked market syndicates. Her wife has also planned for food processing in the future and establishing an outlet in the town.

Income-Expenditure and Profitability

It is very difficult to calculate the economic profitability of such an integrated farm, mainly because of the integration of the components with each other on one hand and due to not maintaining proper records on the other. It is to mentioning here that the farm is still in the growing stage, and the return has started to come since 2009. However, it was made to calculate the income and expenditure of the farm during the year 2011, presented in Table 1. The figures in the table indicate that the total inputs in the farm during the year 2011 were Tk.. 680900, and the output was Tk.. 817000 during the same period. Therefore, the net return during the same year was Tk. 817000 with a net profit of Tk.136100. In terms of economic scale, the profit seems to be negligible, but the ultimate returns of an integrated agricultural farm must be calculated on a long-term basis.

However, the present valuation as well as a projection of future value based on only the major fixed assets of this farm is presented in Table 2 and Figures 4 & 5. It is observed from the table and the figures that the farms are going to be hugely profitable in the long run, which indicates the sustainability of the farm. It is already mentioned that the land of the farm was purchased only with Tk. 560000 from 2000 to 2010. Only within a very short time, the present value of the land would be at least Tk. 12000000 due mainly to the increasing productivity of the land. After only five years the value of the land is expected to be Tk.15000000 and after 10 years it should be Tk.18000000. However, considering the other fixed items only including timber trees, cows & goats it is observed from the table and features that the present value of the farm would be Tk.8306000 which would be increased at least Tk.12580000 and Tk.16825000 after five and ten years respectively. Moreover, the family members consume the products of the farm, including fruits & vegetables, throughout the years. The family members of the permanent labourers also consume a considerable amount of fruits and other products without pay.

Insiders’ opinion

Mr. Abul Hossain has been working for the last five years on this farm. He has a family of 5 members, husband, wife, and two girls & one boy. The eldest one is a girl and got married when she was in class nine. Their two other children go to school. Earlier, he was a rickshaw puller and could earn hardly about 50/60 tk./day. He has no land of his own. He couldn’t go with a rickshaw every day because of illness or other reasons. So, he had to maintain his family in very hard hardship and could not buy food for his family throughout the year. When Mamun started this farm, he also started working on this farm from the very beginning. Now, he has work every day throughout the year, even during the rainy season when there is no work in this area. Now, he earns Tk.150/day throughout the year, and the food security of his family is ensured.

According to his opinion, this farm is quite different from other farms in this area. The other farms are based on monoculture and are seasonal only. Most of the original farmers of this area have sold their land to the part-time farmers coming from the town. They invest huge amounts of money to cultivate a single crop like potato or maize in their own land or take land leased from other farmers. Sometimes, they make huge profits or often they incur huge losses. But this farm has a variety of items like fruits, fish, vegetables, different crops, etc. So, this farm never loses. There are also works throughout the year. He said that Mamun is an educated farmer, which is essential for farming. For example, this year, Mamun has earned a lot of money from papaya, which is an extra income. The other farmers may earn huge amounts of money at a time, but they can’t run in the long term. He also said that he has seen many farms that ran much more profitably for a few years but couldn’t survive in the long term. But this farm will never fall because of its diversity.

He also said that the farm area was a char. A lot of labourers were required to develop the land, which created jobs for many workers of this area. Now, this farm has become more profitable than other farms. The other farmers invest at a time and also get the return at a time. But there is income in this farm throughout the year. So, when the other farmers need to invest from outside, then this farm doesn’t need investment from outside. He also said that he is very happy working on this farm. Brother (Mamun) is educated in agriculture. “I can learn many things from him that I can use in my own field, and also I can teach other farmers, which I like very much”, Mr. Hossen added.

Alina Begum is a female worker on this farm. She has been working on this farm for the last five years as a permanent worker. Her husband died a few years ago, and now she lives with her mother. She has no land of her own. She has one mother, one son, and two daughters. The eldest daughter got married at the age of 14, and she had to pay Tk.60,000 as dowry. She earned this money working on this farm. Her younger son & daughter are going to school. Her daughter also becomes a victim of violence by her husband for more dowries. She gets 90tk/day throughout the year, when the other female workers in this area earn less, and they don’t work most of the time in a year. She said that she likes working on this farm very much because she feels like working in her own home. Brother (Mamun) treats us like his sister.

She also said that this farm is quite different from the other farms in this area. Cultivation is also quite different from the other farmers. Brother (Mamun) always gains even when the other farmers are failures. Now, many farmers are following him (Mamun), but nobody can establish such an integrated farm.

Mamun’s mother, Ms Khodeja Begum, expressed her feelings, saying that she was very much frustrated when her youngest son, Mamun, wanted to become a farmer. They all thought that their son had gone astray. She had a dream that Mamun would be an Army Officer after passing from Cadet College or would join in any government job like his other brothers. They never expected Mamun to be a farmers mainly because agriculture has no future in this country. But now his mother and other members of his family see a ray of hope when the farm has taken shape and seems to be an example in this area.

Outsiders’ opinion

Mr Mokter Hossain, son of Mr Nesab Ali, a farmer of the village, said that when Mamun started working here, the surrounding people treated him as mad. Earlier, they could not imagine what was going to happen. But now the surrounding people are astonished to see the productivity of the farm. He said that this farm has created work for many people of this area. Many things like fish, fruits, and vegetables are being produced from the farm throughout the year, which was out of the imagination for the people of this area. When he was asked the question of why he and other farmers are not following the example, he replied with frustration that they can’t follow because they have very small pieces of land and don’t have the money to invest. “We also have a lack of knowledge”, he added.

M. Ali Samrat, the director of the local NGO Participatory Advancement Social Service (PASS), said that he is astonished by the works of Mamun. He saluted the spirit of Mamun for taking such a challenge to establish the farm in an area where growing crops is very difficult due to soil conditions and climatic hazards, especially flood & drought. He said that Mamun has set an example for the surrounding people to show the way of development where the NGOs have almost failed despite investing huge of money. According to his opinion, Mamun’s work has created year-round jobs for at least 50 people of the area, which has contributed to ensuring the food security of 50 families. He said that Mamun has become at least 50% successful by his own efforts. Now, the NGOs and donors should come forward to support him as a model farmer to replicate the model within the community.

A few noticeable Impacts of the Farm

1. Employment generation

At present, 7 permanent labourers (4 males & 3 females) of the farm have guaranteed work in this farm throughout the year, while other temporary workers have at least 200 man-days of work during the pick seasons, which has been contributing a lot in mitigating the Monga of this area. It is to be remembered that the researchers recommended to the government to create only 100 days of work to mitigate the Monga in this area. Moreover, most of the money invested in this farm created jobs for many of the Monga-affected people of the area during the last five years. Now, it is necessary to calculate that 7 families depend on about 15 acres of land, which means on average one family can depend on about 2.1 acres of land at this stage of this integrated farm, excluding the suppliers of the products of this farm. But, it is obvious that when the farm is completed with all of its components, then more employment generation would be possible. Therefore, it can be undoubtedly concluded that in order to ensure guaranteed employment throughout the year for the Monga-affected people of this area, there is no alternative but integrated farming like the TIA farm.

 2. Food security

It is already mentioned that the area is a Monga-affected area where there is severe food scarcity, especially during the monsoon. It is also necessary to mention that food diversity is very much necessary for ensuring food security. The consumers are getting the diversity of fresh & safe food like fruits, vegetables, fish, and other products from this farm throughout the year, which essentially contributes to their food security. The surrounding people and the workers of this farm also consume the fruits and vegetables now and then, free of cost, which contributes to their food security to some extent.

3. Climate Change

It is already mentioned that the farm area is a disaster-prone area that has been intensified due to climate change. The farmer Mamun has experienced the climate-induced disasters in this area over the last decade, which has helped him to design his farm with proper adaptation strategies. In fact, the wide diversity of this farm is the key strategy for ecosystem-based adaptation. As a result, climate change-induced disasters don’t affect the farm very much. It was experienced during the last few years that if the climatic condition becomes unfavourable for one item, it becomes favourable for other items as well. For example, if excessive rainfall becomes unfavourable for fruit gardens, it becomes favourable for fish culture and vice versa. Moreover, the huge plantation in this farm makes at least a little contribution to climate change mitigation as well.

4. Environmental & Ecological Impacts

Anybody can enjoy the green, fresh, and heavenly environment in this farm, with the chirping of birds and the smell of flowers. Plenty of seasonal fruits are available on the farm; those are also food for insects, birds, as well as both pet and wild animals. Moreover, huge plantations have also created very good habitats for insects, birds, and animals. As a result, the availability of birds, including pests & beneficial birds and insects, has significantly increased on the farm, indicating the revival of the destroyed ecosystem due to monoculture-based modern agricultural practices. The soil condition of this farm has also been improved, and the biodiversity and ecosystem have been revived. Moreover, huge plantations should have a positive impact on the environment.

5. Socio-cultural impacts

A very good social relationship has been established among Mamun & surrounding farmers who love & trust him, and he also loves all. The surrounding farmers also come to him for technical advice when necessary. The farm may be termed as a collective farm of love. The community marketing has also increased the social relationship of Farmer Mamun with the community people. The exchange of seasonal fruits was a good element of the rural culture of Bangladesh, which has almost disappeared. The fruits from this farm are sent to the relatives’ houses, which increases the relationship and strengthens the family bonds.

6. Technology Transfer

This farm has become a practical source of technological knowledge & information for the surrounding farmers. Although the other farmers can’t copy the integrated structure of this farm because of many limitations, they follow Mamun’s work as much as possible. They used to come to Mamun for advice when they felt it necessary. The other farmers also observe that the market players can’t exploit Mamun because of his knowledge of modern technologies, when most of the farmers are being exploited by the market players in many ways, both in the input & product markets. To see this in practice, the surrounding farmers come to him for technological advice. Mamun also learned many things from the farmers as a reciprocal process of knowledge transmission.

7. Gender Equity

At present, six males, including Mamun & four female workers are permanently working in the farm as a family. Although the women are getting less payment due mainly to the existing wage system of the country but they have guaranteed work here throughout the year to maintain their own families. Therefore, the role of these women in the family-level decision-making process has increased.

Achieved Recognition 

The farm has emerged as a surprise for the surrounding people as it is being termed as a ‘green revolution in a char land’ where farming is very difficult. Now, the farm has drawn the attention of the media as well as researchers. Local & national print and electronic media have already covered the story on the farm. One of the media has termed the farm as “Green Revolution in Char”. Recently, Dr M. A. Rahim, professor of Bangladesh Agricultural University, along with a few of his colleagues, visited the farm and recognised it as an extraordinary work. Recently, Mamun has been awarded as ‘Local Food Hero’ by Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL) for his contribution to food security and climate change in this area.

Present Limitations

The farm has been facing many difficulties and challenges as follows.

• The farm becomes like a separate island during the monsoon because there is no connecting road, though Mamun is preparing a narrow earthen road by his own initiative.
• There is no electric connection to the farm. An environmentally friendly electricity generation system is necessary to develop in the farm.
• There is insufficient manpower in the management system of the farm. In fact, it is just like an ordinary farm of a farmer who doesn’t have enough ability to keep their own records in a desk when they have many tasks to do on the farm. The farmer Mamun is doing a very hard job to survive as a farmer who doesn’t have much backup support from the state, though the farmers are the real owners of the state.
• When the situation of the management system is as mentioned above, then, let alone a documentation & reporting system, which is necessary to compete with the corporate sector for their survival. However, some documentation has been done by Mamun himself and local & national media, which is not enough if we want to know the economic productivity of the farm as well as to know the sustainability of the farm in competition with monoculture-based corporate agriculture.
• A financial management system is equally important for competing with the corporation.

Development Plan Ahead 

The farm hasn’t got its complete shape yet. Mamun has a plan to include some more components like commercial culture of indigenous poultry, commercial vegetables production with preservation & processing system, fish-duck mix culture, commercial production, processing & marketing of medicinal plants, honey production, establish food processing & marketing system with outlets, establish a biogas plant, adapt modern organic farming technologies, etc., by turns.

One example may be mentioned here in this regard. The picture beside is the north part of the farm where there is ownership of surrounding farmers, including Mamun. This area could be brought under the collective farming of Fish-Duck-Rice mixed culture. Mamun has his own plan for his own area. The NGO can organise the people here to develop it as a social farm.

Concluding remarks

This farm was developed by a real farmer of Bangladesh who experienced all of the challenges prevailing in the agriculture of the country, including the challenges of climate change. Although food security or Manga was not his consideration, subconsciously, he has contributed a lot. The diversity of fruits, fishes, vegetables, and crops that have been created on the farm is really wonderful. In doing this, the major guiding force for the farmer was his family’s level of food security as well as commercial considerations because this is a commercial farm. He has taken farming as a profession at a time when farmers are really struggling for their survival in this agro-based country. The real fact is that the farmers don’t see a better future in this profession. Very interestingly, the small, marginal, and landless farmers of the country are the most food-insecure people of the country, though they are the majority producers of food. Although Mamun is not a farmer of that category, he has become a model for those categories of farmers who are the victims of the corporate agriculture being introduced by the policy makers of the country. This farm could be a model for the policy makers to realise how we can ensure our food security sustainably by following our thousand-year-old integrated farming system, which is environmentally & ecologically sound. There are many signs that it would be economically viable because of its high productivity if it is calculated in an integrated manner. It is also necessary to assess the social and cultural aspects of the farm. Due to its integration, this farm must be able to produce safe and nutritious food if proper care is taken. There are some more works to do for this farm to establish it as a model sustainable agricultural farm. But, Mamun may not be able to do all these things because of his limitations in terms of financial capacity. Here, there is a concrete role for the government as well as the NGOs to play to make it a social model for replicating it in the rural community throughout the country. It is in fact, a matter of trial, which is not possible for the farmer alone.

Therefore, the farm needs to be established as a model farm to show as an alternative to the monoculture-based modern agriculture to combat the challenge of food security and climate change, as well as to show the future generation that agriculture is the best culture. If the young generation gets financial backup from the state, the golden history of Bengal with Granaryful rice, Pondful fish, and cowshedful cows will return soon within the Golden Jubilee of our independence. The Sonar Bangla of the world poet Rabindranath will be a reality. If the government come forward to establish it as a social model and takes the initiative to replicate it throughout the country, then it will not only be possible to combat the challenge of food security and climate change in the country, but also the government’s efforts of poverty alleviation through “agriculture & rural development” will come true in the near future. However, a comprehensive research by combining agri-scientists of different disciplines from both research & educational institutions is very much essential at this moment, along with a sandwich program for completing the model farm as well as replication in a few selected agro-ecological regions of the country.

A case study on TIA Farm