Australia Awards South and West Asia

To mark World Environment Day, we highlight stories of leadership from two Australia Awards alumni who have used Australia Awards grants to successfully implement innovative projects to address food security and climate change through regenerative agriculture.

Dr Md Khurshid Alam, who completed a Master of Science and Technology in Environmental Science from the University of New South Wales in 2003, is a Principal Scientific Officer at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute. He also received an Endeavour Research Fellowship to undertake postdoctoral research on organic agriculture at the University of New England in Australia in 2016. He has been advancing research in organic agriculture to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of agriculture in Bangladesh and help develop a sustainable food system.

In March 2023, Khurshid received an Australia Awards Alumni Support Grant to increase access to nutritious food in the Rohingya refugee camps. With this grant, Khurshid delivered training in climate-adaptive farming systems to refugees, helping them to understand techniques such as climate-smart homestead gardening. The training covered soil preparation, seed selection, organic farming techniques, pest control and post-harvest management.

Khurshid delivering a lecture on organic kitchen garden preparation using household compost to 25 women farmers to improve food security among Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazaar.

He also partnered with the Prantic Unnayan Society to facilitate the distribution of essential gardening supplies such as seeds, vertical planters, nets, botanical pesticides and organic fertiliser, so that the refugees have the resources necessary to start and maintain their own gardens.

“My Australian degree and experience opened my eyes to global sustainable agriculture. Through the Australia Awards Alumni Support Grant, I aim to improve the food security of Rohingya refugees, promote homestead gardening and climate-adaptive technologies, and provide better access to local markets to improve both household nutrition and livelihoods,” Khurshid says.

The training Khurshid provided among the Rohingya refugees included a three-day program on safe organic homestead gardening suitable for small spaces, by producing food in sacks and vertical planters. Vertical planters offer more space efficiency and maximise limited land area; they also have the potential to grow seedlings even in extreme weather conditions.

The training focused on eco-smart organic crop production practices, particularly soil fertility and pest management. Khurshid believes that the key attraction for people of the Rohingya community was the ability to establish low-cost kitchen gardens, thanks to innovative, cost-effective production that uses local resources, such as kitchen waste for compost and locally available plant extracts for pesticides, rather than depending on commercial products.

Khurshid conducting a demonstration on vegetable seedling production methods using vertical tiers for organic kitchen gardens to women in Rohinya communities in Cox’s Bazaar.

Twenty-five Rohingya refugees took part in the training, with 22 of the participants completing the activity successfully. “Rohingya women and girls are increasing the adaptive capacity of refugees through the adoption of climate-resilient strategies,” Khurshid says. He was pleased to see the innovative practices making a positive difference in their lives.

Khurshid also coordinated with the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner and Rohingya leaders known as majhi—the leaders of sections of the refugee camps—to seek advice and feedback regarding the sustainability of the activity.

“Climate-smart homestead gardening is crucial for improved nutrition. This technology is an absolute necessity to boost agricultural productivity and farming income without harming the environment, enhance resilience against climate change, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Khurshid says.

As an agricultural scientist, Khurshid is committed to continuing his research work and advocating for organic farming at a national and international level to convince policymakers to endorse organic agriculture.

Dr Mohammed Abul Monjur Khan studied Postdoctoral Research at Charles Sturt University and the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in 2017, and is currently working as a Professor in the Department of Entomology at Bangladesh Agricultural University’s (BAU) Faculty of Agriculture.

In 2023, with the assistance of an Australia Awards Alumni Support Grant, Monjur began helping to ensure food security among people in the Char areas by building the capacity of local women in good agricultural practices. This activity revolved around organising fruit fly management training for women farmers based in the Char areas of the Brahmaputra River in Mymensingh District, to improve safe and eco-friendly production of vegetables in the cucurbit (gourd) family.

Monjur says that pesticides have a negative effect on biological diversity, kill beneficial insects, and are responsible for toxicity, insecticide resistance and pest resurgence.

Monjur with the pheromone traps at a result-demonstration site to present farmers a comparison between traditional and new practices that will boost the confidence among beneficiaries to engage in more scientific farming methods.

“Responsible and sustainable agriculture is essential to reverse climate change. As an academic researcher, I aim to empower and strengthen the capacities of smallholding women and marginal women farmers of Char areas in Mymensingh by educating them on integrated crop management to gain better crop yield,” says Monjur.

Through a survey, Monjur selected 50 women famers from Sathiapara village in Charnilakshia and introduced them to the BAU ‘pheromone traps’: an effective and safe tool he developed to reduce the number of fruit flies in an area. This method uses a pheromone or parapheromone to attract male fruit flies into a trap, where they are killed.

Monjur implemented this activity in partnership with the Bangladesh Agricultural University Extension Centre, which supplied pheromone lures, traps and other materials necessary to increase production of cucurbit vegetables. As a teaching aid, Monjur also gave the women farmers leaflets about controlling fruit flies using pheromone traps.

Additionally, Monjur arranged a field demonstration of ten garden plots in Sathiapara village to show results and disseminate knowledge among the beneficiaries. The knowledge dissemination session focused on improving the sustainability of a farming system, adopting a more environmentally-friendly approach, and making greater use of on-farm and local resources.

Monjur presenting the pheromone traps to women farmers in Charnilakshia village.

“Earlier, I suffered great losses due to the insects that decimate cucurbit crops. As I have learnt how to use pheromone traps, the traps have reduced the cost of pest control. I no longer need to apply pesticides frequently, and my yields have significantly increased,” says Taslima Khatun, one of the beneficiaries.

Because Monjur’s experience suggested that farmers learn better from their peers, he assigned a female lead farmer from each farmer group. These lead farmers are trained and empowered to assist farmers with appropriate messages to improve the adoption of recommended agricultural technologies to increase production.

“As a lead farmer, I am highly motivated to assist other farmers in facilitating the adoption of various improved agricultural technologies by the communities through farmer-training, field days, extension meetings and adoption of the technologies,” says Roksana Begum.

More than 90 percent of the farmers of Sathiapara village are now using pheromone traps. As an educator, Monjur is committed to working on the latest agricultural research and technology, enabling beneficiaries to understand sustainable farming practices intended to protect the environment.