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Mar 12, 2010

Discovering a Passion for Agriculture

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Champa (middle) with her parents.

Among the 158 million people of Bangladesh, adolescent girls have the least access to opportunity and resources, making them among the most vulnerable people in the country. But an innovative USC educational agricultural program initiated some three years ago has already begun to change lives in unforeseen and inspiring ways. In the northern village of Panjia, the story of Champa is a beacon.

As with many Bangladeshi girls, Champa’s schooling ended early; when she was eleven she entered fulltime work at home. However, Champa was able to continue learning at her village ARC – Adolescent Resource Centre – part of USC’s pioneering Lifeskills and Education for Adolescent Development (LEAD) program that provides life skills training and information sharing opportunities.

Champa teaches what she has learned to others in the community

Skills Building
About three years ago, USC initiated a pilot project to introduce young rural girls and women to ecological farming practices to help them improve personal and family livelihoods. The resulting program has been remarkably successful in providing workshops that combine local traditional knowledge with the science of agronomy. It also brings together older farmers and young people in a unique cross-generational knowledge exchange. It was through this ARC program that Champa discovered a passion and a talent for agriculture and agro-ecology.

Champa was 14 when USC sponsored a four-day workshop in her district. Away from her home village for the first time, the intensive four day session exposed her to past and present trends in agriculture and then delved into a comparison between the cost of local seed and introduced hybrid varieties; seed collection and preservation techniques; composting and natural fertilizers; mixed cropping, intercropping, crop rotation; and the preparation of seed beds.

Champa learned about the importance of seed saving and exchange with other farmers as a means of protecting biodiversity.

The experience was exhilarating. But back at home, Champa realized her own family and neighbours’ farming methods often didn’t comply with what she had learned. Champa’s father agreed to set aside a small test plot of land where she could plant her own vegetable garden and put her learning to the test. To her family’s surprise, Champa’s very first harvest produced enough to feed the entire family, with surpluses to share among neighbours. Since then, her father has been using local seed varieties and committed to turning over all of his fields to ecological agricultural practices. Champa’s considerable skills have grown with each planting, and so has her reputation among community members who have begun seeking her advice. And she is eager to share what she has learned, especially among other young girls in the community.

Yields have extended far beyond Champa’s garden. Last fall, the ARC members in Champa’s village were invited to take part in a nationwide essay contest to help observe Bangladesh’s “National Girl Child Day” (Sept 30). The topic was daunting: ‘Climate Change: Bangladesh Context’. Several weeks later, no one was more surprised than Champa herself when she and her father received an invitation to travel to Dhaka for the awards ceremonies. Champa had won first prize!