With U.S. government funding via the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), the IFDC will collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to teach
smallholder farmers in southern districts of the country to adopt climate-smart
cultivation techniques like using improved seeds and maximizing fertilizer usage.

Dhaka, June 22, 2023 – Today, representatives from the U.S. Embassy, the
Ministry of Agriculture, and the International Fertilizer Development Center
(IFDC) launched the five-year, $35 million Feed the Future Bangladesh Climate
Smart Agriculture Activity to help Bangladeshi farmers mitigate climate impacts
and increase their production.
With U.S. government funding via the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), the IFDC will collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to teach
smallholder farmers in southern districts of the country to adopt climate-smart
cultivation techniques like using improved seeds and maximizing fertilizer usage.
The project will also bring together private sector firms, agri-input service
providers, and public sector actors to build resilience throughout the sector using
climate-smart technologies and practices.
Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Wahida Akter joined Dr. Muhammad
Khan, USAID/Bangladesh’s Director of Economic Growth Programs, Henk van
Duijn, President and CEO of IFDC, and Dr. Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, Executive
Chairman of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) to unveil the
new project at the BARC Auditorium.
In addition to addressing climate change, the Feed the Future Climate-Smart
Agriculture project will help Bangladesh overcome challenges stemming from the
global COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s war

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on Ukraine. The project will also save fertilizer use by farmers, save fertilizer
subsidy costs, and increase the overall production of crops.
The U.S. government has provided more than $8 billion in development
assistance to Bangladesh since its independence. Last year alone, USAID funding
included $200 million to improve the lives of people in Bangladesh through
programs that expand food security and economic opportunity, improve health
and education, promote democratic institutions and practices, protect the
environment, and increase resilience to climate change.

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