Success story for farming family in Bangladesh working with CIMMYT
Bangladeshi farmer Gopal Mohanta fetches water as part of his daily task of feeding and watering his livestock. He did not previously have animals, but was able to buy them thanks to a dramatic improvement in his livelihood after he began to work with CIMMYT. He grows a variety of crops that meet the family's food and feed needs, and each day he and his wife mix up a balanced meal for their animals.
The family's fortunes began to change when Mohanta attended a farmer training session provided by CIMMYT in collaboration with partners in Bangladesh. This opened a door for him to take advantage of a range of resources from CIMMYT and its partners—including seed, technologies, and practices—and to combine these with his own hard work and talent.
One of the changes Mohanta made was to plant a more diverse range of crops, and in 2005 he planted maize for the first time, using improved seed based on CIMMYT materials. He achieves high yields of 12-13 t/ha, which he is able to sell at a good profit, as a growing market is fueling high and stable maize prices in Bangladesh. As well as being able to invest in livestock and other farm diversification, such as a pond stocked with fish, the increased income has brought other benefits for the family. Mohanta and his wife have built a new, larger house and are able to provide a better education for their two children.
The family has come a long way, providing a shining example of what is possible to others in their community of Boiragee, Dinajpur. However, the success story is far from over; looking to the future, Mohanta plans to buy more land and to plant more crops.
Photo credit: S. Mojumder/Drik/CIMMYT.
For the latest on CIMMYT in Bangladesh, see CIMMYT's blog at: blog.cimmyt.org/?tag=bangladesh.
Success story for farming family in Bangladesh working with CIMMYT
Bangladeshi farmer Gopal Mohanta fetches water as part of his daily task of feeding and watering his livestock. He did not previously have animals, but was able to buy them thanks to a dramatic improvement in his livelihood after he began to work with CIMMYT. He grows a variety of crops that meet the family's food and feed needs, and each day he and his wife mix up a balanced meal for their animals.
The family's fortunes began to change when Mohanta attended a farmer training session provided by CIMMYT in collaboration with partners in Bangladesh. This opened a door for him to take advantage of a range of resources from CIMMYT and its partners—including seed, technologies, and practices—and to combine these with his own hard work and talent.
One of the changes Mohanta made was to plant a more diverse range of crops, and in 2005 he planted maize for the first time, using improved seed based on CIMMYT materials. He achieves high yields of 12-13 t/ha, which he is able to sell at a good profit, as a growing market is fueling high and stable maize prices in Bangladesh. As well as being able to invest in livestock and other farm diversification, such as a pond stocked with fish, the increased income has brought other benefits for the family. Mohanta and his wife have built a new, larger house and are able to provide a better education for their two children.
The family has come a long way, providing a shining example of what is possible to others in their community of Boiragee, Dinajpur. However, the success story is far from over; looking to the future, Mohanta plans to buy more land and to plant more crops.
Photo credit: S. Mojumder/Drik/CIMMYT.
For the latest on CIMMYT in Bangladesh, see CIMMYT's blog at: blog.cimmyt.org/?tag=bangladesh.