This week’s blog comes from, Dr. James Anderson III, Assistant Professor of Community & Economic Development at the University of Wisconsin- Extension. 

In May 2017, I had the privilege of traveling to Bangladesh for my first international volunteer assignment through Winrock International. My assignment was to work with the Bangladesh Department of Youth Development to develop an entrepreneurship curriculum. The assignment was through the Farmer-to-Farmer Program funded by USAID.

I had no idea what to expect during my visit. I knew Bangladesh has a large population of about 160 million people, and is roughly the size of the U.S. state, Iowa. I also knew that while the economy was growing, as the economy transitions to more manufacturing from being primarily agriculture… the economy was also struggling to create enough jobs for citizens. This was the basis for my statement of work, to develop a curriculum that the Department of Youth Development can use to help people that it provides vocational and technical training to transition to self-employment and entrepreneurship.

The first week of my visit was dedicated to conducting a needs assessment. During this time Dr. S.M.S Rahman, from the Dhaka Winrock International office, guided me through Jessore, Rangpur, Khulna, and Dhaka. We visited Department of Youth Development residential training facilities, Youth Training Centers, and entrepreneurs who started their businesses after receiving training. These entrepreneurs were operating relatively new businesses, the youngest business being about two years old and the most mature being close to five years old.

While Bangladesh and Superior, Wisconsin, where I live, are half a world apart, I was struck by the common issues entrepreneurs experience. For aspiring entrepreneurs, access to capital was the number one identified issue during our visits. Entrepreneurs and students at the training centers were surprised when I indicated access to capital is a challenge in the United States as well. In addition, I was surprised by the commonalities the farmers in Bangladesh experience compared to farmers in Wisconsin and the United States.

We visited dairy, goat, poultry, and field crop farms; as well as textiles businesses. The farms all indicated the same market pressures – increasing input costs (seed, feed, fertilizer, labor, etc.), and reduced market rates for their product (e.g., milk and rice). Our farms in Wisconsin are experiencing the very same issues. We sometimes think that market forces only influence ourselves and neighbors, but clearly we share many of the same challenges globally.

Dr. Anderson during a field visit

During week two, I revised the curriculum based on the needs assessment data from week one. I then presented the curriculum to the Department of Youth Development, part of the Ministry of Youth & Sports. Following feedback from the department and another round of revisions, I offered a two-day seminar to trainers from the department. One of my lessons learned from teaching and supporting entrepreneurs in the United States is that the training needs to be very applied and hands-on. We spent much of our time together going over the activities that were contained in the curriculum, and the learning opportunities from those activities.

Dr. Anderson with the trainers from DYD

Now that I am back home, I have had time to reflect on this very busy, yet rewarding trip to Bangladesh. I am struck by the friendliness of the people that I met. I have been afforded the opportunity to travel a lot for personal and educational reasons. I don’t believe I’ve ever traveled anywhere where everyone I met was so welcoming and friendly. My final observation while reflecting on this trip is the nature of resiliency in the people of Bangladesh. Research concerning the common traits of successful entrepreneurs often includes the word resiliency or something very similar. I have no doubt that many people in Bangladesh who aspire to be entrepreneurs and self-employed possess the core trait of resiliency. The economy has challenged many families and individuals, yet there is incredible optimism that they can and will improve circumstances for themselves and their country.

Dr. Usha Palaniswamy and Dr. Grant Jackson recently volunteered in Bangladesh, assisting the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT): College of Agriculture Science to develop curriculum for their new Master of Science in Agriculture programs in Agronomy and Horticulture. Below are their reflections of their assignment.

Dr. Jackson is a retired Professor of Agronomy and Superintendent of the Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center at Montana State University. He noted, “It was my first time to be in Bangladesh or Southern Asia. I really enjoyed working with the dedicated faculty of this University and, of course, the Winrock staff, they are all friendly and like to laugh. I couldn’t believe that pedestrians, rickshaws, bicycles, tricycle scooters, cars, small trucks, buses, and semi-trailer trucks all share the same, crowded road space. We visited two public agricultural universities and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, so I was able to see a little of what is grown in the country. I really enjoyed all the fresh fruit that is available, particularly mango and bananas.

IUBAT was started in 1991 and now has a beautiful campus with about 10,000 students, 500 of them are enrolled in the College of Agricultural Sciences  even though the college is only authorized to grant one degree, BS in Agricultural Science. The faculty decided to propose a MS degree in Agronomy and a MS degree in Horticulture and asked Winrock for assistance from US experts. Since the proposed degrees are for students who want to be farm advisors, I approached the assignment based on my field experiences throughout my career – what does a farmer need to know to be successful? Then the idea is to train the students based on the eventual customer’s needs for information.

It was a great assignment because I was around college students again, and I was able to present  presentations on my agricultural experiences on two different occasions.” 

Dr. Jackson visiting Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka with the Vice-Chancellor of the University

Dr. Palaniswamy is a professor of biology at Strayer University in Orlando, Florida. She has led development and implementation of the “Vegetables Go To School” project in six countries in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. She explained, “I have been volunteering with F2F programs since 2006 and I look forward to these assignments as an opportunity to learn about a new country, culture, and the challenges that go with it. There is also a sense of excitement and adventure that I experience with each assignment. I wanted to share my most recent volunteering experience with Winrock in Bangladesh- great country, although noisy, hot, and as humid as any other tropical country in the Indian sub-continent. The food is similar to the Indian/Pakistani cuisine and has a great variety to choose from and enjoy. I loved the rotis and biryani which were flavorful and filling; the sweetened yoghurt seems to be a Bangladeshi specialty, as I have never tasted such fresh yoghurt prepared and served in single-serve containers of clay.

I was taken by the collection of great faculty dedicated to providing quality education to the students in the fields of Business, Agriculture, and Technology. Contrary to what one sees in the news, I found the country to be relatively calm, peaceful, accepting of foreigners, and very hospitable. People are friendly, mild-tempered, and helpful. I spent a few days visiting other agricultural universities and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute and their department of extension. Their model of extension is very efficient and seems to be producing results as noted in their economic growth. I will derive from this experience rich knowledge about variations in graduate curricula. My experiences in the country will be part of my teaching and research back in the US, incorporating it in my courses and communicating with my students in the US.

I have been volunteering for the past ten years and I can say that the Winrock field staff in Bangladesh are one of the best teams out there- most welcoming, cordial, helpful ,and go all the way in making your stay comfortable! I would certainly volunteer with Winrock in Bangladesh without a second thought! More volunteering experiences coming up from me, until then Chao’.”

Drs. Palaniswamy and Jackson visiting a net supported horticulture garden at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka

I have participated in nearly 50 F2F Assignments in the past 22 years but this is my first visit to Bangladesh. The level of poverty, the small farms, the density of agricultural activities, and the tropical conditions were all that I expected and more. However, I was not prepared for the Bangladesh people. I found the people of the Satkhira region of southwest Bangladesh delightful. They were open, courteous, sharing, appreciative, diligent, and smart. I will look forward to a return visit in the future.

My assignment focused upon a 5-day training of small scale youth farmers in basic techniques for commercial vegetable seed production. Rice and jute are the primary cash crops of the region, but we focused upon tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber, pumpkin, and gourd seed production. After reviewing basic plant biology, I covered seed production technology. The final day concluded with a field trip to a government-operated rice breeding project and foundation seed producer. Although on a much grander scale, participants were able to see basic processes, seed treatments, seed testing, and storage of agricultural seed in their home territory.

Dr. Williams shows the farmers the symptoms of insect attacks and prevalence of powdery mildew problems on cucumber leaves during a field visit

Dr. Williams shows another farmer the damage and color change on eggplant leaves due to an aphids’ attack

The conditions were not perfect. The electricity went on and went off and temperatures in the seminar room were sometimes hot, but no one complained. Participants came up to me many times and said how much they enjoyed the presentations and appreciated the information I was sharing with them. During the field visits, farmers showed enthusiasm for information and techniques in plant protection and cultivation.

The experience was truly humbling. I sincerely hope my efforts will help some of the Bangladeshi people to attain their goals and dreams.

Dr. Williams shows a group of farmers how to get rid of unwanted plants from any kind of orchard during a practical training session

Thomas Sallee recently returned from his second trip to Bangladesh, where he built the statistical analysis skills of faculty from Jessore University of Science and Technology and International University of Business Agriculture and Technology in order for them to conduct improved, advanced agricultural research. He shares his thoughts below on the differences and similarities between his two trips to Bangladesh. 

My second visit to Bangladesh was somewhat different from my first trip. This time it was during the monsoon season which came early this year. It rained just about every day while I was in Dhaka, although mostly at night and in the early morning so I never got soaking wet. Also, my hosts were very considerate and held umbrellas for me and loaded me into vehicles under overhangs or covers. Luckily, none of the areas where I needed to visit were flooded although some parts of the city did experience inundated streets. Other parts of the country weren’t as fortunate. Heavy rains further upstream in India and Nepal along with locally severe rains caused extensive flooding in the eastern part of the country. The people I spoke with endured this with an optimistic resiliency based on the fact that they had seen this year after year and had always come through it and prospered. In Dhaka, I provided some training at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT). This University, founded in 1991, was the first private university in Bangladesh.

I also presented training at Jessore University of Science and Technology (JUST), a newer public university, founded in 2007. The rains continued as I traveled to Jessore. Again, my hosts graciously arranged to keep me dry and comfortable. I saw jute being grown, a new experience for me. Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. At one time jute was a major export crop for Bangladesh, but declined as a significant crop as plastics took over the bag and rope market. Today, as the world tries to reduce its dependence on petroleum products, there has been a small revival in jute production.

Another difference from my previous visit was that mangoes and jackfruit were in season. Again, my hosts were diligent in providing for me and I had plenty of delicious fresh fruit. I didn’t know there was such an assortment of mangoes. The inside of each variety has a unique color ranging from light yellow to dark gold. The flavors are also quite different. I ate a lot of mango and finally decided I couldn’t pick a favorite. They were all delicious. I also ate a lot of fresh jackfruit, which is nearly impossible to find back home. I didn’t know that the seeds of the jackfruit could be prepared and eaten several different ways. I had some that had been roasted and it reminded me of eating unsalted roasted peanuts.

I would like to share how my Winrock International USAID-funded Farmer to Farmer (F2F) volunteer assignment was one of much excitement and full of very rewarding humbling experiences. One experience stands out as a professional one that led to a career culminating experience for me that I would like to share in this blog. The experience deals with my career as an irrigation agronomist/horticulturist of 42 years (1975-2017), which concentrated on “drip irrigation technology” in developed and developing countries. My initial career path in drip irrigation technology started in 1975 with my research at Virginia Tech as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Horticulture doing research on the development and use of drip irrigation on tomatoes in Western Virginia. The drip system that I was using to irrigate the tomato plants with was developed and provided for my research by Mr. Richard Chapin of Chapin Watermatics, considered to be the “Father of Drip Irrigation” in the United States.

My drip irrigation career took me to developing drip systems for bananas and pineapples in Honduras, Costa Rica, and Hawaii with Dole Foods, working with commercial drip irrigation vegetable growers in Florida. In addition, I was involved in agricultural development projects with USAID and USDA where drip irrigation for fruit and vegetable growers was emphasized in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Guinea, Senegal, and finally- in Bangladesh. The drip irrigation projects that I was involved in were not all success stories. One in particular failed in 1987 in six months after I departed the country, due to the end of the development project I was serving on. Failure occurred because there was not a dealer network for drip irrigation supplies and technical support. This failure haunted me for a long time. The training experience with Winrock International in March-April 2017 has left me very excited and encouraged about the drip irrigation systems. I used Mr. Chapin’s drip tape that was installed by the Thanarbaid banana growers in the Madhupur Upazila of Tangail District in Bangladesh through the auspices of Shalom (formerly Church of Bangladesh Social Development Programme-CBSDP and their Youth Beneficiary Group). Drip irrigation success in Bangladesh is assured via dedicated banana farmers, Winrock International, USAID, and partner, ACI Agribusiness, who works with Jain Irrigation of India, a key supplier of drip irrigation technology, including Chapin drip tape. What a rewarding experience it was to culminate my drip irrigation career knowing that drip irrigation technology in Bangladesh will thrive and serve as a food security tool to help feed the people of Bangladesh.

Dr. Kovach working with the banana farmers to connect the tubes through the bottom of the bucket to the irrigation tape.

Dr. Kovach with banana farmers over the Chapin Drip Irrigation Tape. Note the dark circles next to the black drip tape where water has come out of the water emitting orifices and began to wet the soil to supply water to the banana plants.

Chapin Bucket Drip Irrigation System supplying water to the two black drip tubes next to the banana plants. The major advantage to using drip irrigation versus the traditional irrigation method of flooding the field is in water savings, where 50% less water is needed to irrigate banana crops.

Dr. Kovach observes one of the participants pouring urea mixed water into the buckets to provide plants with water and fertilizer through the Chapin Bucket Drip system in the orchard.