Overview
Legume production in Bangladesh has fallen significantly short of consumer demand becoming a major concern to national food security. Increasing the cropping intensity by replacing fallow with a legume between rice-rice cropping systems in western Bangladesh offered the prospect of increased legume production and improved farm household livelihoods.
The project aimed to provide the research to reinvigorate pulse production in western Bangladesh through lentil and pea during rabi season (i.e. November to February) and mungbean during kharif 1 season (i.e. March to June).
To this end from 2011 and 2015 the project conducted on-farm participatory trials and demonstrations and on-station experiments to develop and promote appropriate agronomic packages in nine districts in western Bangladesh. During 2016, project outputs were followed up through communication and dissemination activities to increase impact.
The project provides a good example of high quality, collaborative (Australian/national program) research conducted on an important issue with multiple benefits including improved benefits to farm households, soil health, and dietary protein availability, cropping system intensification and diversification, and scientific publications and capacity building.
