Char Fasson Upazilla in Bangladesh is an area lagged behind in many socio-economic indicators. Among the major livelihood of the people in the area is fishing and farming. However, fishers and farmers face a lot of problems when it comes to their livelihood including lack of access to proper information related to the farming and fishing.
To deal with this situation, MTCP2 Bangladesh partnered with a community radio in the area. People in the area get weather updates from a radio station called Radio Meghna. MTCP2 seized the opportunity to use the influence of this community radio for the development of farmers and fishers in Char Fasson by supporting the radio to broadcast regular programs that are beneficial for them. Through Radio Meghna, residents of Char Fasson are now getting regular weather updates. If there is a cyclone, the radio broadcasts weather update for 24 hours.
Another challenge for the fishing community in the area is their limited knowledge when it comes to sustainable fisheries, fishery laws, rules on access to the fishing grounds, government and finance services they can avail of, and even their own rights as fisher people. Because of this, they are exploited by middlemen and influential people in various ways.
To help the fisher people face these challenges, MTCP2 increased their capacities through a regular awareness program broadcasted via Radio Meghna. Through this radio program, fishers can also directly talk with fishery officers from the government.
The farmers of Char Fasson also face various issues including landgrabbing, lack of government services, and excessive use of pesticides, among others. Knowledge gap and unavailability of linkages among the farmers and different service providers are also serious problems.
With the intervention of MTCP2, Radio Meghna now broadcasts regular programs focusing on the challenges of the farmers to help them find a way out of these. There are also programs where the farmers themselves participate live on air and are able to ask questions directly to the service providers.
Impact of the effort
Because of the efforts of MTCP2 Bangladesh in working with Radio Meghna, the farmers and fishers in Char Fasson now have:
- Access to information from various sectors involved in their livelihood
- Links among other farmers and fishers and service providers
- Regular updates on weather, information on agriculture and fishing as well as the market situation
- Proper information about various government decisions, rules, and laws
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The program is being implemented by the consortium Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC).
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