Fostering Float-farming for Future Food

In the milieu of climate change environmental hazards are threatening productivity, livelihood and food security by inundating farmlands with salinity, flood and droughts, whereas urbanization is encroaching the urban productive space. We need to secure food and as well sustain livelihood to survive. Present intervention brings aquaponic float-farming as unique solution wherein floating platforms made of non-timber fibers are used as farming areas using slim soil made of recycled organic waste to grow horticultural products. Solar-run micro-irrigation and hydroponics can be equitably used for irrigation and aqua-culture, whereas adjoined crab-fattening trays, duckery and piggery can be supplementing protein nutrition. These flood resilient, low-water intensive organic system is based on circular economic paradigm that can be used in drought hit areas and even be scaled up as roof top garden in the urban jungle. It strengthens local economy and institutions as well with a sustainable revenue linked entrepreneurial opportunity. 

Flood threat to commons inhabiting the floodplains of South Asia is greatly accentuated in the climate milieu. Inundation of farmlands and crop loss renders acute crisis of food and livelihood, forcing people to migrate, wherein women become susceptible to social abuse. In 2016-2018, average impact of floods in eastern India caused nearly 5000 deaths affecting 12.75 million people in 21 districts. 78% of these are rural communities. Flooding affected 7,100 villages and destroyed standing crops of 180,000 hectares. As an aftermath, livelihoods of almost five million people were at stake and 5700 villages faced acute food crisis. This is no less pathetic in the Gangetic and coastal floodplains of both India and Bangladesh those are more vulnerable to sea level rise, salt water ingression, inundation and habitat loss due to salinity, loss of agro-biodiversity and continued fall in primary productivity due to increased soil salinity. In Satkhira district of Bangladesh, 87% landholdings are abandoned due to salinity ingression and 94% male farmers of age range 20-45 yrs have migrated as laborers in Middle East. According to official estimates in 2018, nearly 220000 hectares of farmlands in low-lying coastal areas have been rendered unproductive due to salinity ingression. 

This intervention transfers technologies in hydroponic aqua-farming towards disaster preparedness and food security in adversities. Floating raft structures made of bamboos and water retaining hydro-foam layered with slim-soil containing agro-waste manures and bio-fertilizers are used for growing cash crops. Intermittent fish pens are installed in flood water for augmenting productivity for food sustaining life and livelihood. Solar engineered desalinating micro-irrigation system is also installed in composite assemblage to suffice as livelihood unit for smallholders. This equitably sustain the food and livelihood of landless farmers, urban poor and migrants in the COVID crisis as well strengthens local institutions through financial inclusion programs towards entrepreneurial capacity building and community resilience. Perusal of results shows its adaptive potentials and economic viability with assured profit of 78% on sale along with an IER of 3.72 and a pay out of USD 120.00 per household per month in days of distress.  Therefore, in the context of inclusive development and climate vulnerability of smallholders, this intervention seems to be a single-window solution towards risk spreading and disaster mitigation. This low-water & no-chemical small-space farming can be unique even for drought areas or slums towards community resilience and poverty alleviation in the climate milieu. 

The overall target populace is marginal commons, anywhere in the planet, in general, but in particular our target beneficiaries include climate vulnerable marginal agrarian communities in coastal and riverine flood plains, who are directly impacted with salt water ingression or flood water inundation, loosing their farmlands. This equally implies to people who are drought struck and even mountain people who have very less space to grow and eventually encroach in to forest areas. This slim-soil elevated stake=farms can work in all these areas. However, in the current post-pandemic crisis, we are also targeting the migrant landless laborers and urban poor who has lost their livelihood. We initially make sociometric surveys for need assessment and livelihood vulnerability and as well resource mapping to prescribe the technology. This is followed by capacity building, financial inclusion and strengthening of their local institutions through legal formalization. This mainstreams them in the local economy and finally they develop as producer's organization or cooperatives to boost the local economy. This is a local geodesic resilient economic model wherein the opportunity cost is compensated through payments from ecosystem services. thus the return on investments are doubly assured to sustain their life and livelihood. 

This intervention is meant for marginal commons and therefore supports all small-scale producers with technology cooperation for sustaining productivity of land towards sustainable alternative livelihood, whereas being climate adaptive in using circular economy, renewable energy and low-water no-chemical regime it intends to decrease carbon emissions, land-use change, nutrient runoff, or water pollution. It further intends to Improve supply chain practices through low-carbon cold chains and also promotes the shift towards low-impact, diverse and nutritious organic diets including low-carbon protein options, especially in the post-pandemic community health preparedness. Thus it entirely aligns with the 2020 challenge. 

Four prime innovations have been implemented here for resilience and sustainability. These are 

Technology: It is a transformation of local traditional haor-farming in Bangladesh that has been made climate adaptive and disaster resilient livelihood unit. To make quality irrigational water available in budgeted volume for hydroponic trays, solar mini-distillation system and solar micro-irrigation system technology has been adjoined so that salinity or drought can be combated. It integrated aqua-farming and livestock for livelihood security and as well protein security for the ultra-poor.  

Economy: The model stands on circular economy and nearly 70% is recyclable. Further, Joint liability groups of community members are linked with financial institutions to enable internal micro-financing for risk spreading, whereas the groups are under micro-insurance schemes for risk coverage.

Societal: Implementing Leaving No One Behind principle in decision making shall enable equity and reciprocity for the bottom liners in societal pyramid and as well ensure gender justice through participatory planning and unbiased partnership will be an opportune. Mostly women’s are leading these producers groups.

Environmental: It leverage climate adaptive actions like prevention of loss of habitat and agro-biodiversity, emission abatement, renewable energy usage, agro-waste recycling and reducing water footprints. Additionally, promotion of organic farming will have carbon advantages too.

Additionally, this model has been perfected for post pandemic situation as it assures social distancing, reboots the local economy at nominal cost and as well solves the livelihood issues for the migrant laborers. It also assures protein security for community immunity.  

There is absolutely no rocket science in our technology, as mentioned above herein. We banked on traditional ecological knowledge and basically its all 'science of measurements'. For example What should be the weight of the float to make it resilient to flood waves, what should be the dimension to make it economically viable. what should be the dilution of irrigation water and the doses so that minimal solar power can quench maximum area. The size of the drip, the size of the fish pen, the size of fingerlings, all of these were acquired through participatory action research and that has made the system sustainable robust and acceptable. 

The intervention has been awarded the following awards

1. Finalist in UNDP Equator Initiative Award 2019

2. Inequality Challenge Award GIZ, Germany 2019

3. Most Innovative Development Project Award 2018 from Global Development Award (World Bank Groups) and JICA, Japan

4. Listed in UNFCCC Nairobi Work Program in 2018

The links are all as hereunder

https://www.poverty-inequality.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/giz2019-factsheet-lnob-india-bangladesh.pdf

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/why-some-farmers-hope-for-floods-in-vanishing-island-of-majuli/articleshow/70069427.cms

https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NWPStaging/Pages/item.aspx?ListItemId=28651&ListUrl=/sites/NWPStaging/Lists/MainDB

https://www.sentinelassam.com/news/flood-resilient-agriculture-method-for-majuli-farmers/

https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/bangla-model-to-keep-majuli-crops-afloat/cid/1422898

https://slideplayer.com/slide/14526255/

http://www.gdn.int/conferencepresentations 

Our 'theory of change' has a five step paradigm that we usually call as the five-eye (5-I) in our internal capacity building and communication. This is also used for developing the M&E matrices in our intervention. These are described as hereunder

1. Identify: A strong element of our intervention is identifying the direct beneficiaries through sociometric survey. This is done for Need assessment, Resource mapping and Livelihood vulnerability indexing. Thus the intervention is perfected for those who genuinely need this. That makes the first step to success.

2. Introduce: Once we identify the direct beneficiaries to partner with us, we introduce the project concept that is called grounding through 'FPIC' (Free, Prior and Informed Consent). This assures acceptability.   

3. Innovate: Innovation is a core area of competence in all of our interventions. This makes the technology cooperation easier as our innovation always tries to bank on local knowledge and existing technology. We make it low-investment, easy learning and inclusive for all. 

4. Inculcate: Our mode of capacity building in the community is very aggressive but humble. It is an adaptive method of 'Learning by doing'. we engage all in the implementation and they learn by doing it. There is no preaching or teaching in it. We help them to get the freedom from the fear of failure by repeated efforts till we succeed. 

5. Inclusion: Financial inclusion and bank linkage for entrepreneurship development is the terminal stage for establishing the change. 

We always develop a matrix for M&E based on 5-I, as above, against a timeline overlaid with an activity result chain, wherein the objectives are linked to activities and sub activities qualified with outputs, SMART deliverable and verifiable indicators. This is absolutely place-based and we can share the same, if required. 

Presently it is serving around 1200-1500 households (7000 heads approx). By next year it would grow ten times to 15000 households and in five years it is expected that it must reach out to more than a million vulnerable households. 

Within the next year our goals are

1. To integrated low-cost solar run cold-chain for value addition to supply chain

2. To explore wider geographies other than flood prone areas (currently we are doing it in coastal and floodplains, as well in urban rooftops), especially arid and sea surfaces.

3. Integrated more options of farming like seaweeds, succulents, flori-culture mushrooms and and vine-farming

4. Introduce value chains in post harvest production chain to increase time span in supply chains by semi processing technology transfer. 

In next five years our goals are

1. To get organic certifications for all producer's group and fetch export licenses for going global with our products. 

2. Get funding through global funding windows like GCF or GEF etc. for expansion. 

There are three barriers before us are

1. Funding assistance for research and development, as we are non-profits and do not get investors. 

2. The barrier of social change in this post pandemic period, as since the social distancing  would increase the frequency of inculcating the beneficiaries, increase the pressure of production and supply and as well increase investments. 

3. Better low-cost technology for sustainable economic growth. 

As we plan to expand and scale this intervention in contrasting geo-ecology and societal systems globally in the coming years, these barriers will not only grow in dimension but also in its own complexities. We are planning to get more partnership, in terms of technology cooperation, carbon leverage assessments and economic benefit analysis so that we can pose the intervention for more funding from international climate funds like GCF and GEF. Furthering this, we are trying to get advisory and thinktank support to overcome these barriers. This is one strong reason we intend to apply for this MIT challenge. 

Full team staff: 05

Part time staff: 03

Assistants / volunteers: 8-10 average

Our team includes agronomists, solar engineers, fisheries experts and community outreach experts to handle all situations. We have an experience of over two decades of working in the community-science interface in this ecoregion. 

We are partnering with GIZ Germany, Global Development Network (World Bank Groups), Japan Social Development Fund, Asia pacific Network for Global Change Research and national bank for Agriculture & Rural Development in India. 

To ensure sustainable business model, place-based bankable business plan is worked out for each of the sites ensuring sustainable agrarian entrepreneurship for collective financing in mainstream economy towards economic security and inclusive growth.The intervention has a break-even period of 32 months and a profit ratio of 3.28% for sustainable income. Beneficiaries are earning 18-25% more with the new technology intervention. 
620 project beneficiaries successfully grew 37 MT of horticultural crops, seedlings and cut-flowers and raised 128 MT of table-fish during project span,  60 workshops had built capacities in 1500 farmers on adaptive resilient agriculture that is mainstreamed by the local stakeholders now. 120 master trainers are leading the enterprise now. 

We are applying to solve as we intend to expand our partnership in enabling us for cost effective and more adaptive technology cooperation to serve our beneficiaries better. We expect that this would be a gateway to more resources and funds for proliferating our research and innovation efforts making it a wider opportunity that is more inclusive and global. Our entry will also help in positive networking and collaborative efforts through this platform. This is also our expectation and we look forward to that. 

We are looking forward to a more accurate sustainable economics for the business model so that we can prescribe the size of the intervention and its business volume to any new group that is being initiated to this farming practice. Parallel to it, as since primary productivity systems in global south is always condemned for its emission heaviness and water footprints, we also want to  calibrate the carbon advantages of the solution technology and as well reduce the emission quotients while scaling it in other geo-ecology. The product delivery and supply chain needs adaptive value addition and as well pro-poor revenue linkages to the returns on investments. 

We are open to partnering with all and any organization that can help us in expanding across varied geo-ecology and societal systems. At the same time other solve members, faculties and / or initiatives of MIT are excellent resources for us to propel and scale up. The important support that we always seek from our partners, supporters and collaborators are 

1. Technology cooperation to make the systems more eco-friendly and economically viable and at the same time keeping them good for marginal communities as well. 

2. Research collaboration for adaptive management and scaling up through several other improvisations in production and supply chain systems. 

3. Help us learn about its carbon advantages, augment its emission abatement potentials and climate adaptive features, so that we can pledge it for larger funding and resource mobilization through global climate funds like GCF & GEF.  

The intervention is suitably designed for family to community size production chain and can best be done in inundated places. As it needs small space and not very energy or water intensive, its cost of production is also low. With all these benefits the interventions stands to be unique for refugees and IDP communities as they can use these growing trays in transit and as well in refugee camps as well. The system provides nutritive fresh horticultural products and important medicinal plants, along with protein security in daily diets which is very important for children, infants and lactating mothers, who are the most impacted in the refugee camps. This is equally significant in the context of pandemics, wherein immunity is a shield against infectious diseases like COVID. The intervention is also low investment low drudgery practice suitable for women and as well in developing small business in the local market. This makes the intervention more suitable for the communities and groups in refuge. For example, the Rohinga refugees in Bangladesh, migrant laborers in Bihar and Nepal are already trying to get the benefits from this intervention. This has enabled us for accomplishing the Inequality Challenge Award from GIZ, Germany. 

The intervention is actually made keeping in mind the women smallholders in ultra-poor indigenous communities, who undertake very hard labor for feeding their children and family, while the male members are away as casual laborers in urban settings. The system provides nutritive fresh horticultural products and important medicinal plants, along with protein security in daily diets which is very important for children, infants and lactating mothers. This is equally significant in the context of pandemics, wherein immunity is a shield against infectious diseases like COVID. The intervention is also low investment low drudgery practice suitable for women and as well in developing small business in the local market. This makes the intervention more suitable for the communities and groups in ultra poverty, as it gives more than food security. This also empowers the women in their placements in the decision support systems like energy and water budgeting, pricing and marketing and as well their financial inclusions. In coastal transborder areas of India and Bangladesh, like Kumirmari and Amtoli delta islands, where this project is now implemented, it has assured a radical decrease in women abuse, flesh trade and trafficking, as the women farming groups are mainstreamed through this interventions.