The CGIAR – the Advisory Group on International Agricultural Research – in collaboration with government agencies and other relevant stakeholders, launched the “International Agricultural Research Initiative”. Securing Asian mega-delta food systems for climate resilience and livelihoods (AMD)’ in Dhaka in August 2022.
With the aim of promoting resilient, inclusive and productive Asian mega-deltas, the first 3-year phase of the AMD initiative (2022-24) focused on the three main deltas in Asia: the Ganges Delta- Brahmaputra in Bangladesh and in India, the Irrawaddy. Delta in Myanmar and Mekong Delta in Vietnam and Cambodia.
In late February and early March this year, Dhaka hosted the annual meeting of the CGIAR AMD Initiative with high hopes to see this initiative roll out over a second three-year cycle (2025-2027) and thousands of agricultural households, particularly in the saline areas of Bangladesh. regions of the southern and southwest coastal belts benefiting from the AMD initiative. There are 1.2 million hectares of agricultural land in the coastal polder area of Bangladesh.
Based in Montpellier, France, CGIAR is the world’s largest agricultural innovation network. CGIAR Research Centers are non-profit research organizations that conduct innovative research. Home to more than 9,000 scientists, researchers, technicians and staff, the centers work to transform food, land and water systems amid the climate crisis.
The CGIAR Asian Mega-Deltas Initiative aims to create resilient, inclusive and productive deltas that maintain socio-ecological integrity, adapt to climatic and other stressors, and support human prosperity and well-being .
Home to 177 million people, Asia’s densely populated mega-deltas constitute biodiverse, fertile and productive food baskets, dominated by rice, fisheries and aquaculture and therefore hold great potential to make regional and food systems more durable. They support millions of people beyond the delta residents themselves. Deltas are approaching a significant tipping point. Tens of millions of small-scale producers in Asia’s megadeltas face risks to their food and nutrition security and livelihoods due to the impacts of climate change.
Recent coastal elevation models show that Asian mega-deltas are much lower than expected and will be severely affected by more frequent and intense flooding, sea level rise and freshwater salinization and the ground. The models also predict water shortages, severe cyclones and extreme weather events, which could lead to an annual loss of 6% of GDP in Southeast Asia, more than twice the global average. These trends will put increased pressure on those who remain. The result is likely to be a further erosion of food security and an increase in poverty and hunger.
AMD lens
The AMD initiative aims to create resilient, inclusive and productive deltas, which maintain socio-ecological integrity, adapt to climatic and other stressors, and support human prosperity and well-being, by removing barriers systems for scaling up transformative technologies and practices at the community and national level. and regional.
Bangladesh apart. Countries mandated by the AMD initiative also include India, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. At the recent Dhaka meeting, Vietnam awarded a certificate of merit to the CGIAR Asian Mega Delta Initiative (AMD) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for their outstanding performance in the implementation of AMD, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the country’s agriculture. and the rural development sector. Dr. Dao The Anh, Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, presented the award to IRRI and AMD through Dr. Bjoern Ole Sander and Dr. Khondker Murshed-e-Jahan, respectively responsible and co-responsible for the AMD.
Five priority areas
The CGIAR Asian Mega-Deltas Initiative strives to identify, synthesize, evaluate, adapt and scale technical, institutional and policy innovations through a range of activities focused on the following five specific areas:
- Improving deltaic production systems: Work with farmers and local governments to identify, synthesize, evaluate and scale interventions to ensure systems can adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change.
- Develop nutrition-sensitive delta agri-food systems: Promote sustainable production and consumption of nutritious foods, by involving institutional actors in the joint design of investment strategies and interventions.
- Reducing the risks of delta-oriented value chains: Use digital climate advice and complementary services and collaborate with stakeholders at all levels to reduce climate risks among smallholders (including women and youth) and facilitate investments in deltaic value chains.
- Facilitate inclusive governance of delta food systems: Strengthen the capacities of national, provincial and local actors to plan, design and implement more sustainable food systems and improve the inclusiveness and accountability of public and private agriculture-related investments and interventions in Asian mega-deltas .
Introducing evidence-based delta development planning:Enhance the development of climate-resilient and inclusive food systems in Asian mega-deltas through evidence-informed policy dialogue and strategic planning, including dual development options of adaptation and mitigation in planning national and subnational for deltas.
