The Agricultural Extension Support Activity (AESA/ Ag Extension Project) and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Bangladesh have been working together in the south west region of the country for strengthening the extension service system and also to support farmers and producer groups to access effective extension services.
As a part of this initiative AESA along with DAE had already launched the Agricultural Extension Service Centers (AESCs) at different blocks in the four demo upazilas of Kalia, Narail, Chougacha, Jessore, Faridpur Sadar, Faridpur and at Barisal Sadar, Barisal.
The project wants DAE to support the project’s activities beyond the four demo upazilas. Accordingly, several coordination meeting were organized between DAE and AESA. The main objective of these meeting was to include the project’s activities in SAAOs’ work plans.
Md. Zakir Hossain, DDAE (Project implementation & Evaluation), DAE, who is the focal point of DAE and the Chief of Party of AESA project, Bidyuth K. Mahalder along with Sanjoy Kumar Das, UAO, Keshobpur, Jessore, Md. Amzad Hossain, UAO, Sadar, Satkhira, Birandra Nath Mozumder, UAO, Kalia, Narail, Md. Latiful Haider, Ag. Extension Specialist, RM and DMs of respective districts and other representatives from DAE and AESA project were present at these meeting.
These meeting were very useful as both the local representatives of DAE and AESA were introduced here. It was decided at these meeting that the project will supply the lists of FPG members to SAAOs and also to the UAOs and the DDs of respective areas. The project will also share their monthly program with UAOs so that the SAAOs will include the project activities in their fortnightly work plans.
An office order from DAE was also circulated for this purpose.
The representatives of DAE and AESA visited different FPGs and also the AESCs for better coordination of their activities.