The document summarizes a project aimed at improving food security and livelihoods of Adivasi communities in northern and northwestern Bangladesh. Some key points: - Adivasi communities face high levels of poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition. They rely on agriculture and natural resources for income and food. - The project trained over 3,600 households in aquaculture techniques like pond farming and introduced rice-fish systems. This increased fish production, income, and consumption of fish. - Household incomes from aquaculture rose from 3% to 15% on average. Fish consumption also increased substantially. The project helped reduce food shortages. - Impacts included continued adoption of activities

1. Adivasi – Poverty Impacts Adivasi are indigenous people (>2 million out of total 159 million population) from different ethnic communities in Bangladesh Benoy Barman and KM Jahan Bangladesh and South Asia Office

2. Adivasi Adivasi are poor, marginalized and disadvantaged people, majority of them are suffering due to food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition Majority live in hilly areas in isolated locations, some of them live in the plain lands and less hilly areas in NW and Northern Bangladesh Have limited options and capacities for income earning, mainly work as unskilled seasonal agricultural labour From time immemorial they depend largely on terrestrial and aquatic resources to gather/harvest food for their livelihoods Communities differ socially and culturally, with different mother tongue other than Bangla

3. 1 dec = 40.47m 2 1 US$ =70Tk >50% of the Adivasi in North and NW regions are landless and one-third of them have small land holdings About one-third of household’s annual income <20000 Tk (<US$286)

4. Adivasis in Bangladesh

7. Project Working Area

8. Innovative approach of use of technologies on aquaculture and aquaculture related activities

12. Outputs/outcomes • The increased income improved the food security of Adivasi households, reducing their food deficit period from 1.8 months in 2007 to 1.1 months in 2009 to on average of 1.1 months • Asset Development: productive assets renovated ponds, ricefields with dikes, cages, nets and improved habitat developed • Knowledge Development: promotion of low-cost technologies and enterprises development • Outcomes of 12 Action Research and impact studies: addressing identified constraints and following-up on potential benefits and use for Policy Advocacy