Extensive tree plantation can help eradicating poverty in the char areas alongside addressing the adverse impact of climate change, development activists said.The observation came at separate brief-discussions held at different communities in Char Alatali and Char Narayanpur Unions in Sadar upazila of Chapainawabganj district marking distribution of 2,200 saplings of fruit-bearing and forest trees among the locals on Tuesday.There are more than 20,000 families live in the riverbeds and they are deprived of most of the fundamental rights particularly education, health and sanitation, officials concerned said.Agriculture Sustainable and Socio-economic Development Organisation (ASSEDO) under its Nadi O Ziban (River and Life) Project-2 hosted the tree sapling distribution programme in association with Concern Worldwide.Upazila Vice Chairman Ziaul Haque Tota, ASSEDO Executive Director Agriculturist Rabiul Alam, Upazila Agriculture Officer Aminuzzaman, District Forests Officer Sultanur Azim and Narayan UP Chairman Khoaz Ali spoke on the occasions, among others.The discussants viewed that natural calamities especially drought and flood are creating negative impact on agriculture and food security and the ability of people to withstand climatic variability.Rabiul Alam said that the main thrust of the five-year Nadi O Ziban programme is to ensure food security of the extreme poor community through involving them in diversified productive and income generating activities.To this end, the project has provision to reduce the erosion of assets and income especially homesteads houses, standing crops, livestock, trees, utensils and furniture. Linkage is being established with union level disaster management committee for capacity building and reducing their vulnerability relating to the adverse impact of climate change through organisational and national level climate change initiatives.Upon successful implementation of the project by June 2016, acreage of homestead gardening coupled with the number of gardeners will be enhanced.As a whole, livelihood condition of the targeted people will be elevated side by side with qualitative change in farming activities and production. – BSS, Rajshahi
