Bangladesh's vulnerability to climate change and environmental degradation, exacerbated by its low-lying terrain, poses a severe threat to agricultural land. Over 4 million farmers have become landless due to rising water levels and floods. Simultaneously, the nation's rivers carry a staggering 73,000 tons of plastic waste daily, contributing to aquatic harm and global warming.

Brand Values:

MGI, as a conglomerate, places environmental responsibility at its core. Acknowledging the existing environmental inequality in Bangladesh, MGI felt compelled to initiate change.

Brief:

Given MGI's substantial plastic footprint and Bangladesh's environmental challenges, the project aimed to devise a solution that could significantly change the current scenario.

Objectives:

Empower climate refugees and landless farmers to rebuild their livelihoods.

Mitigate plastic pollution across Bangladesh's water bodies.

Strengthen MGI's commitment to sustainability, aligning with global environmental goals.

Facing the dual challenges of agricultural land loss due to global warming, rendering over 4 million farmers climate refugees, and the pervasive issue of rivers carrying 73,000 tons of plastic waste daily, MGI and Bidyanondo collaborated on a groundbreaking initiative – 'Plastic Farming.' This innovative solution addresses both concerns simultaneously by transforming plastic waste into floating farms. Two years of research led by Dr. Chayon Goswami of Bangladesh Agricultural University revealed that fungi can consume micro-plastics. Harnessing this discovery, Plastic Farming repurposes plastic waste for hydroponic farming, presenting a sustainable solution to climate refugees. The initiative ingeniously combines environmental stewardship and community support, illustrating how a single creative idea can positively impact both ecological and social challenges.

The initiative's strategy entailed collaboration with Bidyanondo and local government agriculture officers to educate farmers, ensuring the widespread adoption of Plastic Farming. Data was meticulously gathered from reputable news portals, including The Daily Star, The Financial Express BD, and Dhaka Tribune, highlighting the impact of plastic pollution and agricultural land scarcity.

The primary target audience comprised climate refugees, while individuals interested in hydroponic farming served as the secondary target. Recognizing the escalating impact of global warming on agricultural lands and the rivers' daily transport of plastic waste, MGI's 'Plastic Farming' initiative offered a unique solution. By introducing climate refugees to this innovative farming method, it not only repurposed plastic waste, mitigating pollution, but also created vital farmland, providing a sustainable livelihood for those affected by climate-related displacement.

Implementation: Nationwide workshops, a free website, video tutorials and manuals attached to MGI products were released to help other farmers. To take care of any potential microplastic, the farmers were shown how to release fungi around the sites.

Timeline: After 2 years of thorough research, on 1st August, the first prototype was implemented in 2 locations to initially launch the initiative. After 3 months of observation, the campaign was executed on a large scale in November 2023 and is still in motion.

Placement: Initially, farmers around Pirojpur and Gopalganj were provided with the workshop. Later, nationwide workshops, a free website, video tutorials and manuals attached to MGI products were released to help other farmers and spread the project.

Scale: Initially, over 500 farmers were taught about Plastic Farming. The initiative was then implemented throughout the nation and to date, 15,232 farmers have been taught about Plastic Farming.

Created a new recycling management system through the farmers. Then the farmers collected 187 tons of plastic waste

47,332 floating beds across 192 affected villages

Held 117 training sessions in affected areas both through online and offline channels

Trained 19,232 landless farmers hands-on

Produced 84,60,000 kilograms of vegetables in 6 months

Distributed 102,000 flyers

2.1M+ USD campaign PR value

2.4M+ views on video tutorials

11,573,842 Social media reach

2.5M+ Social media engagement

Enabled 2.5M+ acres for potential farmland

Converted 9,200+ climate refugees into farmers

A free website with tutorial resources was created to spread the project globally

Project target: 10,00,000 farmers to begin Plastic Farming within 5 years