Due to climate change, Bangladesh is losing agricultural land. As a result, there are currently millions of climate refugees in Bangladesh. Simultaneously, plastic pollution is ever on the rise. The rivers carry tons of plastic waste every day. After two years of research, we invented a new farming process that uses plastic waste as a resource.

The Plastic Farming initiative involved 187 online and offline training sessions. To conduct these sessions, we went and directly interacted with 15,232 farmers and provided hands-on training on how to use plastic waste to fabricate floating farms.

Bangladesh faces massive plastic pollution. However, due to a lack of waste management systems and the absence of recycling behaviour, most people in Bangladesh don't take ownership and act to decrease the amount of plastic pollution. Since the nation is a delta country, it has a lot of water bodies and in turn, the plastic ends up in the rivers and seas. There has also been massive land shrinkage due to rising water levels and floods, leading to almost 4M landless farmers.

Situation: Since Bangladesh is a low-lying country, climate change and environmental degradation cause major problems such as the shrinkage of agricultural land. There are currently over 4 million landless farmers due to rising water levels and floods. On the other hand, the rivers in the nation carry 73,000 tons of plastic waste every day. Harming both aquatic life and negatively affecting global warming. MGI, a conglomerate that has products that contribute to plastic pollution, felt it was its responsibility to help change this situation.

Brief: As a conglomerate, MGI has a large plastic footprint and Bangladesh is a country that already suffers from environmental inequality. Come up with a project which can potentially improve this scenario.

Objectives: Help restore livelihoods to climate refugees/landless farmers.

Decrease plastic pollution across the water bodies of Bangladesh.

Increase sustainability efforts for MGI.

After two years of research led by Dr. Chayon Goswami of Bangladesh Agricultural University, we invented a new farming process that uses plastic waste as a resource. MGI presents Plastic Farming, an initiative to turn plastic waste into floating farms.

To spread the project, we partnered up with Bidyanondo, a voluntary organization that brought the landless farmers together, and the local government’s agriculture officers who taught them the process of Plastic Farming.

Process: Together, they taught farmers how to begin plastic farming; at first plastic bottles were collected from water bodies, then simple bamboo frames were created and the collected bottles were placed in the frame, then a layer of water hyacinth was put on top, after waiting for the water hyacinth to turn into compost, crop seeds were planted, microplastic eating fungi were spread around the site, and crops were produced.

Data Gathering: Data was collected from reputable sources like The Daily Star, The Financial Express BD, Dhaka Tribune, and other news hubs, focusing on the impact of plastic pollution and the shortage of agricultural land.

Target Audience: The primary target audience of this initiative are the landless farmers and climate refugees of the country, while people interested in hydroponic farming are the secondary target audience.

Approach: We partnered with local government agricultural officers and Bidyanondo, a well-known volunteer organization. Together, we visited villages with abundant waterbodies, teaching farmers how to repurpose plastic bottles for farming. We also created a free website, engaged with agricultural enthusiasts and influencers on social media, and printed manuals on Plastic Farming for specific regions. This initiative not only improved farmers' lives but also promoted sustainable farming by repurposing plastic waste.

Call to Action: Learn plastic farming to save the environment and farm without land.

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

Being a large local conglomerate, Meghna Group of Industries (MGI) has a substantial plastic footprint. One of the core pillars of MGI’s operations is ‘Environment Sustainability’. As a responsible business entity, MGI wanted to reduce its plastic footprint.

Also, Meghna Group of Industries is named after the Meghna river in Bangladesh, even the brand’s logo is inspired by the flowing river.

The plastic Farming initiative aligns with the brand’s goals and identity. Hence, MGI was eager to initiate and implement Plastic Farming as effectively as possible.