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.

MGI, a local conglomerate, wanted to extend its sustainable efforts. After 2 years of research, we innovated a new method of sustainable farming that provides a solution for landless farmers to improve their livelihoods and tackles plastic pollution in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a low-lying country and agriculture is the heart and soul of this nation. In 2023, the GDP from Agriculture in Bangladesh stood at a staggering 3479.70 Million BDT. However, due to rising water levels, floods and riverbank land erosion, agricultural land is being lost. As a result, over 4 million farmers became climate refugees. On the other hand, Bangladesh is a delta nation with over 907 rivers flowing in from neighbouring nations. The rivers of this nation carry 73,000 tons of plastic every day.

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.

The Plastic Farming initiative was inspired by low-tech solutions and the adaption of agricultural practices such as floating farms.

"Fungi belonging to genera such as Aspergillus, Clonostachys, Fusarium, Pseudozyma, Penicillium, Trichoderma, and others have shown potential in degrading bioplastics in different ecosystems, including soil, compost, and aquatic systems. The enzymatic activity of these fungi plays a crucial role in the biodegradation process" (Sankhla, Sharma, & Tak, 2020).

Bangladesh is a low-lying country. Due to rising water levels, floods and riverbank land erosion, agricultural lands are being lost.

When working on ‘Plastic Farming’, reaching the farmers in rural areas was an initial limitation. Another was convincing farmers to adopt a non-traditional farming method.

Budgets:

Research - $10,000

Prototype - $3,000

Testing - $3,500

Piloting - $7,000

Activation - $21,000

Printing - $1,100

Filming - $10,000

Photography - $500

Media buying - $3,700

Paid media PR - $1,200

Logistics - $1,300

The main insight that drove this campaign was that fungi consume micro-plastic in water. This made it easier for us to innovate a new method of farming which uses plastic containers.

Help restore livelihoods to climate refugees/landless farmers. Decrease plastic pollution across the water bodies of Bangladesh. Increase sustainability efforts for MGI.

Initially, the farmers were taught hands-on how to collect plastic from water bodies, create floating farms, and release fungi to manage potential micro-plastic issues. The initiative was extended with nationwide activations, a free website, video tutorials, and manuals accompanying MGI products.

After 2 years of thorough research led by Dr. Chayon Goswami of Bangladesh Agricultural University, 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.

At first plastic bottles are collected from water bodies, then simple bamboo frames are created and the collected bottles are placed in the frame. Then a layer of water hyacinth is put on top which turns into compost over time, showing that it is ready for plantation. As crops are produced, microplastic-eating fungi are spread around the site.

Initially, the farmers were taught hands-on at workshops on how to implement plastic farming. The initiative was extended with nationwide activations, a free website, video tutorials, and manuals accompanying MGI products.

Research led by Dr. Chayon Goswami of Bangladesh Agricultural University began on 1st August 2021 Lab prototypes were developed during this stage.

On 1st August 2023, the first on-ground prototypes were 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.

The Plastic Farming initiative aims to provide a sustainable farming solution to landless farmers as well as hydroponic farming enthusiasts, while also continuing to reduce the effects of plastic pollution across the nation.

The Plastic Farming initiative has huge scalability. The main requirement for this initiative is a water body, and as Bangladesh is a riverine country, this initiative can be implemented nationwide.

Results:

Collected 125 tons of plastic waste

Held 187 training sessions online and offline

Trained 15,232 farmers hands-on

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 2.4M+ acres for potential farmland

Converted 9,000+ climate refugees into farmers

As Plastic Farming is a sustainable farming solution using items found nearby, it required a one-time investment from MGI for it to have started and low investment from the farmers' end to continue.