Participatory Approaches to Digital Technology Adoption for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, farmers are primarily smallholders and are relatively new to practising digital communication tools for climate-smart agriculture. This is crucial because the country’s agriculture largely depends on the climate, and the variables associated with climate change now pose an immense threat to agriculture. Interestingly, Bangladeshi farmers are keen to use digital technologies, and the circumstances created in the agriculture market due to the COVID-19 pandemic have amplified their interest in digital communication technologies. This chapter initially discusses the significance of climate-smart agriculture and the application of digital communication tools in this context. It also illustrates the participatory approach to adopting digital communication technologies in Bangladesh in both pre-COVID and post-COVID situations, as well as the challenges associated with farmers’ participation. Finally, the chapter examines how the government of Bangladesh has addressed these identified challenges in accordance with existing national policies.