Practical Action Bangladesh wins first ever UN World Soil Day award

Practical Action has been awarded the World Soil Day Award (WSDA) 2018 by the UN General Assembly, for organising the best World Soil Day celebration in 2017 raising awareness of soil rejuvenation. This FAO-initiated award is funded by the Kingdom of Thailand.

Practical Action has introduced the ‘Soil Care Award’ since 2017, jointly with the Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI), in Bangladesh. Together with SRDI, Practical Action organised a number of rallies, seminars and field visits with participation of more than 5,500 people for raising awareness of the importance of soil rejuvenation in the country. 

The celebrations targeted a range of audiences from farmers to scientists, policy makers, practitioners and the general public. Local newspapers, radio and TV channels covered the events giving wider visibility to World Soil Day celebrations involving a range of stakeholders and putting soil for food security and sustainable development high on the agenda in Bangladesh.

Hasin Jahan, Country Director of Practical Action Bangladesh said: “Winning the first ever World Soil Day Award adds another feather to Practical Action’s cap. This award will inspire us to continue our work on sustainable agriculture and we are grateful to the Kingdom of Thailand and the FAO for recognising us.”

For more information, please visit: http://www.fao.org/global-soil-partnership/pillars-action/2-awareness-raising/world-soil-day-award/first-wsda/en/.