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Abstract The purposes of this study were to determine the present state of use of eco-friendly crop production practices by the beneficiaries of “safe crop production through eco-friendly approaches” project and non-beneficiary smallholder farmers and to explore the factors that may influence their use. The study’s population was the smallholder farmers of 2 villages (Darirampur and Birrampur Uzanpara) of Rampur union under Trishal upazila (sub-district) of Bangladesh. 60 beneficiaries and 60 non-beneficiaries were randomly selected as samples from a population of 270 beneficiaries and 585 non-beneficiaries. Thus, the total sample was 120 smallholder farmers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The respondents were asked to give responses regarding their use of 21 practices following a 4-point rating scale. The highest proportion (95%) of the beneficiaries had medium extent of use, whereas highest proportion (85%) of the non-beneficiaries had low extent of use. The multiple linear regression analysis showed educational level, annual income, training experience, extension media contact, knowledge, and attitude toward eco-friendly crop production practices were the influential variables for the beneficiaries explaining 81.8% variation. However, for the non-beneficiaries, annual income, training experience, organizational participation, and credit received were the influential variables explaining 78.1% variation. The beneficiaries are more environmentally conscious than the non-beneficiaries, which highlights the need for authorities to involve more farmers in future projects to ensure safe crop production and better environmental health.

Ensuring the success of fish farming is crucial for food security and economic development in Bangladesh. Farmers' Information and Advice Centers (FIACs) provide essential guidance to fish farmers. Considering the issues, the study therefore, assessed the perception of 117 fish farmers in Melandah and Islampur upazilas (sub-districts), Jamalpur district, regarding FIAC services, which are important to providing support for farmer's needs through FIAC. Data were collected through structured questionnaire from the sampled fish farmers during 16 August to 30 September 2022. Fish farmers' perception on FIAC was the focus variable and it was measured using a 4-point rating scale. Results showed an overwhelming majority of farmers (92.3%) had moderately favourable perceptions of FIAC services, while only a few had highly favourable perceptions. Correlation analyses revealed significant relationship between education, income, experience, training, and media contact with farmers' perceptions, indicating external factors determining the effectiveness of FIAC activities. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that experience in fish farming, training on fish farming and extension media contact were the influential variables that could significantly contribute to their perception and these variables could explain 32.4% variation. Concerning challenges, the most pressing issues included inadequate staffing, insufficient infrastructure for meetings, and inadequate long-term training programs through FIACs. These findings underscore the need for tailored, demand-driven services to enhance fish farmers' perceptions of FIAC services and improve their overall fish farming experiences. [Fundam Appl Agric 2023; 8(4.000): 668-676]

In recent years, rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other negative environmental effects of human activity have raised concerns about the planet's future. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and economic activity have shown a surge in CO2 emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of such as gross domestic product, gross domestic product square, foreign direct investment, environmental diplomacy, environmental diplomacy security, and renewable energy consumption on environmental degradation. This study provides a new perspective on environmental diplomacy in OECD countries using panel data econometric methodologies from 1991 to 2020. It contributes to our understanding of the role of environmental and economic factors in reducing CO2 emissions. The panel data is also analyzed by CD, CIPS, FMOLS, DOLS, and PMG-ARDL tests. However, as per the findings of this research, all the factors significantly impact environmental degradation (Co2 emission). Finding data to either confirm or deny the efficacy of the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory within the framework of OECD countries is possible through this approach. This policy framework attempts to solve the issues at the connection of environmental diplomacy and economic concerns by emphasizing cooperation and sustainability and incorporating environmental considerations into economic decision-making processes in OECD countries.

The use of social media platforms has revolutionized the way rural farmers receive information and support from agricultural experts and extension services. However, the role of social media in meeting the information and technological needs of urban rooftop gardeners remains unclear. The study utilizes the Theory of Virtual Community Practice (VCoP) to address this research gap and employs a qualitative, inductive research approach. We investigate the potential of Facebook groups in bridging the extension service gap and addressing the information deficit faced by urban rooftop gardeners. Our study involves extracting data from two Facebook-based VCoPs using CrowdTangle and analysis using ATLAS.ti software. The findings of our study highlight six communication behaviors: supporting outreach, crowdsourcing, knowledge sharing and learning, engaging groups or communities, cooperating, and popularity and promotion. These behaviors provide insights into various aspects of community engagement, interaction, and outcomes. With the help of social media platforms, rooftop gardeners can connect, share experiences, seek advice, and access valuable information on rooftop gardening. This study is the first to explore the potential of Facebook groups in bridging the extension service gap and addressing the information deficit faced by urban rooftop gardeners.

Technological progress has a positive footprint on the global economy, and this can curb carbon emissions. This study aims to estimates the technical progress and CO2 emissions from Bangladesh’s manufacturing and industrial sector covering the period 1980 to 2018. We carried a quantile regression model to analyze the impact of technological progress on CO2 emissions and to establish the association among the variables. The study’s empirical outcomes are: First, the model’s R-square reaches 0.9, which suggests that these models clarify the driving factor of carbon emissions more than 90%. Second, the manufacturing sectors’ technological progress has a positive impact while the industrial sectors’ technological progress has mix impact on CO2 emissions. Third, the estimated CO2 emissions growth is rising with lower environmental effects from 2019 to 2040. Fourth, the estimations and policies might help Bangladesh contribute to improving management capability, technical development, public awareness, energy-saving technologies, energy efficiency measures, and supporting green technology in both sectors. Further policies are given below, which will assist Bangladesh’s policymakers in acknowledging appropriately.

The present study empirically analyzes the impact of energy consumption, such as oil, gas, coal, gross domestic product, and urbanization, on environmental degradation in the form of CO2 emissions. The study objective is to identify the long-run and short-run interrelationships among the six key variables. The investigation is based on the time-series yearly data for the period of 1980–2020. We tested the stationarity for the variables using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test and applied the Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds model to investigate the cointegration relationship between the variables. The study also examined the short and long-run relationship to identify the variables’ causality impact over time. The results conclude that: (i) overall energy consumption and GDP have a unidirectional causality with CO2 emission in the long and short-run, which confirms that energy, economic growth and urbanization have an increasing impact on carbon emissions, (ii) the results also indicate for a short-run causality from energy, economy and urbanization and to CO2 emissions, (iii) the urbanization has a negative impact in the short term because of the industrialization, and (iv) the results conclude that Bangladesh should take stringent actions to control the surging CO2 emissions. Following the above conclusion, we highlight a few policy implications for enhancing green development in Bangladesh.

This research investigates the nexus between natural gas consumption (NGC), economic growth (EG), urban population, unemployment, and services value-added in Bangladesh during 1990–2019. This study employs various quantitative methods, including autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), ARDL bounds and vector error correction models to estimate the impacts of NGC on key economic factors to approximate the short and long-run cointegration bond. According to the findings, EG, NGC, unemployment, urban population, and service value-added are all cointegrated in both short and long-term interactions, which mean that gas consumption causes economic growth. The empirical results also estimate that unemployment and urban population found significant relationships with NGC. NGC and EG have a bidirectional link, according to the findings on causality breakdown. Also, it is found the association between urban population, unemployment, and service value-added and NGC is bidirectional. Therefore, to regulate both NGC and other factors could help Bangladesh's prospects for achieving development goal under Vision-2041 over future. Further policies may employ our findings to state applicable policies to enhance the economy, environment and to reduce carbon emission using modern technologies across Bangladesh.

Due to the vast conserves of Bangladesh's natural gas's total demand has increased in the last decade. Natural gas was a primary source of energy and played a vital role in Bangladesh's sectorial consumption and rapid economic development. This study explores the factors influencing natural gas consumption in Bangladesh from 1994 to 2018 using logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) between changes in influencing factors such as share of natural gas, energy intensity, economic structure, economic activity, and population. This study has been conducted at the national level. The results show that: (1) economic structure, population, and the economic activity performed a significant role in growing natural gas consumption during the period. (2) Energy intensity shows a decreasing trend and hindered it. (3) Natural gas use indicates a mixed effect, which is showing a strong relationship between gas consumption and the economy. (4) Based on the overall consequences, the increase in population, economic activity, and economic structure are the crucial factors responsible for the rise in natural gas consumption. Concurrently, the energy intensity impacts contribute to lessening the gas consumption. Finally, the scenario analysis found that the increase in natural gas utilization estimates higher economic development and saves more energy over the future. Based on the main findings, few targeted policy recommendations are provided below.

Climate change is a key global issue. The continuous increase in greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), from non-renewable energy sources, is the primary driver of climate change. This study sheds light on this issue by examining the historical CO2 emissions of Bangladesh's electricity sector from 1979 to 2018. This study applies the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method to three distinct scenarios regarding future emissions. The results of the study are as follows: (1) the impact of government action, population, and substitution results show optimistic outcomes, while CO2 intensity and power intensity show negative impacts in lessening carbon emissions; (2) The emissions scenario analysis (ESa) from 1979 to 2040 estimates that the continued interaction of these activities with the population and with the coal industry, and predicts that proper deployment of renewable energy technologies can reduce CO2 emissions in Bangladesh; (3) The forecasted results of the analyses suggest that CO2 emissions will peak at 58.97 Mtoe by 2040, which can be reduced by renewable (i.e. solar, wind, biomass) and energy technologies in Bangladesh. Some relevant policy proposals are proffered based on some of the key findings of this study.