DHAKA, BANGLADESH – July 23, 2025 – Bangladesh significantly enhanced its agricultural resilience against climate change with the formal launch of the Next Generation Bangladesh Agro-Meteorological Information Service (BAMIS) Mobile Application. This launch marked the conclusion of a milestone project for climate resilience in agriculture. The event was co-organized by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) held at the Padma Hall, Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.

This pivotal workshop celebrated the advancement of a dynamic application developed by DAE under the Ministry of Agriculture. The BAMIS mobile app integrates essential meteorological data from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), hydrological data from the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), and information from the BAMIS web portal. The initiative aimed to mitigate climate-related agricultural risks and enable efficient farm planning. The project received support from the World Bank's 5-year Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) for South Asia Project (2020-2025) under the Component 1, focusing on promoting evidence-based climate-smart policies and investments. This component was instrumental in the further development, enhancement, and operational maintenance of the BAMIS mobile application, alongside the Kiosk Monitoring System (KMS) and the Beneficiary Database Portal.

The workshop commenced with Rayhanul Zannat moderating the event and outlining the project objectives. Raihanul Haque Khan, Country Program Lead for RIMES, delivered the welcome remarks, detailing the strong collaboration between DAE and RIMES through the CARE for South Asia Project. He highlighted the existing mobile alert and advisory dissemination mechanisms, shared valuable field experiences, and discussed strategies for project scalability and way forward. Mr. Khan emphasized the critical importance of integrating Climate Information Services (CIS) into other relevant projects for maximum impact.

The formal launch of the BAMIS Mobile Application was a key moment, led by a distinguished panel including Mr. Md. Saiful Alam, Director General of DAE; Md. Obaidur Rahman Mondol, Director of Field Services, DAE; Md. Rafiqul Islam, Director of Research, BRRI; Md. Habibullah, Director, Admin and Finance Wing, DAE; Raihanul Haque Khan, Country Program Lead, RIMES; and other respected officials.

Following the launch, Md. Mobinur Rahman provided an insightful explanation of the system's improvements over its previous web-based version and offered a comprehensive live demonstration of its key tools and features. Mr. Rahman detailed the core functionalities of the New BAMIS App, which included: 10-Day Location Specific Weather Forecasts; Flood Risk and Weather Alerts with interactive maps; Personalized Crop Management; AI-Based Crop Disease Detection for Potato, Rice, and Tomato; Dynamic Bulletins from DAE; an Online Library featuring agricultural books and videos; Personalized Notifications and Task Reminders; and Multi-language (Bangla/English) support with Offline Access. He also outlined the app's exciting Future Vision with ongoing usage.

Building on the technical demonstration, Urmee Ahsan, Deputy Director, BAMIS Unit, DAE, emphasized the critical role of the BAMIS Portal in facilitating easier information dissemination to farmers. She highlighted how detailed website information had been seamlessly translated into an accessible mobile app with personalized features designed to directly benefit farmers. Ms. Ahsan stressed that the built-in feedback mechanism would be crucial for continuous improvements and for implementing more localized measures. 

A participatory question-and-answer session with the audience followed, allowing for feedback and clarification. Suggestions included demands for location-specific impact analysis related to weather and advisories, a combined disease app for more crops, AI-driven location-wise cropping suggestions, and the integration of disaster monitoring with the BAMIS wing for stronger farmer messaging. DAE and RIMES representatives jointly addressed these questions.

Afterwards, Md. Habibullah, Director, Admin and Finance Wing, DAE, emphasized the necessity of a large-scale launch for broader dissemination and underscored the collective duty to spread awareness about the app's benefits in decision-making and daily life for farmers. The Chief Guest, Mr. Saiful Alam, Director General, DAE, thanked both RIMES and DAE, stressing the importance of utilizing all available apps and highlighting the key role early warning forecasting played in reducing farmer losses. Lastly, the Chairperson, Md. Obaidur Rahman Mondol, Director Field Services, DAE, officially closed the program, praising the application and noting that its essential improvements would be ongoing. (30)