| Overview : The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) located in southeastern corner of Bangladesh, is recognized as one of the most diverse areas in the country. The CHT is unique with hilly and remote terrain, poor rural communication infrastructure, ethnic & cultural diversity, scattered settlements on the isolated and remote places, and a history of political unrest that ended through the Peace Accord signed in 1997. Following the signing of Peace Accord in 1997, UNDP responded to the development needs, with the support of international Donors and Government of Bangladesh through the project titled Promotion of Development and Confidence Building in the CHT – which started in 2003 – and delivery of support through the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility with support provided in partnership with the EU, Denmark, USAID, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Canada and Australia. The Community Empowerment programme (CEP) is one of the major parts of the Facility’s interventions and manages four different components: (a) Community Empowerment, (b) Economic Development, (c) Agriculture and Food Security Project (AFSP II) and (d) CHT Watershed Co-management Activity (CHTWCA). The Agriculture and Food Security Project in CHT (AFSP II) is supported by Danida under the Agricultural Growth and Employment Programme (AGEP). The project duration is July 2013 to June 2018 and targets to establish 1800 FFS in 25 upazilas of CHT. 690 Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) were established during AFSP phase I as Integrated Farm Management Farmer Field School (IFM-FFS) across the CHT through which the farmers are learning on improvement of production and diversifying income options related to agricultural practices. The objective of AFSP II is “increased pro-poor and inclusive growth and sustainable employment creation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), and accelerated implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord” with the aim to establish additional 1,800 FFSs. FAO started to work in CHT in 2012, and since has undertaken a number of initiatives ranging from support to agricultural policy to direct assistance to food insecure households in remote areas of the region. On a policy level, and as part of the HDC Agricultural Strategies which FAO technically supported, FAO is supporting the establishment of an Agricultural Planning Unit (APU) within each of the HDCs. The role of this Unit, led by an Agriculture Officer on deputation from the line ministry (Department of Agricultural Extension) is to increase the HDCs’ intrinsic capacity for much-needed policy and programming specific to the CHT. In remote areas of CHT (northern and southern borders) FAO is promoting a diversified agricultural approach through distribution of quality agricultural inputs and training/ Farmer Field Schools to enhance households’ resilience to shocks and stresses and increase their food security. In continuation of AFSP II, the Inclusive Sustainable Agricultural Growth in Chittagong Hill Tracts (ISAG) project is expected to be funded by Danida during 2018 to 2021 and address the systemic issue of the divergence between intensification of current farming practices and natural resource management. The project focuses on promotion of sustainable agricultural intensification and intervenes in vulnerable communities to improve the sustainability of farmers’ livelihoods. ISAG is planned to be implemented through the existing intervention infrastructure established under AFSP II through Green Growth Farmer Field Schools. As such, the objective of ISAG is “fostering sustainable development in CHT by promoting green growth and improving food security”. The UN agencies in Bangladesh have developed a UN Programmatic Framework for CHT Support during 2015-2022 under the title of Accelerating Development and Sustaining Peace in Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Programmatic Framework outlined in three pillars – 1) Sustainable Livelihoods and Food Security, 2) Effective and equitable coverage of quality basic services and practices, and 3) Governance and Social Cohesion. The Pillar 1 of Sustainable livelihood and food security focuses 3 (three) major Components e.g. (i) Enhancing nutrition, dietary diversity and household food security through sustainable agricultural development and behavioural change communication; (ii) Management of natural resources and risks, and strengthen households and communities resilience to cope with shocks and stresses and (iii) livelihood improvement through market strengthening and development of off-farm income generating activities. AFSP II and ISAG will be implemented jointly by UNDP and FAO within pillar 1 of the Programmatic Framework in partnership with the Government of Bangladesh and CHT institutions during the period September 2015 to June 2022. A Development Project Proposal (DPP) and Project Document will be prepared constituting the agreement between the Government of Bangladesh and two UN agencies | 
