Bangladesh's strategy for equipping farmers in the face of growing saltiness in soil:
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In the coastal regions of Bangladesh, the dry season often brings a grim reality: soil and water salinity that devastates crops, leaving much of the farmland lying fallow outside the rainy season. However, a determined smallholder farmer named Rita Bashar is defying the odds, thanks to a new approach to farming that's helping her thrive even in challenging conditions.
Bashar's story is one of resilience and innovation in the face of climate change. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization predicts that climate change will affect half of all arable land worldwide with salinity by 2050. In Bangladesh, this threat is all too real, compounded by the widespread cultivation of shrimp in the coastal region, which seeps saltwater into already salinated fields and freshwater fish ponds.
But Bashar, like many smallholder farmers in the country, is being enabled to grow nutritious produce through programmes designed to help farmers adapt to climate change. The Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh, with foreign aid, has partnered with NGOs to train farmers like Bashar on growing crops in salty soils. One such partner is the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has trained thousands of smallholder farmers on using salt-tolerant seeds and planting in saline soils.
Bashar now has access to salt-tolerant seeds and has raised her planting beds and dug drainage channels. These adaptations have paid off. Two years prior, nothing would grow in Bashar's salty soil near Rampal during the dry season. But last year, she made approximately $240 from her vegetable crop during the early months of the dry season. Bashar has even been able to buy a cow with the extra money she earned.
The amount of land brought back into production during the dry season when soil salinity is highest has increased 270% since 2016, though the increase has not been independently verified. This progress is significant, as it means that more farmers like Bashar can continue to grow crops and support their livelihoods during the dry season.
Bangladesh's rice production has already seen impressive growth, more than tripling from 10.82 million tons in 1970 to about 41.3 million tons by 2023. But the country aims to become self-sufficient not just in rice production, but in nutrition as well. Anwar, a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture, emphasized this goal, stating that the ministry is working to ensure that farmers like Bashar have the tools they need to grow a diverse range of crops that provide essential nutrients.
The story of Rita Bashar is linked to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Poverty, Hunger, Water, Economic growth, Inequality, Cities, and Peace. The global economic damage caused by soil and water salinity exceeds $27 billion annually, according to one estimate. If not addressed, 25 million people could migrate from coastal areas in the coming decades, according to Douwe Dijkstra.
The story was supported by the Pulitzer Center and published with permission from Thomson Reuters Foundation. It is related to topics such as Carbon & Climate, Food & Agriculture, and Water, and regions like Bangladesh and South Asia. By telling the story of one farmer's journey, it highlights the potential for innovation and adaptation in the face of climate change, and the importance of supporting smallholder farmers in their efforts to grow nutritious produce and support their livelihoods.
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