In face of floods and climate change, Bangladesh is turning to floating farms
CHANDRA, 29 July 2010 (IRIN): As swollen monsoon rivers and rising sea levels threaten to engulf more land across Bangladesh, NGOs are training thousands of farmers in traditional soil-less farming on water.
Agriculture accounts for almost a quarter of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product and provides work for 62 percent of the labour force.
Yet in a country frequently flooded and recognized as one of the most vulnerable to climate change, floating vegetable beds have become a fruitful farming alternative.
The process is similar to hydroponics, which uses a non-biological growing material like gravel, whereas floating farms use beds made of water hyacinth, bamboo and other aquatic plants.
– The productivity of this farming system is 10 times higher than traditional land-based agricultural production in the southeast of Bangladesh, said Papon Deb, project manager for the Wetland Resource Development Society (WRDS).
WRDS is one of several NGOs – along with CARE, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Practical Action – working around the country to train thousands of farmers.
Bangladesh has had floating farms for hundreds of years, primarily in low-lying areas in the south where land is submerged most of the year.
– Soil-less agriculture evolved through people’s initiative for adaptation to an adverse environment, said A.H.M. Rezaul Haq, a WRDS researcher, adding: – It has been a part of the indigenous form of cultivation since our forefathers.
Hyacinth and bamboo
The plant bed, built using several layers of water hyacinth and bamboo, is typically 15- 50 meters in length, 1,5- 2 meters wide and 0,6- 0,9 meters thick.
Semi-decomposed aquatic plants are then added to the mix and left to sit for several days before it is ready to be seeded. The beds can be prepared in any depth of water. Farmers can stand on some of them or manoeuvre around them in boats.
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