Floating farms, salt-resistant rice: Bangladeshis adapt to survive - Printable Version

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Floating farms, salt-resistant rice: Bangladeshis adapt to survive - Levin - 29-10-2021

28 Oct 2021 12:03PM
(Updated: 28 Oct 2021 12:03PM)


MUGARJHOR: Rising sea levels and violent flooding are already putting tens of millions of lives at risk in Bangladesh, but they bring another problem that threatens the entire nation: Water-logged land and high salinity in streams and soil are killing crops.

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farmers in Mugarjhor, a region 200km south of Dhaka, revived a century-old technique of using seed beds that sit atop the water.

They stack layers of water hyacinth and bamboo tied together by their roots to create a raft, between two and four foot high, on which to plant seeds - often using wood chippings and coconut coir as a fertiliser.

This forms a light, floating vegetable garden - bitter gourds, spinach and okra can all be grown this way - able to rise and fall with the water levels.

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Some farmers have stopped growing crops opting instead to grow shrimp in the brackish water, or crab-fattening - capturing wild crabs and feeding them up to then sell - as well as rearing ducks, which fetch a high price in Dhaka eateries.

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Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) ...... has now created a strain that can grow in water with triple the saline levels that normal rice can cope with, he said.



https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sustainability/floating-farms-salt-resistant-rice-bangladeshis-adapt-survive-2274306

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