Rising sea levels from climate change have caused salinity to become a big issue in farms in the southern part of the country (Khulna, Satkhira, Patuakhali). Thousands of hectares of land remain uncultivated.
To fix this big environmental problem, the salt-tolerant rice types ‘Bangabandhu Dhan (Paddy) 100’ and ‘Bri Dhan (Paddy) 97’ made by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have started a new change in farming along the coast.
Technology helps farmers improve their crops. Regular rice types cannot grow well in salty water.
Tolerance: These newly developed varieties are able to tolerate high levels of salinity (8-10 dS/meter) and give excellent yields.
Food Security: Farmers are now getting great yields per hectare by cultivating this new variety of rice in land that has not seen any crops for the past ten years.
This research by scientists to adapt to climate change is a huge milestone in the country’s food security. These salinity-tolerant varieties are working like magic in improving the quality of life of coastal farmers.
