Coping strategies adopted by the rice farmers in the coastal area of Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study describes the changes from a rice-based cropping system to a shrimp-based cropping system in the coastal area of Bangladesh and their impact on soil environment. The coping strategies of local farmers against increases in salinity are also analyzed. Two main cropping systems, the shrimp-boro rice cropping system and the aman rice-boro rice cropping system, are the main systems that are practiced by local farmers in the study village. Soil samples were collected from the plots of these cropping systems and chemical analysis was done. It was found that the salinity level rose from a level of 4.5 ds/m in 2010 to a level of 6.5 ds/m in 2012 with changes in the availability of nutrients in the soil. As a coping strategy against this increasing salinity, the local farmers switched rice varieties from year to year, and they did not cultivate a single variety alone but a combination of varieties. However, although the local farmers have established this shrimp-boro rice cropping system with a combination of modern rice varieties, it is hypothesized that if they continue this cropping system for a long time then the livelihood of the farmers will be unstable in the future.