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Land User Perceptions of Organic Farming Practices That Can Combat Drought and Land Degradation Through Efficient Use of Land and Water

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Food Security and Land Use Change under Conditions of Climatic Variability

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Synopsis

An assessment of land users perceptions of the potentiality of organic farming practices and efficient use of land in reducing drought and land degradation impacts on land, water and food security has been carried out in the Barind Tract of Bangladesh. Of the issues that Bangladesh faces today, land degradation due to aridity and drought is important and has resulted in economic loss and human sufferings. Drought has impacts on dietary diversity and food security in the high drought prone areas. It was found that the low drought prone area shows greater farm and homestead diversity. The study also found that climate change, faulty land management, groundwater extraction, indiscriminate use of agrochemicals, deforestation and other human induced factors are exacerbating the effects of frequent drought on land degradation and are threatening food insecurity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The respondents from high-drought-prone areas mentioned that they consume two meals a day due to unavailability of food.

  2. 2.

    Gleaning is the act of collecting split grain or leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they have been harvested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, State University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Shafiqul Islam

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  1. Shafiqul Islam
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Correspondence to Shafiqul Islam .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Formerly University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Victor R. Squires

  2. ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

    Mahesh K. Gaur

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Islam, S. (2020). Land User Perceptions of Organic Farming Practices That Can Combat Drought and Land Degradation Through Efficient Use of Land and Water. In: Squires, V., Gaur, M. (eds) Food Security and Land Use Change under Conditions of Climatic Variability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36762-6_12

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