Hydro-climatic hazards for crops and cropping system in the chars of the Jamuna River and potential adaptation options

Abstract

Char (Bengali term for riverine island) is a unique socioecological system associated with a large alluvial river. About 4 % of the 160 million people of Bangladesh, who are mostly poor, live in chars, which are located within and alongside its major rivers—the Jamuna, Ganges and Meghna. Agriculture is the mainstay of livelihoods in these riverine chars. However, the cropping system of the chars is at risk to different hydro-climatic hazards due to their vulnerable physical and climatic settings. This study assesses the various hazards to major cash crops in the chars of the Jamuna River and identifies the current coping practices and suggests potential adaptation measures against such hazards. The study is conducted using a combination of conventional and participatory research approaches through analysis of available hydro-climatic data from secondary sources and synthesis of primary information on hazards, their impacts, coping practices and planned adaptations collected directly from the fields using participatory research tools by a multi-disciplinary team. The findings of the study reveal that flood, untimely rain, cold, fog, drought, pest infestation, wind, hailstorm and erosion are the principal hazards to agricultural crops in the Jamuna chars. The hazards vary depending on the crops, and chilli is found to be more vulnerable than other crops. Among the different actors, the crop producers are the worst affected by the hazards. Use of plastic sheet, irrigation and pesticide, reseeding, early harvesting and growing chance crops are among the prominent coping strategies of the producers. The study recommends provisioning of drying, storage and credit facilities, introducing short-duration and disaster-resilient crop varieties, developing local capacity through training and extension services, and improving weather forecasting and dissemination to reduce the agricultural risks in the chars. The findings will be useful in designing programs and interventions in agricultural system to improve the livelihoods of the char dwellers, particularly in south Asia.