SUSTAINABILITY OF COASTAL AGRICULTURE IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

Coastal agriculture in Bangladesh has facing a multitude of climate and non-climate related challenges. The government has been taking numerous initiatives for improving coastal agriculture. The objectives of the study were to select and describe a set of indicators of sustainable coastal agriculture, to assess the sustainability of coastal agriculture in Bangladesh and to formulate relevant policy information. The sustainability of coastal agriculture was assessed by developing a composite sustainability index (CSI) consisting three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. An essential set of indicators were developed by reviewing literature and appraising experts‘ opinions. Data were collected from 120 coastal farmers of six villages of three coastal upazilas, namely Gournadi (Barisal), Dumki (Patuakhali) and Nesarabad (Pirojpur). The results revealed that: i) about 60% coastal farmers had reasonably to highly sustainable agriculture in terms of aforementioned three dimensions and ii) using multiple regression analysis (standardized beta), the most contributing factors were land productivity, adequacy of extension services and access to information on climate and cropping practices. Research findings indicate that these three factors played a vital role in achieving sustainable coastal agriculture. The study concluded that information, technologies and productivity are key factors for fostering sustainable coastal agriculture. A number of policy recommendations (e.g., effective initiatives were needed to increase productivity, such as increasing irrigation coverage and providing high quality hybrid seeds) were made based on the findings of the study to achieve sustainable coastal agriculture in Bangladesh.