BANGLADESH’S agricultural heartland — rice fields, homesteads, wetlands and floodplains — is in the eye of a climate storm. As rising heat, erratic rainfall, salinity intrusion and floods threaten harvests and livelihood, a quiet transformation is under way. Farmers, local institutions and researchers are embracing adaptive agriculture, practical, place-sensitive methods, that allow cultivation not merely to survive but to thrive under climate stress. In a country that still depends on farming for roughly 40 per cent of employment, adaptation is central to food security, rural vitality and sustainable growth.
The urgency is stark. In October 2024, monsoon floods destroyed an estimated 1.1 million tonnes of rice, forcing higher food imports and pressing the government to act. Coastal and floodplain regions are particularly vulnerable. An estimated 60 per cent of the population lives in highly flood-prone zones while climate hazards cost the country roughly $3 billion annually, or nearly 2 per cent of gross domestic product, by mid-century projections. Meanwhile, heat extremes are becoming routine. In April 2024, Bangladesh recorded highs near 43.8°C, disrupting planting cycles and straining water resources. Under the pressure, adaptive agriculture is no longer optional; it is essential for safeguarding harvests and rural resilience.
Adaptive agriculture is not a single innovation but a mosaic of responsive practices tailored to ecological zones. In wetlands and flood-prone areas, floating gardens or baira beds are being revived. Farmers layer water hyacinth and organic matter to grow vegetables above flooded fields, a technique recognised by the Food and Agricultural Organisation as a globally important agricultural heritage system.
In ponds and adjacent lands, integrated floating cage aquageoponics systems grow fish and vegetables together. Waste from fish enriches the substrate for plants, creating dual yields with efficient resource use. On irrigated lowlands, alternate wetting and drying methods are gaining attention. Recent work applying convolutional neural network models shows promise in automating water-level regulation, improving water efficiency without sacrificing yield. Meanwhile, farmers are shifting towards climate-resilient crop varieties, adjusting planting dates, diversifying into less water-intensive crops and combining livestock, fish and crop systems to balance risks.
These methods gain traction where institutional support, research linkage and market access exist. The government, through programmes such as the National Adaptation Plan, the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan and support via pilot programmes for climate resilience, is redirecting resources towards climate-smart agriculture. Non-governmental organisations and development partners are bridging gaps. For example, BRAC organises tenant farmers into village collectives to deliver training and credit for resilient seed adoption. At the same time, digital tools are entering the field. Agricultural recommendation systems combining weather forecasts with AI models now offer location-specific crop advice.
Yet, the road is bumpy. Many smallholders lack consistent access to climate-resilient inputs or credit and changing farmer behaviour involves managing risk, knowledge and trust. Institutional fragmentation, weak extension services and infrastructure deficits further constrain scalability. Moreover, research gaps remain. Many adaptation studies rest on historical climate projection models rather than farmer perceptions or forward-looking stress tests.
Despite constraints, success stories offer hope. In coastal districts, floating gardens have guaranteed vegetable supply during monsoon months when fields are submerged. In inland floodplains, integrated fish-vegetable systems have enabled households to maintain food production even when land crops fail. In dry patches, alternate wetting and drying regulation has shaved water usage by 20–30 per cent without yield loss, freeing scarce irrigation water for allied uses. And predictive advisory systems, piloted in cluster villages, have steered farmers away from crop loss by warning of incoming extreme rainfall three to five days ahead.
To scale these gains, Bangladesh needs an enabling ecosystem. First, input and credit systems should prioritise climate-adapted seeds, organic inputs and flexible microloans with seasonal repayment. Second, extension networks need upskilling. Field agents must combine agronomy, climate intelligence and participatory outreach. Digital platforms and community radio can help to disseminate granular, timely advice via local language. Third, markets and value chains must reward climate-smart producers through price premiums or aggregation services. Fourth, monitoring systems should capture farm-level adaptation performance — yield, water use, income and resilience outcomes — to help governments and donors allocate support more effectively.
Adaptive agriculture cannot be a niche exercise. It must become the core of the agrarian future. The ambition to maintain food self-sufficiency, reduce rural poverty and withstand escalating climate stress depends on transforming each paddy plot, homestead farm and pond into a resilient node. The next chapter of the agricultural story will not be written on spreadsheets alone but in floating gardens, AI-informed fields, drought-smart crop banks and diversified farming systems that turn risk into opportunity under shifting skies.
Ìý
Dr Makhan Lal Dutta, an irrigation engineer, is chair and CEO of Harvesting Knowledge Consultancy.
