Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategies (APEIS)

Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (RIPSO)

Good Pr actice Inventor y

Floating Agr icultur e in the flood-pr one or submer ged ar eas in Bangladesh
(Souther n r egions of Bangladesh)
Summary of the Practice
Key words: Flood coping strategy, sustainable development, popular and effective method with
traditional/ indigenous knowledge and practices
Strategy: Promoting local/indigenous knowledge-based sustainable resource management
Environmental Areas: Rural environment
Critical Instruments: Awareness/capacity building, Organisational arrangements
Country: Bangladesh
Location: Gopalgonj (Southern District) of Bangladesh
Participants: Individual farmers and community farmers
Duration: Three to four hundred years
F unding: None
Background:
The southern, southwestern and the coastal areas of Bangladesh remain submerged for long periods every
year, especially during the monsoon season. People in these areas have been coping with
submerged/flooded conditions for generations. The people of these areas depend on agriculture. The have
adopted a method of cultivation, locally referred to as Vasoman Chash, meaning floating agriculture,
since the time of their forefathers. This system is similar to hydroponics, which is a scientific method
whereby the plants are grown in the water and they derive their nutrients from the water instead of from
the soil. A bio-land or floating bed, is prepared with the biomass using water-hyacinth, aquatic algae,
waterwort and the other water born creepers, straws and herbs or plants residues. People of the area
mentioned that this method was also being practiced in the northeastern parts of Pirojpur district,
northwestern parts of the Jhalkathi districts and in the Gopalgonj district.
The people of the different areas have adopted and modified the method for
different locations of the country according to their needs. The modified
activities include the size, shape and elements used for preparing the
floating bed.

: Study Area
Objectives:
The main objective of the practice is sustainable local natural resource management (submerged areas)
through floating agriculture practices. A second objective is to cope with the climate change situation.

Description of the activity:

The southwestern parts of Bangladesh comprising of
Gopalgonj, Bagerhat, Khulna, Jessore, Barisal, Pirojpur
and Jhalkathi districts and the coastal areas adjacent to the
sea-bank areas remain submerged for a long duration
especially in the monsoon season. In the Barisal and
Pirojpur districts more than three hundred square miles are
under submergence. To cope with the situation, people in
these districts practice floating agriculture. The main
components or materials of floating agriculture are water
hyacinth (bulbous plant with bell shaped racemes
especially purplish blue which grows in the water).

Photogragh by BARCIK
Figur e 1. Preparation of floating bed with water
hyacinth

Straw and rice stubble are also used for the same purpose.
After harvesting the Aman (cultivated in the monsoon season) paddy, people collect and preserve the
stubble, Nara (stalks of paddy etc. left in the ground after harvest) in the winter for the preparation of
floating bed along with the water hyacinth. During the months of May and July, people collect the water
hyacinth from the nearby river, khals and from others water bodies where it is available. The depth of the
water is not of great significance for this kind of agriculture. After collecting the water hyacinth, a layer
is made with it.
After a week to ten days, people make a second layer on top
of the first layer of the water hyacinth. Since the bed is
floating in nature, people can easily transfer it to where they
want to. The size and shape of the bed is not fixed. It can be
50 to 155 ft in length, 5-7 ft wide and 2-3 ft high. It mainly
depends on the submerged land size and the shape. It also
depends on the farmers choice, demand and economic
capability. Though the bed has no definite size, small size
bed is easier to manage and better for crop production. The
duration or stability of the floating bed depends on the first
layer, which remains at the bottom. If the bottom layer is made
of water hyacinth, it becomes more stable and durable.

Photogragh by BARCIK
Figur e 2. Partial view of the floating
agriculture

The upper layer is comprised of deposits of small and quick-rotting waterworts (or small duck weed type
of plant), which degrade quickly and make for good manure. It requires 15-20 days from the collection
and preparation of the water hyacinth and other materials or the floating bed before cultivation can begin.
There are mainly two systems of floating beds used in floating agriculture. One is the floating island
system and another is non-floating island system (floating but stable). First system is used widely in the
Pirojpur and Barisal district and the second system was introduced about two and the half years ago in
Atghar-Kurian union in Shawrupkathi in the Pirojpur district. Now this system is widely used in the
whole district. The main difference between the two systems is that one is completely floating in nature
and other is floating but stable. People cultivate vegetable and others spice crops on it. The floating land
is more fertile than the normal soil or land. The productivity of this type of land is higher than that of
traditional land.

Critical Instruments
Over view
A good coping strategy always works for reducing the vulnerability of the people and the environment
and leads to innovations for sustainable development. With the changing climate, the temperature of the
Earth is increasing day by day resulting in rising sea levels. Sea-level rise may cause the inundation of
the surrounding coastal areas in the world as in Bangladesh. The floating agriculture practice is a good
and popular practice of the low-lying areas where lands remains submerged most of the year. People in

Bangladesh have been practicing floating agriculture since a long time (three to four hundred years). It is
a useful method considering the economical, environmental and as well as social aspects. The production
rate is high from this kind of agricultural practice.
Farmers of the study area have been practicing the method mainly for two reasons. First, during
monsoons, when most of the land is flooded, floating agriculture is the only alternative method of
cultivation. In the monsoon (mainly during June-August), farmers cultivate ladies finger (okra),
cucumber, snake gourds etc. on the floating system. After the monsoon, farmers use this for cultivating
spinach, aurum, spices and several other vegetables. During the monsoon, farmers use small boats to
manage the floating agricultural land. Second during the winter season, farmers carry the floating bed to
higher grounds where they break it and mix it with the soil to enrich the soil.

Awar eness/capacity building

There is no awareness and capacity building program for promoting the practice yet. The Department of
Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh, can disseminate and promote the practice to other parts of
the country. The practice has good prospects for increasing the agricultural production of the country.
However, governments intervention is required.

Or ganisational ar r angements
There is no organizational arrangement as such. The people use their traditional techniques, knowledge
and the conventional wisdom to cope with the flood and submerged condition. Sometimes people of the
community help each other in the practice, which strengthens the social and communal harmony.

Impacts
In Bangladesh most of the lowlands remain waterlogged or under submergence year-round. Floating
agriculture has several advantages: (1) the fallow waterlogged area can be cultivated and the total
cultivable area can be increased, (2) area under floating cultivation is more fertile compared with the
traditional land, (3) no additional fertilizers and manure is required unlike in the conventional agricultural
system, (4) after cultivation, the biomass generated can be used as organic fertilizer in the field, (5) it
conserves the environment, (6) during the floods it can be used as a shelter for the poultry and cattle, and
(7) the fishermen can cultivate crops and fish at the same time. All the activities of the practice are
environment friendly and can prove to be an alternative livelihood option.

Lessons Learned
Though the practice has good impacts in many areas of the coastal belt, it has not yet been disseminated
broadly. The DAE needs to disseminate this practice and provide technical support to the farmers for its
adoption and dissemination. There are however a few drawbacks with the system because of insect and
rodent infestation. Since the area is water logged most of the times, it is difficult to get the agricultural
produce to the markets for sale. The possibility of damaging the seed is higher since the bed is always
watery. Sometimes there is a scarcity of the materials (water hyacinth, stubble, etc.) for the preparation of
the water beds. Despite these drawbacks, floating agriculture is very popular in the study area.

Potential for Application

The floating agriculture practice in the southern parts of the country represents a traditional/indigenous
agriculture system for the water logged or the submerged area in Bangladesh. People of the country have

been practicing floating agriculture for generations. In Bangladesh, nowadays this practice is being
increasingly taken up for its sustainability and positive features. The people of the southern parts of
Bangladesh adopted the practice based on their traditions and the communitys culture and wisdom. This
is an environment-friendly and beneficial practice. People use the floating agriculture practice as a model
in the pond and other water bodies in other parts of the country. It could be a sustainable and profitable
practice in Bangladesh and for other countries facing a similar situation.

Contact
Sukanta Sen
Director
BARCIK- Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
3/7 Block-D, Lalmatia, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tel/Fax: +8802 9132 372
E-mail: barcik@bdonline.com
Case reviewer: Md. Assaduzzaman, Research F ellow, BARCIK
Information date: August 2004