By Subir Kumar Sarkar from Manikgonj
During the monsoon season, the canals and rivers in rural areas and villages of Manikganj district become inundated. The availability of vegetables and spices is also limited during this time. However, various types of vegetables and spices can be cultivated using floating beds created in the canals and rivers during the monsoon season.
As a climate change adaptation strategy in areas prone to monsoon and floods, farmers are cultivating vegetables and spices on floating beds. As part of this strategy, Alpana Rani Sarkar from Jaynagar village has been cultivating spices on floating beds during the monsoon season. This year, she created a floating bed in the Jaynagar canal and cultivated turmeric, okra, and local gourds.
Alpona Rani believes that fallow land or uncultivated land, including canals and rivers, can be brought under cultivation through using floating beds and farmers can easily cultivate crops on those beds without using external inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Additionally, if crops got damaged from excessive rain and seasonal flooding, farmers can overcome the situation by cultivating crops practicing floating agriculture. This can help improve food security and nutrition for rural communities.
Alpana Rani Sarkar mentioned that she uses the stalks of Aman rice and water hyacinth to create the floating beds. In cases of floods, waves, or strong currents, bamboo poles are placed in the middle of the bed, or frames are built around the bed for stability.
She also mentioned that once the bed is suitable for planting, crops like ginger, turmeric, local gourds, beans, and okra can be directly planted. However, for vine crops, support structures are needed. As the water level rises during the monsoon, the floating bed rises as well. If weeds grow on the floating bed, they can be cleared by hand. Generally, there is no need for chemical fertilizers on the floating beds. In order to prevent ducks from damaging the beds, one can enclose with nets around the floating beds.
