Environmental Friendly Agricultural Practice in the Southwestern Coastal Zone of Bangladesh to Adapt with Climate Change

In the coastal area, 28% people of total population lives where 16% of total rice of Bangladesh is being produced. Although arable land is decreasing, modern technologies help to increase food production. However, impacts of inappropriate application of chemical fertilizer, pesticides and climate change constrain the agricultural progress. The objective of the current study is to find out suitable existing environmental friendly agricultural practice that can adapt with climate changing condition. Dacope and Dumuria upazilas of Khulna district were the study area which situate at the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh. Three types of available agricultural practices had been identified which were rice cultivation, combined rice and fish culture, and vegetable cultivation. Ten Rice Farmers (RF), ten combined Rice and Fish Farmers (RFF), and five Vegetable Farmers (VF) had been interviewed. VF use comparatively low amount of chemical fertilizer than other farmers. Farmers do not use organic fertilizer due to scarcity of enough manure, requirement of large volume, and additional transportation and labor cost. No farmers follow satisfactory safe pesticide management. Farmers are polluted by pesticide through absorption, inhalation and ingestion. Perching method is the only method of integrated pesticide management (IPM) that is applying in the field. Other IPM methods are not successfully applied in the field because lack of group wise initiative, available chemicals and apparatus, and requirement of additional cost. RFF get extra biological control from fish than other two types agricultural practices. Low visible salt effect significantly increases the soil quality of the RFF's land which has the best quality of soil than other farmers' lands. Moreover, rice and fish culture has additional advantage to reserve rainwater that can be used for irrigation at water scarcity condition. Rice and fish culture is the most environmental friendly available practice in the southwestern coastal region that has potentiality to adapt with climate changing scenarios.