Home / Archive / Vol. 2 No.2 (2026)/Article

Climate-Resilient Agriculture in Coastal and Floodplain Regions of Bangladesh: Community-Based Adaptation Strategies for Livelihood Resilience and Sustainable Development

Keywords

Abstract

Climate change is creating increasing stress on agriculture production and on rural livelihoods, especially in coastal and floodplain/riverine areas, which are climate sensitive. This study investigates climate resilient agricultural practices and provides an analysis of the effect of local knowledge, livelihood diversification and institutional support on the community level adaptation. The qualitative research design was adopted, and primary data was collected through five Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and 25 Key Informant Interviews (KII) in five districts, of which three were from coastal areas (Bhola, Patuakhali and Barguna) and two from floodplain/riverine areas (Kurigram and Gaibandha). Braun and Clarke's approach to thematically analyse the data was utilised. Communities mentioned using salinity-tolerant and flood-tolerant crops and crop varieties, alternative crops, floating agriculture, stock raising, homestead gardening, and diversifying their livelihoods. Local knowledge was still a significant adaptation resource, such as seed preservation and seasonality decision making in agriculture. Women played a significant role in preserving seeds, managing livestock, performing their homestead production and other farming tasks. These limitations, however, were financial constraints, limited extension services, poor technical and logistic support, and unequal opportunities for decision-making. Locally suitable agricultural interventions, which connect community knowledge and formal agricultural services, livelihood diversification, available resources and gender responsive adaptation planning are needed to build resilience against climate change.

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