Riverbank Erosion Impact on Changing of Cropping Pattern: A Study on the Padma Charland

Massive bank erosion of the Padma River has devoured 35625.20 acres landmass at Harirampur upazila in Manikganj district in Bangladesh. A major part of the eroded landmass has been emerged as charland on the riverbed with radical changes of the topography and soil properties. This study has explored the changing of cropping pattern in two char unions of the Padma River where most of the mainland agricultural varieties have been extincted only by introducing the few new varieties. The char peasants cultivate local aus, aman, bhutta, teel, kaon, groundnut and tobacco instead of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of boro, jute, wheat and sugarcane. The char dwellers are unable to practice the spice varieties like mustard, linseed, soyabean, sunflower, onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric, coriander seed and black cumin in the charland due to changing of the agro-environment. Mashkalai, mung and masur are grown in a wide range of char areas while the char people grow limited number of vegetable varieties substituting most of the vegetables items of the mainland. Bank erosion occurs sand carpeting and localized drought conditions reduce soil moisture, increase water stress and shrink cropping systems eventually decreasing yields that bring about food deficit and changes of food habit among the char people. The study has conducted interviews with the char farmers and performed field observation technique, and has crosschecked agricultural BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) data to identify the lost or introduced varieties.

Author(s): Muhammad Muzibur Rahman* and M. Nazrul Islam

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