海角大神

For decades, Shafiqul Islam Babu grew聽rice聽on his land in northwest聽Bangladesh 鈥� until climate change made rainfall more erratic and overused groundwater聽began drying聽up聽in the mid-2000s.

As his聽rice聽harvest declined, so did his earnings.

In response, the 45-year-old farmer decided to grow cabbage on his land 鈥� a high-value crop that uses less聽water聽than聽rice, has plenty of buyers, and provides him with a steady income.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what to do instead of paddy farming, which was my ancestor鈥檚 profession, [and] I had to maintain my family with my savings,鈥� he said in an interview while cleaning weeds and dead leaves from his 49-acre cabbage farm.

鈥淭hen, vegetable farming showed me a ray of hope.鈥�

Mr. Babu said he sold his entire cabbage crop ahead of harvest this year, with demand for the vegetable high in Dhaka, the capital. He managed to make about 215,000 taka ($2,000),聽up聽from the 80,000-odd taka he used to receive for his聽rice聽harvest.

Accelerating climate change impacts have led many聽farmers聽in聽Bangladesh鈥檚 Rajshahi district to聽swap聽rice聽for聽vegetables聽as they strive to make their business pay on an ever-hotter planet.

Eight years ago,聽rice聽was the region鈥檚 main crop 鈥� but now it is the 鈥渓oser crop,鈥� with聽vegetables聽from cabbage to gourds increasingly favored as they need less聽water, produce higher yields and bring in more money, according to Shamsul Wadud, head of the district鈥檚 Department of Agricultural Extension.

Farmers聽in Rajshahi used to struggle to grow聽rice聽for two seasons a year, but many are now cultivating聽vegetables聽three or four times annually on the same land, Mr. Wadud explained.

鈥淭hey are getting good prices [and] the production of vegetable crops has now increased many times,鈥� he said.

Since 2009, the area of land dedicated to growing聽vegetables聽has almost quadrupled to about 194,000 acres聽in Rajshahi, making it the nation鈥檚 largest vegetable-producing district, agriculture ministry figures show.

But it鈥檚 not just Rajshahi that is looking beyond聽rice.

Bangladesh鈥檚 agriculture minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said the government was aiming to use 鈥渁ll kinds of abandoned and sandy land鈥� to expand vegetable production.

Sandy soil is considered superior for growing聽vegetables聽rather than聽rice聽because it requires less聽water聽and fertilizer, officials said.

Depleting groundwater

While some parts of聽Bangladesh聽have been experiencing record-breaking monsoon rains and flooding, drought is becoming increasingly common in the Barind region, which covers most of Rajshahi and some of Rangpur district.

The area鈥檚 annual average rainfall is about 43 inches 鈥� less than half the nationwide average 鈥� said Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan, a geology professor at the University of Rajshahi.

And, due to accelerating climate change, average rainfall in the Barind region 鈥渋s going down day by day,鈥� he said.

Because there is so little rain,聽farmers聽in the region rely on deep wells to get聽water聽to irrigate their crops, putting intense pressure on groundwater聽supplies, Sarwar Jahan added.

Groundwater聽levels in Barind are dropping about 20 inches every year, according to the聽Bangladesh聽Water聽Development Board.

This spurred some聽farmers聽in Rajshahi in the late-2000s to try growing cabbage and pointed gourd 鈥� which is similar to cucumber 鈥� on land where they had given聽up聽on聽rice, according to Dewan Ali, a farmer living in the village of Godagari.

鈥淎 few months later, they were surprised to see that with less聽water聽and less fertilizer they were getting a good harvest,鈥� said Mr. Ali.

鈥淭his good news was flying all over. Within two years, most of the聽farmers聽started to farm different types of聽vegetables.鈥�

The聽Bangladesh聽Rice聽Research Institute (BRRI) estimates that certain聽vegetables 鈥� including tomatoes, okra and radishes 鈥� can be grown using about 336 liters of聽water聽per kg, nearly ten times less than it takes to grow the same amount of聽rice.

Boosting vegetable production is a priority for the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rajshahi, which is training聽farmers聽鈥� from how to use fertilizers to controlling disease 鈥� giving them seeds free of cost, and raising awareness to encourage more to make the switch, according to Mr. Wadud.

He said the Rajshahi government is only focusing on areas where聽farmers聽are struggling to grow聽rice, so there is no danger of the shift to聽vegetables聽affecting overall paddy production.

鈥淎n adequate amount of paddy (rice) is grown in other parts of the country,鈥� Mr. Wadud added.

Growing 'hope'

While many聽farmers聽say their livelihoods have been saved by the discovery that聽vegetables聽can thrive on parched land, those abundant harvests can sometimes prove too much of a good thing.

In particularly productive seasons, oversupply drives down the prices聽farmers聽can charge for their produce, while storage is also an issue, said Hossain Ali, a farmer in the Godagari area of Rajshahi.

When聽farmers聽grow more聽rice聽than they can sell, it can be dried and stored easily for six months, he said, but surplus聽vegetables聽quickly rot unless they are kept refrigerated.

鈥淚f the government builds cold storage, we can preserve [vegetables] and in the off-season we can sell them at a good price,鈥� said Mr. Ali, who has 75 hectares of land on which he grows various聽vegetables聽including cauliflower and tomatoes.

However, for farmer Mohammed Ali, the challenges of growing聽vegetables聽are far outweighed by the benefits for his family.

After spending ten years in Saudi Arabia as a construction worker to send money home, Mr. Ali returned in 2010 to Rajshahi to farm聽rice. But聽water聽shortages forced him to quit, and he instead opened a small grocery store beside his house.

Then, a visit to relatives in the region changed Mr. Ali鈥檚 life. He was amazed to see their land full of plump聽vegetables.

鈥淚 found some hope,鈥� said the husband and father of two, who lives in Lalpur, in the region鈥檚 Natore district.

Mr. Ali planted bitter gourd and pointed gourd as soon as he got home, and said he sold his first harvest two months later.

Now, he can make 28,000 taka each month on just one acre of land 鈥� and does not need to consider leaving home to find work.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think about going abroad because I can earn a healthy amount by staying at home,鈥� Mr. Ali said. 鈥淣othing could be better than earning money and being with family.鈥�