Transform crops and livelihoods by rainwater ponds in saline-affected Satkhira

For decades, salinity has plagued Khutikata village in Kashimari union of Shyamnagar upazila in Satkhira, making crop production nearly impossible.

Despite having a flowing canal, the remote coastal village faced severe water scarcity, especially during the dry season. However, the creation of ponds on unused land is transforming the agricultural landscape.

These ponds, filled with collected rainwater, now enable the cultivation of a variety of crops. What was once a single cropland now supports the production of multiple crops, including gourd, pumpkin, papaya, okra, cucumber, spinach, red amaranth, and bitter gourd, offering new hope to local farmers.

Nirmal Sarkar, a marginal farmer from Khutikata, said, highlighting the dire situation, "Hundreds of hectares of agricultural land in our village lay fallow due to salinity. Last year, with support from Syngenta, we captured attention by growing crops on this challenging land."

Syngenta has provided significant assistance by digging ponds for farmers to store rainwater and supplying essential inputs like vermicompost, seeds, and other agricultural materials.

"We are now able to use rainwater to produce a variety of crops in saline soils," Sarkar added.

Farmers say they made profits of Tk30,000-50,000 per bigha of land from the last season.

By storing rainwater in ponds adjacent to saline land, farmers can grow crops year-round. Preserving open water bodies and digging more ponds in coastal areas will further enhance crop production, they added.

Hedayet Ullah, managing director of Syngenta Bangladesh Limited, said, "Salinity in Satkhira prevented year-round crop cultivation. As a leading agricultural organisation, Syngenta is implementing sustainable and regenerative agricultural methods in the region. Our support has converted single-crop fields into triple-crop fields, significantly improving farmers' lives and agricultural productivity."

The Go Grow project, initiated by Syngenta Bangladesh Ltd in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), BINA SAC Scheme of DAE, and SRDI, aims to foster sustainable agriculture in the Khutikata village.

The project started last year and initially involved 40 farmer families. They dug ponds to store fresh water for irrigation during vegetable and grain cultivation. Currently, 75 more farmer families have joined the programme.