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IMPACTS OF SALINITY ON PADDY
PRODUCTION IN COASTAL DISTRICTS
OF BANGLADESH: THE ISSUES OF
FOOD SECURITY


Submitted to: Mahmudul Hassan PhD
MDS (ADDITIONAL SECRETARY), BPATC,
Savar, Dhaka





Submitted by: Syed Rabiul Alam, Deputy Director(DS) ,DNCRP
(under ministry of commerce) , Khulna
Sl No.-12, 94
th
ACAD, BPATC





Draft
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Abstract :
Bangladesh is a deltaic country the coastal regions of which covers 29.000 sq km or about 20%
of the country. On the other hand these coastal areas cover more than 30% of the total
cultivable lands of the country. About 53% of the coastal areas are affected by different degrees
of salinity. Agricultural land use in these areas is very poor, which is much lower than countrys
average cropping intensity. Salinity causes unfavorable environment and hydrological situation
that restrict the normal crop, especially paddy production throughout the year. The factors which
contribute significantly to the development of saline soil are, tidal flooding during wet season
(June-October), direct inundation by saline water ( as is the case of Bagda shrimp cultivation ),
and upward or lateral movement of saline ground water during dry season (November-May). It
affects Rice crops depending on degree of salinity at the critical stages of growth, which
reduces yield and in severe cases total yield is lost. Soil reaction values (pH) in coastal regions
range from 6.0-8.4. The organic matter content of the soils is also pretty low (1.0-1.5%). Nutrient
deficiencies of N and P are quite dominant in saline soils. Micronutrients, such as Cu and Zn are
widespread. The dominant crop grown in the saline areas is local transplanted Aman rice crop
with low yields. The cropping patterns followed in the coastal areas are mainly Fallow-Fallow-
Transplanted Aman rice. Salinity problem received very little attention in the past. Now as it is
adversely affecting our staple crop yield , it is posing a serious threat and causing a grave
imbalance in our total food security system. The motto of this paper is to show some ways put
forward by researchers to overcome these obstacles and advance towards a healthy food
security system.


GLOSSARY :
Electrictric Conductivity = the measure of a material's ability to accommodate the
transport of an electric charge , it is used in the measurement of salinity of soil and
water.
pH = pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution or soil . pH is an
abbreviation for "power of hydrogen" where "p" is short for the German word for power, potenz
and H is the element symbol for Hydrogen.
Micro-nutrients: These are essential mineral or food elements for plants present in soil in
very minute or trace amount.
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Cations = Positively charged ions

Anions = Negatively charged ions

Ions = A particle that is electrically charged (positive or negative); an atom or molecule or
group that has lost or gained one or more electrons






Table Of Contents


SL No.


Content Headline

Page No.
01
Abbreviations

1.1
Introduction

1.2
Background

1.3
Objectives

1.4
Rationale of the Issue

1.5
Methodology

1.6
Limitations

2.1
General Discussions

2.2
Recommendations

2.3
Conclusion

2.4
Reference



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Abbreviation :

dS/m = deci Siemens per meter( measurement of salinity )
BRRI = Bangladesh Rice Research Institute
GDP = Gross Domestic Product

N = Nitrogen,

P = Potassium,

Cu = Cpper ,

Zn = Zinc ,

Ca = Calcium

S = Sulphur





Chapter - I
1.1 Introduction:
In Bangladesh, coastal areas comprising 13 districts constitute 2.5 million hectares which
amount to about 25% of the total cropland of the country. Of this nearly .84 million hectares are
affected by varying intensities of salinity ,resulting in very poor land utilization and meager
amount of paddy production. Most of the southern districts of the country are under saline
zones , which cover an area of 25-30% of the total arable land . Rice production is very vital to
Bangladesh Economy , as it contributes about 50% of the total agricultural value and employs
over 65% of the total agricultural labor force. Rice is grown on about 10.71 million hectares of
land in Bangladesh . Rice provides about 71percent of the total calories and 51 percent of the
protein intake of the peoples diet. Rice also accounts for nearly 18 percent of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh. Rice accounts for 75 % of the total area of agricultural
crops, and 93% of the total area planted to cereals. The modern rice varieties cover about 62
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percent of the total rice areas, which contribute to about 77 percent of the total rice production of
the country. Salinity causes unfavorable environmental and hydrological situation that restricts
the normal paddy production throughout the year. The factors which contribute significantly to
the development of saline soil are tidal flooding during wet season, direct inundation by saline
water and upward or lateral movement of ground water during dry season. Normally the soil
where salinity range is 4 dS/m or more is termed as saline water. Soil reaction values (pH) in
coastal areas range from 6-8.4 , soils are deficient in organic matter and essential nutrient
elements. As the dominant crop of these areas is T-Aman rice with very low yield , it poses a
great threat to overall food security in the country. Another aspect is very important as well as
gravely alarming, in coastal belt areas salinity intrusion is gradually increasing. In 1973 1.5 ha
of land had mild salinity, in 1997 this expanded to 2.5 million ha of land ( Panaullah, BRRI ).

1.2 Background :
Nearly thirteen coastal districts of Bangladesh are more or less touched by various degrees of
salinity. Satkhira ,Khulna , Bagerhat , Barguna , Patuakhali , Pirozpur and Bhola districts cover
about .65 million ha of saline soils , the rest of saline areas is distributed among Chittagong ,
Coxs Bazar , Noakhali , Laxmipur , Feni ,and Chandpur districts. However the intensity of
saline-infestation is increasing as a result of climatic change. Most of the affected area is less
than 1.5m above sea level. With every rising tide, sea water deposits salt on the land. Rice
being the staple food, its cultivation has suffered most ,creating a vulnerable and unstable food
security for whole of Bangladesh .
1.3 OBJECTIVES:
The main objectives of this paper is to identify the impact of intrusion of saline water and
increase of intensity salinity in soil and its adverse effects on paddy production and also to know
the real scenario of the saline coastal zone. How these obstacles can be overcome and how a
safe, sustainable food security system can be achieved, are other objectives of this assay.

1.4 Rationale Of The Issue :
Rice is the principle crop and food of Bangladesh. After independence, keeping pace with
population hike, paddy production has increased at least three times. Any shortage of grain
production seriously hampers overall food security in our country. Apart from flood, drought and
tornado/cyclones , salinity increase in the 13 coastal districts is a grave hindrance to optimum
paddy production. Self-sufficiency in food grain production is a key factor to our economic
growth. Therefore if we can minimize the intensity and adverse effects of salinity on rice
production in our southern districts , it will at least eliminate a major impediment to optimum
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crop yield. A successful food security milieu is very much essential for favorable and
harmonious condition of the country and also for good governance.
1.5 Methodology :
As the duration of the on-going ACAD is very short and the participants are to be occupied with
various sorts of activities, the author of this seminar paper had no option but to depend on
various secondary sources. However some of his personal thoughts about the grave problem of
salinity have been reflected in this paper.

1.6 Limitations:
The main limitations of this seminar paper are dependence on secondary sources, unavailability
of sufficient data and information and lack of primary source information. Not much research
work has been carried out by concerned scientists about this problem in our country, especially
on rice production in the affected areas. Nonetheless the secondary source information was
enough to get a vivid picture about the problem of salinity in the southern regions of
Bangladesh.

CHAPTER - II

2.1 General Discussions:
Salinity severely diminishes paddy production and quality is also degraded. Therefore it has a
direct adverse effect on overall economy of the country.
Cropping Pattern in salinity-affected districts is different from the rest of the country. In
Barisal,Patuakhali and Khulna regions local T-Aman rice (July-November) is the dominant crop,
whereas in the same type of land in Chittagong region HYV-Aman is the major crop. In medium
highlands of Barisal, Khulna, Noakhali,Patuakhali and Chittagong regions local transplanted
Aman rice is the dominant crop, the major crop in the medium low lands of the former three
regions is broadcast Aman, whereas in Chittagong region broadcast Aus rice is the main crop.


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Characteristics of Saline Soil :
1. Most of the saline soils are moderate to strongly alkaline, the pH values of the surface
soils being lower than those of the sub-surface soils. Soil reaction values (pH) range
from 6.0 to 8.4.
2. The organic matter content of the top soils ranges from less than 1% to 1.5%. The low
organic content in soils indicates poor physical condition of the coastal soils.
3. Electrical Conductivity (EC) of saline soil is usually greater than 2 dS/m , percentage of
exchangeable Na is less than 15 % : the presence of Na
+
, Mg
++
, Ca
++
cations and
SO
4
=
,
HCO
3
-
, Cl
-
anions are more than enough.
4. Nutrient deficiencies of N and P are quite dominant in saline soils. Micronutrients, such
as Cu and Zn are widespread.
5. Saline soil contains an excess of soluble salts, especially sodium chloride (NaCl) and
Sodium Sulphate( Na
2
So
4
).
6. Due to a number of environmental factors the coastal soils are slightly moderately saline
on the surface, and highly saline in sub-surface layers and substrata.
Trends Of Salinity :
The degree/severity of salinity in coastal belt varies from time to time and place to place to
place. However the general tendency of Salinity is to rise from November-December to March-
April , i.e. , till Monsoon starts. The electrical conductivity of soil and water is minimal in July-
Agust and reaches at its peak in March-April . Salinity is most prevalent in upper soil (o-15 cm),
then it gradually decreases with depth. Since 1948, salinity in the rivers of southern Patuakhali,
Pirojpur, Boguna, Satkhira, Bagerhat and Khulna districts has risen by 45 percent . The coastal
saline soils are distributed unevenly in 64 thanas of 13 districts, covering portions of 8 agro-
ecological zones (AEZ) of the country. The larger portions of saline land fall in the districts of
Shatkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat.


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Soil salinity Classification
Salinityclass
Degree of
Salinity(EC
dSm
Im pacton Crops
Non-saline Less than 2 Usually on effect on crops
Very slightly
saline
2-4
Very low im pact except on extrem ely
salinity sensitive crops
Slightly
saline
4-8 Production of m any crops ham pered
M oderately
saline
8-12 O nlysalinity resistant varieties survive
Strongly
saline
12-15
O nly strongly salinity resistant varieties
grow well
Extrem ely
saline
M ore than15
Even strongly salinity-resistant varieties
fail to grow





Causes of salinity or how many ways the salinity develop in the soil:
1. Cyclone and tidal surge along the coastal belt.
2. Upstream withdrawal of the Ganges water by the neighboring country.
3. Widespread Brackish water shrimp cultivation (Bagda Prawn gher) in the
southern districts.
4. Irrigation with saline ground water.
5. Salts in water inflows (seepage) from upslope.
6. Salts from upward capillary movement of water from ground water close
to the soil surface.
7. Continuous accumulation of salts from tidal flooding.
8. Natural disaster or high water pressure or breakage in the coastal
embankment contributes to the intrusion of saline sea water into fresh
land.
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9. The usual flow of water in our rivers decreased drastically due to siltation
in the upstream region. As a result backwater effect ensues; it is a
special type of saline water movement which takes place at the mouth of
the river when fresh water is not sufficient enough to counterpart tide
water moving towards river from sea. Researchers identified different
causes of backwater effect, among them i) South west monsoon wind ii)
astronomical tides iii) storm surge are responsible for backwater effect at
the mouth of the Meghna estuary . They further argued that sea level
rise is the non-dynamic and long term cause of backwater effect .
10. Bangda Shrimp Gher are being established here and there in a very
unplanned way, as bagda culture requires saline water , the area under
bagda cultivation are gradually been rendered saline and unproductive.
11. Another major cause of developing salinity in coastal area soils is
gradual rise of sea water level due to climatic changes. Bangladesh,
having a densely populated coastal area, is highly vulnerable to sea level
rise. UNEP (1989) predicted a 1.5 m sea level rise by 2030 which will
inundate 16% of total land mass and effect 15 million people, whereas
world Bank (2000) predicted a rise of 10 cm, 25 cm and 1 m by the year
2020, 2050 and 2100 respectively which will likely to inundate 2%, 4%
and 17.5% of total land mass respectively. Sea level rise has direct
influence on salinity intrusion in the exposed and interior coast. During
Cyclones Sidr and Aila, in 2007 and 2009 respectively, sea water was
driven into ponds and rivers in Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts in
southern Bangladesh, and some fields remained flooded by sea water
long enough to raise levels of salinity in the soil and in underground
water used for irrigation.

Impacts of salinity on Paddy:
1. Salinity causes paddy grains to fall down immaturely before ripening.
2. Salinity also decreases the terminative energy and germination rate of some crops
including paddy. Ali (2005) investigated the loss of rice production in a village of
Satkhira district and found that rice production in 2003 was 1,151 metric tons less
than the year 1985, corresponding to a loss of 69%.
3. Sometimes Rice grains do not mature at all, as a result blank grains ( Chita Dhan )
are produced.
4. Rice grains lose desired taste, flavor or color.
5. Farmers cannot recover the total cost of production because of poor paddy yield and
low market price.
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6. Increase in salinity intrusion and increase in soil salinity will have serious negative
impacts on agriculture. Presently practiced rice varieties may not be able to withstand increased
salinity. The food production does not seem to have a better future in the event of a climate
change. In Bangladesh, rice production may fall by 10% and wheat by 30% by 2050 (Climate
change in Asia too alarming to contemplate-report, IPCC, 2007).
A brief note on Coastal Arable Land :
The impact of salinity spreads over 14000 sq. km. of coastal and estuarine areas. In these
salinity-infested areas about 20% of arable land is either turned fallow land or destroyed.
According to a survey conducted by Bangladesh Soil Resource Development Institute , nearly 2
million hectares land of the South-western region of our country is more or less devastated by
salt intrusion. Among these .8 million ha soil is less saline, .661 ha of land is moderately saline
and the rest .7 million is extremely saline.

Impediments of paddy production in salinity-inflicted coastal Districts:

1. Extreme salinity of water and soil.
2. Coastal saline soils being silty clay/clay in texture, gets hard on drying, Cracks
develop and making tillage operation difficult .
3. Over depth of water table during seedling planting in rainy season.
4. Saline water remains within one meter from soil surface all the year round.
5. Insufficiency of micronutrients, other than S and K. There is acute dearth of
nitrogen and potassium. Micronutrients such as zinc and copper are quite of very
little amount in saline soil.
6. Soil does not become tillable in time, i.e. moisture content in soil remains
decreased.
7. Water becomes stagnant in saline areas and water-logging condition persist .
8. Expansion shrimp cultivation in the coastal districts has worsened the salinity
condition and there is no or little co-ordination between all sectors. However the
importance of shrimp cultivation cannot be ignored or undermined as it is one of
our prime export items.
9. There is lack of proper irrigation system in the affected areas.
10. Most of the rice land kept fallow except during Aman season due to the extreme
presence of salinity in the southwest coastal region.
2.2 RECOMMENDATIONS:
A Sustainable and efficient strategy for management of coastal saline soils and enhancing
paddy production should be our top priority. As Rice is our staple food, any shortage in paddy
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production will exert a heavy toll on overall food security in our country , especially in the
coastal and estuarine areas. Therefore we can suggest some measures as follow----
1. Introducing salinity resistant paddy varieties such as BRRI Dhan-47 , BBRI
Dhan-40 , BBRI Dhan-41 , BRRI Dhan-53, BRRI Dhan-54 and other well-
adapted and salinity resistant local varieties. BRRI Dhan- 47 can withstand
12-14 dS/m of salinity while they are tender, and 6 dS/m in their entire
lifespan of 152-155 days. The expected yield is 6-7 tons per hectare or
around the same as regular rice. Another new salt tolerant rice variety
developed by Bangladesh Institue Of Nuclear Research , (Binadhan-10)
can tolerate up to 12 dS/m of salinity which can be cultivated in 40-50% of
those fallow lands in both Boro (dry season) and Aman (wet season)
seasons. The farmers can get yield of 5.5-6.5 t/ha in saline land and 7.5-
8.5 t/h in non-saline lands using this variety . BRRI dhan 53 and BRRI
dhan 54 are suitable for Aman season which can tolerate EC 8-10 dS/m.
2. Raising of protective embankment in order to prevent intrusion of saline
water. In this sector, embankments must be built at least 2-3 meters high
above the high tide level.
3. Provision of sluice gate on the embankment in order to facilitate water
drainage. It will also help to wash away the salt deposited on paddy land in
Spring Season ( Falgun-Chaitro ) at the onset of Rainy Season.
4. Slight variations land relief cause salt accumulation in the raised spots (As
a result of capillary rise ).Therefore proper leveling of the ground should
prevent accumulation of water in the low-lying patches with shallow ground
water tables and to facilitate uniform drainage of excess water. It will help
to apply irrigation water uniformly in the field in Rabi (Winter) season,
facilitate uniform germination of seeds and better growth of crops.
5. Storing of excess rain water in ponds for irrigation. It can be utilized in the
dry season.
6. Provision for subsurface drainage. To achieve the objective, a proper sub-
surface drainage system has to be installed to keep the ground water at
least one meter below the soil surface. This will help reducing soil salinity
by leaching salts. This technology is effective but somewhat expensive.
7. Enhancing well-adapted local T-Aman rice varieties etc .
8. Keeping land covered in winter and summer months: Ground water is
saline and present at a shallow depth ( about 1 meter ). Keeping lands
fallow leads to high salinity in soil due to evaporation soil moisture.
Therefore it is suggested to avoid fallowing of lands during Rabi season.
Salt tolerant crops of short life-span (eg. Dhaincha) should be chosen and
grown. This will lower profile salinity.
9. Winter is relatively short in the coastal region. So the establishment of
Boro a month earlier might help to avoid higher salinity during April-May.
10. Straw mulching conserves water and reduces capillary rise of saline water
and prevents forming saline crust.
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11. Soil flashing (washing soil with fresh water) for four times is good for
reducing soil salinity from 4 dS/m to 0.49 dS/m During Boro, one time
flashing during reproduction phase is quite useful for the crop.
12. Integrated fertilizer management is quite beneficial for a growing crop in a
saline prone area. Dibbling rice seeds in Aus season helps to avoid direct
contact of seedling with saline crust at the upper layer of the soil.
13. There should be well co-ordination between different Governmental
Agencies, like Department of Agriculture, Water Development Board,
Department of Fisheries etc. working in the coastal areas and also among
the NGOs. These Departments can reshape/redesign their programs in
such a way that will contribute in salinity increase in this zone.


2.3 Conclusion:
Soil salinity is a world -wide problem, Bangladesh being no exception to this
phenomenon. In our country salinity is one of the major natural hazards of rice production.
Coastal area in Bangladesh constitutes 20% of the country of which 53% is affected by different
degrees of salinity, that about one million hectares of paddy land in these areas are under
constant threat. Rice being the staple food of the country , decreased paddy production in
coastal belt poses a great threat on overall economy. Its effect on the soil surface and root
zones is to decrease crop production about 0.13 metric tons every year (Rahman, Mizanur;
Bhattacharya, Amartya Kumar, January 2006). The farmers are becoming poorer, losing their
land by leasing out for shrimp cultivation. As a result food security in these areas is greatly
threatened. This paper throws some light on how this menace can be addressed.

2.4 References :
1. Salinity Problems and Crop Production in Coastal
regions of Bangladesh by S. A. Haque , Pak. J. Bot., 38(5): 1359-1365, 2006.
2. Impacts of Salinity on Rice Production of Southwest Coastal Region of
Bangladesh by Iqbal Abdul Hafiz, Graduate School for Development and Cooperation (IDEC),
Hiroshima University
3. Investigation of soil and water salinity, its effect on crop production and adaptation
strategy by H. M. Rasel , M. R. Hasan , B. Ahmed 1 and M. S. U. Miah ,
Department of Civil Engineering, Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology,
Rajshahi, Bangladesh , Institute of Environmental Science, University of Rajshahi,
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Bangladesh , Vol. 5(8), pp. 475-481, August, 2013 DOI 10.5897/IJWREE2013.0400
ISSN 2141-6613 2013 Academic Journals.

4. BANGLADESH: Salt-resistant paddy offers hope to farmer , IRIN , 15 March 2010 ,
Humanitarian News and Analysis (IRIN).

5. Growing rice under stress environment written by Jibon Krishna Biswash , The Daily
Star, Saturday, April 19, 2014.

6. SALINITY INTRUSION AND ITS MANAGEMENT ASPECTS IN BANGLADESH,
Rahman, Mizanur; Bhattacharya, Amartya Kumar, January 2006, Journal of
Environmental Hydrology;2006, Vol. 14, p1.

7. CLIMATE CHANGE AND SALINITY IN BANGLADESH: CONSTRAINTS AND
MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR CROP PRODUCTION, M.S. Uddin * , M.S. I.
Khan, M.M.R. Talukdar, M. I. Hossain and M.H. Ullah, Rajshahi University journal of
environmental science, Vol.: 1, 13-20, December 2011