The challenge
A vulnerable agricultural region under pressure
The coastal zone of the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal in India is home to over 60 million people who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. There is a high incidence of poverty and poor food security in the region, which is also exposed to tidal floods, storm surges, tropical cyclones, riverbank erosion, and salinity intrusion. Traditionally, farms produce low-yielding local rice varieties under rainfed conditions in the Kharif (wet) season. In the Rabi (dry) season, most agricultural land remains fallow due to prolonged waterlogging, high soil salinity, and a lack of freshwater for irrigation.
Our response
Collaborating to develop climate smart, resilient farming systems
Since the mid-1990s CSIRO has been collaborating with Bangladeshi and Indian organisations on water and food security, with support from the Australian Government, including the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Multidisciplinary teams have carried out research on crop adaptation and soil and water management strategies since 2015 in the salt-affected coastal zone of the Ganges Delta to increase crop yields in the Kharif season and cultivation in the Rabi season. They have assessed options for increasing cropping intensity and diversity, and livelihood opportunities, including:
- Exploring and refining suitable climate-smart cropping options
- Out-scaling fit-for-purpose and profitable technologies through experimentation, hydrological and crop modelling, and demonstration in the wider region Integrating extensive on-farm mapping through remote sensing analysis
- Developing resilient farming strategies through vulnerability and climate risk assessment; and socio-economic modelling and analysis.
The results
Science driven innovations improving livelihoods
CSIRO's and partners' 10 years of cropping intensification research in the Ganges Delta has led to significant science and technology innovations and outcomes for farmers, local research organisations and the agrifood system in the southern salt-affected coastal zone of the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.
- Improved understanding of soil, water and salt dynamics and coastal region characteristics, which has enabled climate-smart and profitable cropping technologies to be developed and tested across the region.
- Co-development and co-piloting of innovative farm management strategies to boost Kharif season yields and expand Rabi season cropping, including zero-tillage potato cultivation.
- An increase of fallow land (up to 70% in some areas) under cultivation during the Rabi season which has increased crop yields and profits for farmers.
- Strengthened technical capabilities of smallholder farmers—including women—as well as local scientists and research organisations.
- Scaling of climate-smart, zero-tillage potato cultivation to other parts of Asia (including non-saline parts of Bangladesh and India, and Vietnam) and to Latin America (Peru) and Africa (Malawi, Kenya) by the International Potato Centre (CIP).in collaboration with our local partners.
More detail about the outcomes of this work and how they have been achieved is provided in the Impact Story: Growing Australia's impact internationally: Cropping system intensification in the salt-affected coastal zone of the Ganges Delta (2025) PDF (3 MB).