Bringing Hope through Tower Gardening

According to the official population census of 2011 in Bangladesh, 1,015 people live in every square kilometer. Annual flooding reduces the cultivable land in the country. This impacts health status and is fundamental to developing self-sustainability at the community level. ADRA Bangladesh is continuing its Food Security intervention for more than 12 years.

Making the best use of agricultural blocks is the main idea of dike-cropping. The borders of the agricultural blocks are used for planting creeper vegetables, which climb the sticks. ADRA projects introduce multi-cropping in the fields. Traditionally, in some low-lying areas, farmers keep their land fallow after one harvest, unlike higher leveled areas. ADRA shows through projects how multiple cropping is possible. Instead of farming a single crop in a year because of weather or soil, the farmers are learning to plant different weather-resistant varieties in different soil types and weathers.

ADRA in Bangladesh is striving to build resilience and establish a sustainable livelihood in the flood-prone areas of the country through its Community Empowerment Project (CEP). CEP in Daulatpur, Manikganj is working untiringly to assist the vulnerable community to extend their capacity in terms of growing vegetables. CEP – Daulatpur, Manikganj has successfully implemented Tower Gardens in its project areas. Farmers are getting unbelievable produces from the garden! The beneficiary farmers never thought that they could grow vegetables in their lands which remain underwater.

Community Empowerment Project (CEP) - Daulatpur, Manikganj is encouraging the peasant communities to adopt Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). CEP technical team has demonstrated how to construct a tower for the innovative method of farming ‘Tower Gardening’. By following the CSA method farmers can grow vegetables round the year. Thus, CSA has become very popular among the peasant communities in Daulatpur Upazila of Manikganj district.