Government, scientists, and NGOs come together in stakeholder’s workshop to discuss Asian mega delta activities in West Bengal

Asian Mega-Deltas for Climate and Livelihood Resilience , known as the AMD Initiative, is one of the initiatives under CGIAR for the three main deltas in Asia, namely the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh and India, Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar, and Mekong River Delta in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The three Asian mega-deltas are home to tens of millions of people, a source of food and economic security beyond its population, and hotspots of biodiversity. However, they are vulnerable to climate change and unsustainable development. The focus of the AMD initiative is to improve delta resilience, inclusiveness, and productivity through climate-smart agricultural practices and nutrition-sensitive interventions.

In India, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is taking part in this initiative in the Sunderban Ganges Delta in West Bengal, in collaboration with the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), a research institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

On 13th September, 2024, a stakeholders’ workshop was conducted at CSSRI Canning to showcase the outcomes of the activities under the AMD Initiative and to brainstorm innovative ideas suitable for the region. The initiative work is going on in the districts of North 24 and South 24 Parganas in West Bengal.

Dr. D. Burman from CSSRI presented an overview of the activities going on in the two districts of Sundarban region. Land shaping is one of the main technologies being scaled up in the region. It involves modifying the surface of the farmland for harvesting excess rainwater as well as making the land surface suitably shaped for the adoption of improved cultivation of diversified crops and integrated farming. This ensures water availability for irrigation, particularly for the dry season, as well as a reduction in soil salinity build-up, reduction in drainage congestion, and allows year-round cultivation of multiple…