Commentary: Salt tolerant rice varieties bring hope to coastal farmers

Editorial Desk :
Due to climate change, saltwater intrusion poses a considerable problem for rice cultivation in Bangladesh’s coastal belt because the local variety of rice is a saline-sensitive crop. Thousands of hectares of land have become barren in coastal Bangladesh because of salinity. With a booming population increasing the demand for the staple rice, there have also been growing calls for a salt-tolerant variety for the salinity-prone areas of Bangladesh.
Looking for an alternative and adaption to the salinity, in 2006, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), with the help of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), invented the first successful salt-tolerant variety BRRI-47, which can tolerate salt at the seedling and growth stage. The first salt-tolerant variants were created after scrutinizing 385 varieties of rice that farmers were cultivating across the country, especially in the coastal districts. Scientists said the invention completely changed the rice breeding and adaption scenario in 19 of Bangladesh’s coastal districts which cover the country’s 25 per cent rice production.
In 2018, 119 hectares were cultivated with BRRI-67, a salt-tolerant variety. Now in 2022, it stands at 5,216 hectares. The breeding of Binadhan-10, another salt variety, also increased; in 2017 around 778 hectares were used to breed Binadhan-10, while it is now over 2,000 hectares.
Farmers of Satkhira, the worst victim of salinity, said the variety has changed the landscape of the district and revegetation of the once gray lands. Farmers in Bangladesh breed rice in Bangladesh in the three seasons Aus, T-Aman, and Boro, across four ecotypes, including irrigated, rainfed.
Now Bangladesh has around 16 salt-tolerant variants breeding on the 710km long coast of the Bay of Bengal. BRRI has developed 10 more salt-tolerant rice varieties in the last 15 years. The research and innovation of BRRI over the last few years have changed crop production and ensured food security.