[ti:Bangladesh Overcomes Flooding with 'Floating Farms'] [ar:Marsha James] [al:Agriculture Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report. [00:05.14]Rivers in northwestern Bangladesh rise sharply [00:10.12]during the rainy season causing months [00:13.46]of flooding on farms and villages. [00:16.05]This hurts the rural poor who depend on agriculture to survive. [00:22.03]When the floods cover their lands [00:24.97]they cannot grow crops or raise animals. [00:28.25]But local farmers may have found a way [00:31.49]to deal with the seasonal weather. [00:33.78]Some are building small farms [00:36.76]that float on top of the floodwaters. [00:39.41]Hafiza Khatun is gathering eggs from the ducks [00:52.80]that live in what is called a "coop" on her floating farm. [00:57.42]The farm is made of bamboo plants [01:00.31]and empty oil containers, or drums. [01:03.09]It is attached to the bank of a river [01:06.29]near the village of Charbhangura. [01:08.48]Women also raise fish and vegetables on the floating farm. [01:13.90]25-year-old Hafiza Khatun could not earn money [01:19.15]during the rainy season before she had her floating farm. [01:23.28]Ms. Khatun has two small children. [01:26.82]She does not have any education. [01:29.76]Her husband is an agricultural worker. [01:33.19]But he does not work when monsoon rains [01:37.34]fall from July to October. [01:39.73]During that time, the Gurmani river rises at least three meters. [01:46.71]Three years ago, a Bangladeshi non-profit organization [01:51.49]called Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha [01:55.37]brought small floating farms to the village. [01:58.85]The farms are 17 meters long and almost five meters wide. [02:04.97]They are made of both recycled and local materials. [02:09.47]Long bamboo rails create places to raise fish in nets. [02:15.69]Vegetables such as gourds and beans are grown [02:19.57]in plastic containers filled with soil. [02:22.82]Shidhulai pays the cost of making the farm. [02:27.00]For Ms. Khatun and other villagers, [02:30.53]life is difficult during the flood season. [02:34.28]Ms. Khatun says when the water comes, her house goes underwater. [02:46.87]There is no place to go, no place to stay, she says. [02:51.32]There is water everywhere. [02:53.66]But now she can grow food on the floating farm [02:58.19]and earn money from selling some of it. [03:00.98]Five to ten women work on one farm. [03:04.26]Depending on the size of the farm, [03:07.15]together they can earn about $1,700 a year. [03:11.73]That amount of money can buy a lot of food in rural Bangladesh. [03:17.72]Ms. Khatun also rented land with the money she earned. [03:22.80]She grows sugar cane on the land. [03:26.08]Her family is saving money in a bank for the first time. [03:30.76]Mohammed Rezwan started Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha in 1998 [03:37.99]to create schools on boats. [03:40.37]The school boats let poor children continue their education [03:45.05]even when flood waters block the roads they use to get to their school. [03:50.43]Four years ago, he created floating farms [03:54.71]so people can still earn money and feed themselves during flood season. [04:00.18]Bangladesh is close to sea level, [04:03.72]which means it is greatly affected by climate change [04:07.89]that causes flooding and rising sea waters. [04:11.68]The difficulties of making money in the rainy seasons [04:15.66]often lead rural people to move to cities in Bangladesh. [04:20.34]Most cities are very crowded. [04:24.12]Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries. [04:29.10]There are 156 million people in an area [04:33.58]that measures 144,000 square kilometers. [04:37.76]That is about half as many people who live in the United States. [04:43.19]But that country measures about 9.9 million square kilometers. [04:48.97]Mr. Rezwan says there is great demand for answers [04:54.88]for areas affected by climate change. [04:57.72]"Bangladesh is on the front line of climate change. [05:02.29]We have hundreds of rivers in the country. [05:06.52]So this project has big potential to be scaled up [05:10.26]in the country and other developing countries, [05:13.59]particularly the countries that will be affected by climate change." [05:17.22]Shidhulai has created 40 floating farms [05:21.75]that help about 300 women and their families. [05:25.29]Mr. Rezwan wants to create 400 more farms in the next few years. [05:31.27]He believes the floating farm idea [05:34.25]can be used in other developing countries. [05:37.19]"We hope that the idea of on water farming [05:42.33]will be replicated in other settings. [05:46.12]It helps people adapt to changing climates. [05:49.90]It creates jobs. [05:52.09]It ensures food security and helps the whole family [05:58.91]to adapt to the climate change." [06:01.64]School boats are being used in several other countries, [06:06.26]including the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nigeria and Zambia. [06:13.08]The group's floating schools have helped [06:16.68]more than 70,000 children in northwest Bangladesh [06:20.71]go to classes since 2002. [06:24.14]And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. [06:29.22]For more agriculture and environment stories, [06:33.25]go to our website: 51voa.com. [06:39.27]I'm Marsha James.