Bangladesh says new flood-resistant rice offers hope to farmers

5 days ago

DHAKA (AFP) — A new strain of rice may be able to resist floods that destroy vast tracts of paddy fields in Bangladesh each year, offering hope to millions of poor farmers, researchers say.

The farmers lose their rice crops when fields are submerged by annual floods triggered when rivers, fed by heavy monsoon rains and melting Himalayan glaciers, burst their banks.

The rice type, called Swarna Submergence 1, developed by the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), proved to be flood resistant in trials this year in northern Bangladesh, researchers said.

Normal rice varieties cannot survive being submerged by flood water for more than three days, resulting in huge losses for farmers.

But "last month when the flood water receded from two farms in which Swarna Sub-1 was planted, we saw the rice paddy stand up again, 10 days after it was completely submerged by water," said senior researcher Abdul Mazid.

"It was simply amazing. It means the variety has proved flood-resistant. It could be a huge step towards helping millions of rice farmers who are made paupers by floods," said Mazid of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).

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