As seas rise, Bangladesh farmers revive floating farms

Mohammad Ibrahim, 48, irrigates his floating bed, at his farm in Pirojpur district, Bangladesh, August 16, 2022. Bangladesh could lose more than a tenth of its land to sea level rise in two decades, with climate change bringing more extreme heat and rainfall, flooding, erosion and saltwater surges in low-lying southern and southwestern delta, criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers. "I can feel the harsh weather. Water levels are rising. I still can remember I used to play football in the land that now goes under the water during the normal tide,? Ibrahim said. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Mohammad Mostafa, a farmer in the low-lying deltas of southwestern Bangladesh, has revived his forefathers' farming practice of growing crops on floating rafts as rising seas and storm flooding threaten more and more farmland.

With prolonged waterlogging posing an increasing threat to families growing their own food, more have turned to using the rafts as secure platforms to grow vegetables and fruit including cucumbers, radishes, bitter gourds, papayas and tomatoes. Most are sold as saplings.