Eco Secretz

  PUMPKIN GROWING USING SANDBAR This brief describes a way of growing crops on the sandbars, created by river deposits in Bangladesh, can be done to increase crop production for marginalized farmers. Introduction Every year millions of people are affected by sudden shifts in river courses that destroy their crops, farms and homesteads. The sandbars that emerge each year as the rivers recede are not stable enough to support natural vegetative growth and remain as barren sand until the rivers rise again. These sandbars can be made productive by growing pumpkins and other crops using the pit cultivation approach (by digging small pits and lining these pits with compost). Accessing these sandbars for cropping can help landless families diversify their incomes, help them overcome seasonal food shortages and facilitate a process of asset building alongside reducing the risks which threaten their livelihoods. What is sandbar cropping? The areas, which are vulnerable to erosion, consist of the