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By Helena Wright

Farmers in Bangladesh have to adapt their livelihoods both to a changing environment and to changing markets. Our recent working paper "Understanding Adaptive Capacity: Sustainable Livelihoods and Food Security in Coastal Bangladesh" analysed the results of survey data from 980 households in coastal Bangladesh. It was found that there were high levels of food insecurity, with 15 per cent of households reporting they faced food shortages for over half the year.

Market and economic reasons were more often given as reasons for changing agricultural practices than climate-related factors. 54 per cent of households gave yield and price as reasons for changing crops. Climate-related factors were also frequently mentioned. 25 per cent of households mentioned higher soil salinity and around 20 per cent pointed to increasing cyclones and floods.

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