A.K.M. Kamruzzaman Khan’s scientific contributions

Floating gardening, a form of hydroponics using aquatic plants as the medium, is a traditional cultivation system in southern Bangladesh practiced for year-round seedling and vegetable production. The livelihoods of marginalized people of the wetlands in North-eastern Bangladesh (haor region) are often constrained by 7-8 months water stagnation due to floods. A pioneering attempt at scaling up floating gardening in this haor region coincided with repeated, devastated floods in 2007. This paper summarizes the endeavour of haor dwellers in overcoming post-flood situation by up-taking this indigenous farming-technique for the first time as a result of intense motivation, capacity development, and determination. Despite some limitations and challenges, floating gardening and subsequent winter vegetable cultivation on soil was found to be useful for improving nutritional security, household income, and land-use capacity of extreme poor, landless people, especially in the post-disaster months. Potentials of floating gardening to adapt to changing climate are also highlighted.