Introduction of floating gardening in the north-eastern wetlands of Bangladesh for nutritional security and sustainable livelihood

Abstract Floating gardening is a form of hydroponics or soil-less culture. It is an age-old practice of crop cultivation in the floodplains of southern Bangladesh, where aquatic plants such as water hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes ) are used to construct floating platforms on which seedlings are raised and vegetables and other crops cultivated in the rainy season. The platform residue is used in the preparation of beds for winter vegetable gardening. Floating gardening was introduced in 2006 on a pilot-scale in the north-east wetlands of the country, as a contribution to food security and as a supplementary income for the marginalized community. The overall experience of floating cultivation in three selected villages was encouraging. Local people became aware of this…