Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Ambinakudige, Shrinidhi

Committee Member

Rodgers, John C.

Committee Member

Sherman-Morris, Kathy

Committee Member

Dash, Padmanava

Date of Degree

5-10-2024

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU only 1 year

Document Type

Dissertation - Campus Access Only

Major

Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

Achieving food security in Bangladesh remains an arduous task, as the country struggles with several challenges. These challenges include the effects of climate change, occurrence of natural disasters, lack of proper access to credit facilities, and the anthropogenic modification of the agricultural landscape. The vulnerability of agricultural practice in the northern regions to drought, flood, and riverbank erosion, as well as the increased occurrence of coastal surges, waterlogging, cyclones, coastal floods, shrimp aquaculture and soil salinity in the southwestern region, poses a major threat to Bangladesh’s attainment of food security. In this context, we analyze the anthropogenic factors such as land use and land covers change, waterlogging, soil salinity and agriculture credit facilities which combinedly affecting the food security in the southwestern and northern regions of Bangladesh. Findings revealed that in the southwestern regions agricultural lands have decreased because of an increase in shrimp farming. Waterlogging and soil salinity are increasing due to increased shrimp farms also for poor drainage infrastructure and human modification. In our studied three interior coastal districts agricultural land in 2011 was 19,657.12 acres, 12,750.14 acres and 38,774.70 acres which changed to 12,668.70 acres (-36%), 7,151.27 acres (-44%) and 32,809.30 acres (-16%) in 2021. By utilizing CMIP5 data and RCP 4.5 scenarios, we also projected temperature and precipitation in the northern and southwestern regions for the years 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2060 the results indicated substantial variations between pre- and post-monsoon temperatures, with projected maximum, minimum, and mean temperature differences of > 5°C, < 3°C, and < 4°C, respectively. Structural equation modeling reveals that shrimp farming has a significant negative impact on farmers' income and dietary habits. Land use and land cover analyses in the exposed coastal area indicate that agricultural land has decreased by 321.83 km2 over more than thirty years. Structural equation modeling also revealed that agricultural credit influences the food security of marginal farmers. Our study serves as a guide for policymakers in Bangladesh and other developing countries, providing insights into the implementation of effective and sustainable agriculture and climate policies to address the constraints and challenges associated with food security.

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