Dhaka, Oct. 1 -- Cordaid has called for scaling up saline-resilient agriculture in Bangladesh's southern coastal belt, where rising salinity threatens food security and livelihoods.

At a learning-sharing seminar titled "Breaking the Salt Barrier: Rewriting the Story of Saline Lands in Southern Bangladesh" held on Tuesday at a city hotel, government officials, researchers, private sector representatives, and development partners discussed lessons from the recently concluded COASTS project.

More than 30 per cent of Bangladesh's land lies in coastal zones, and over a half remains fallow due to salinity intrusion, cyclones, and tidal surges.

For millions of smallholder farmers, soil salinity has reduced productivity and forced them to aban...