Building climate resilient agriculture through traditional floating rice in flash flood affected areas of the North bank plains zone of Assam
Flash floods are a recurrent phenomenon in the North Bank Plains Zone (NBPZ) of Assam, India, causing wide spread damage to rice (Oryza sativa L.) crop growing during Kharif season. Therefore, it is imperative to identify indigenous technical knowledge and integrate this with mainstream technologies, Maguri and not only to enable more effective ways of coping with such extreme events but also to enhance the adaptive capacity of small-scale local farmers of the NBPZ. Identifying and evaluating traditional crop varieties in the NBPZ that are flood tolerant is one approach that may help manage weather hazards and build climate resilient agricultural systems. This research represents investigations on more flood-resistant local rice varieties. In 2013 and 2014, participatory on-farm trials were conducted in Ganakdolonivillage, a community in NBPZ affected by flash floods.