The salinisation of coastal areas in Bangladesh reduces livelihood options for rice intensification but offers a more suitable environment for shrimp and salt farming. Thus, farmers' salinity perspectives might vary resulting in contested land use settings that may create uncertainties for policymakers in planning adaptation initiatives to address salinisation. The aim of this study was to examine co‐located farmers' salinisation perspectives (e.g., trends, causes, impacts), and to demonstrate its potential for place‐based policy initiatives and research prioritisation for sustainable agricultural development in the coastal areas. Primary data were collected from randomly selected rice, shrimp and salt prodcrs/farmers in two coastal sub‐districts through semi‐structured interviews at the household level. Furthermore, key informant interviews were conducted with personnel from research and extension organisations at national and local levels to complement the survey results. Perceptions of the salinity extent contrasted starkly among the various types of farmers. While the majority of rice farmers (87%) perceived increased salinity, just over half of the salt and shrimp farmers perceived that salinity had decreased over the last 20 years. There was also a lack of agreement on the causes of salinity, with most rice farmers (62%) indicating anthropogenic factors as the main causes, while the majority of shrimp and salt farmers focused more on natural factors. Rice farmers (42%) also perceived a reduction in yield followed by less income (30%) under saline conditions, while shrimp farmers (70%) and salt farmers (55%) perceived production gains when high salinity prevailed. The adaptation preferences to combat salinity were also at odds between different types of farmers, with rice farmers having adaptation preferences for the development of salinity‐tolerant rice varieties that should have greater tolerance at the reproductive stages, while shrimp and salt farmers' preferences were for engineering‐based solutions to prevent seawater inundation during cyclones. Thus, research and extension services on integrated coastal resources management need to consider tailoring their approach to accommodate varied livelihood perspectives of salinity, as this place‐based approach could accelerate the pace of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as SDG‐1, SDG‐2 and SDG‐3 due to a more strategic targeting of farmer types and their context.

The increasing salinization of coastal areas of Bangladesh reduces options for rice intensification but offers a suitable environment for shrimp and salt farming. Under these contested land use settings, adaptation decisions to address salinity require an understanding of the salinity perspectives of all farmer types. Primary data was collected from randomly selected rice, shrimp and salt farmers in two coastal sub-districts through semi-structured interviews at household level. Also, key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with personnel from research and extension organisations from different levels (e.g. national and local). Salinity perceptions among the various types of farmer differed. While the majority of rice farmers (87%) perceived increased salinity, just over half of the salt and shrimp farmers perceived that salinity has decreased over the past 20 years. Most rice farmers (62%) perceived anthropogenic factors as the main cause of increased salinity, while the majority of shrimp and salt farmers focused more on natural factors. Rice farmers perceived under saline conditions a yield loss (42%), followed by less income (30%). In contrast, shrimp farmers (70%) and salt farmers (55%) perceived production gains when high salinity prevailed. Rice farmers’ adaptation preferences to cope with salinity is development of salinity-tolerant rice varieties that have greater tolerance at the reproductive stages, while shrimp and salt farmers’ preferences are engineering-based solutions. Thus, research and extension services on integrated coastal resources management need to consider all livelihood perspectives, as this approach could accelerate the pace of achieving the SDGs (i.e.. SDG-1, SDG-2 and SGD-3).

Achieving SDGs by 2030 such as “No poverty, zero hunger, good health” is the main priority for policy planning in Bangladesh. Key challenges faced in achieving these goals is encountered in the agricultural sector. This research focused on farmers’ perception of salinity and their management strategies, and the implications for policy makers to sustain rice production in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Household survey data was collected from randomly selected 108 rice farming families from two south-west south-east coastal sub-districts. Semi-structured and pre-tested questionnaire were used to collect data from the respondents. Majority of the respondents (89%) reported that salinity has increased over the last 20 years and they also believe that the current salinity level in their fields are high. In a 2nd field trip 36 farmers from the original sample had soil from their fields measured over two time periods. Farmers’ perceived salinity level was then compared with measured field salinity in their rice field. Farmers’ perception of soil salinity level in their rice field aligns closely with the measured salinity level in the majority of the cases. It was also observed that farmers’ understanding of salinity level is strongly associated with in-field crop condition and soil appearance. 45% of respondents said their main signals of salinity were from the appearance of the plant and 22% of farmers also observed the inflorescence becoming white and grain unfilled in rice crops. Results also suggests that early transplanting of rice seedlings during Boro season rice and use of salt tolerant rice varieties having high tolerance during booting stage along with improved irrigation facilities can substantially reduce rice yield loss from salinity effects.