Published: 12:01 AM, 20 July 2026
When Knowledge Becomes the Best Defense Against Climate Change
Dr. Susmita Das & Md. Ashraful Alam
Climate change has become one of the greatest challenges to global agriculture in the twenty-first century. Rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, floods, droughts, salinity intrusion, soil degradation, and pest outbreaks are threatening agricultural productivity and food security worldwide. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the global population is expected to reach approximately 9.7 billion by 2050, increasing the demand for food production significantly. At the same time, climate-related disasters continue to affect farming systems, especially in developing countries. In this context, Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has emerged as an important approach for ensuring sustainable agricultural production, climate resilience, and food security.
Bangladesh is considered one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world due to its geographical location and heavy dependence on agriculture. Floods, cyclones, droughts, river erosion, and salinity intrusion regularly threaten agricultural production and rural livelihoods. According to the World Bank, climate change could significantly reduce Bangladesh’s agricultural productivity if effective adaptation measures are not implemented.
To address these challenges, Bangladesh has increasingly promoted climate-smart agricultural practices. Agricultural universities, research institutions, and government agencies are conducting research on stress-tolerant crop varieties, climate-resilient farming methods, and sustainable land management systems. In this regard, agricultural libraries and information centers play an important role in disseminating scientific agricultural knowledge to farmers, researchers, and policymakers.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions recognizes libraries as important institutions for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Libraries contribute to sustainable development by improving information access, supporting education and research, and strengthening community knowledge-sharing activities. Agricultural libraries therefore play a crucial role in promoting sustainable agriculture and climate resilience.
Climate-smart farming information includes weather forecasting, crop diversification, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, agroforestry, efficient irrigation systems, soil fertility management, and post-harvest technologies. Agricultural libraries disseminate this information through printed materials, digital resources, training programs, workshops, and online learning platforms. The integration of ICTs has further strengthened these services. Mobile phones, social media, and digital platforms now enable libraries to share real-time weather alerts, pest outbreak notifications, market information, and climate adaptation strategies directly with farmers.
According to FAO The world will need to feed close to 9.7 billion people by 2050. That's a astounding number on its own. Now add floods, droughts, soil degradation, and rainfall that no longer follows any predictable pattern, and the math gets harder still. This is the gap that Climate-Smart Agriculture, or CSA, is meant to close farming that raises yields, builds resilience, and cuts emissions, ideally all three together.
Farmers constantly face critical decisions regarding weather forecasts, drought-resistant crop varieties, soil health, irrigation, and pest control. Access to this information can determine the success of a harvest. While agricultural libraries are often labelled as dusty rooms filled with old journals, they have actually emerged as dynamic, modern hubs at the very center of solving this information gap.
Agricultural libraries in Bangladesh are increasingly adopting digital technologies to improve information services. Institutional repositories, e-books, online catalogues, and digital archives have expanded remote access to agricultural information. During natural disasters and emergencies, digital library services become especially valuable because users can access information without physical limitation.
Agricultural libraries in Bangladesh are steadily adopting digital technologies to enhance their information services. The integration of institutional repositories, e-books, online catalogues, and digital archives has significantly expanded remote access to vital agricultural data. During natural disasters and emergencies, these digital services become particularly invaluable, enabling users to seamlessly access critical information without physical limitations.
In National agricultural research system , there are vital organizations such as Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute etc. maintain specialized libraries and digital repositories that provide access to agricultural research papers, technical reports, climate studies, and extension materials. These libraries support agricultural research and knowledge dissemination across the country.
Many study revealed that access to agricultural information positively influences the adoption of climate-smart farming practices. Access to reliable information improves food security and strengthens farmers’ resilience to climate-related risks.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp have also become effective tools for agricultural communication. Agricultural libraries can collaborate with agricultural extension agencies to disseminate climate-smart information through these platforms. Videos, weather updates, training materials, and farming guidelines shared through social media can reach large numbers of farmers quickly and effectively.
Another important role of agricultural libraries is promoting information literacy among rural communities. Farmers are often exposed to misinformation and unreliable agricultural advice online. Libraries can help users identify trustworthy information sources and encourage evidence-based farming practices. Information literacy programs can therefore improve farmers’ decision-making capacity and technological adoption.
Despite their important contributions, agricultural libraries usually faces several challenges. Limited funding, inadequate ICT infrastructure, shortage of skilled library professionals, and poor internet connectivity often hinder effective information dissemination. In Bangladesh, many rural libraries still lack updated digital facilities and modern agricultural resources.
To strengthen agricultural libraries, governments and development organizations may invest more heavily in digital infrastructure, robust internet connectivity, and ICT-based agricultural information systems. Concurrently, specialized training programs for librarians and information professionals are essential to enhance digital service delivery. Expanding open-access agricultural repositories and fostering strategic collaboration among libraries, universities, extension agencies, and research institutions will further accelerate climate-smart information dissemination.
Ultimately, agricultural libraries play a vital role in disseminating climate-smart farming information within both global and Bangladeshi contexts. They serve as critical bridges between scientific research and farming communities by providing equitable access to reliable agricultural knowledge, digital resources, and specialized information services. Through digital transformation, information literacy programs, and ICT-driven initiatives, these libraries contribute significantly to sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate resilience. Strengthening agricultural libraries should therefore be recognized as both a national and global priority to achieve sustainable agricultural development in the era of climate change.
Dr. Susmita Das & Md. Ashraful
Alam are Director and Cataloguer, Agricultural Information Centre
Bangladesh Agricultural
Research Council.
