Four traditional farming systems in Bangladesh and Japan have been designated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. They include Bangladesh’s floating gardens, a unique hydroponics production system constructed with natural grasses and plants, which have been developed in flood areas; and a trio of sites in Japan: the sustainable river fisheries utilising the Sato-kawa system in Gifu; the Minabe-Tanabe Ume approach to growing apricots on nutrient-poor slopes in Wakayama; and the Takachihogo-Shiibayama mountainous agriculture and forestry system in Miyazaki, which allows agricultural and forestry production in a steep mountainous area. “In the context of today’s environmental and economic challenges and climate change, small-scale and family farmers, and especially traditional agriculture, can offer real solutions for food security, the conservation of natural resources and sustainable rural development,” said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO deputy director-general.
