Farmers in Rajshahi and Naogaon say they are not benefiting from government climate change adaptation schemes because ruling party strongmen have effectively taken over the projects.

A visit to a number of climate adaptation projects by the Dhaka Tribune revealed that local elites belonging to the ruling party had monopolised the benefits of canal re-excavation projects.

Canal re-excavation provides much needed supplementary irrigation to this dry region, known as the Barind tract, that suffers from depleted groundwater reserves.