The 1978–1979 drought in Bangladesh affected three crop seasons, reducing rice production by an estimated two million tons. Rainfall deficiency varied regionally and locally, and drought effects varied with soils, crops and management. Farmers used new practices such as irrigation of crops normally grown rainfed, cultivation of famine millets, and – when rain eventually fell – transplanting crops that normally are direct seeded (including replanting to fill gaps in drought‐affected fields). Crop rotations also were adjusted to compensate for crop losses or late planting and to take advantage of reduced flood‐levels or changed market prices. The various and location‐specific responses by farmers provide useful lessons for planners and administrators in a disaster‐prone country: production plans and programmes must be flexible; relevant environmental factors, crop areas sown and crop condition must be closely monitored and the implications promptly assessed; and the farmers' repertoire of disaster‐mitigating practices should be recorded so as to provide a basis for more pragmatic research, extension and development programmes. A method for monitoring and assessing rainfa