After Devastating Cyclone, Fiji Farmers Plant For A Changed Climate

In Nigeria, climate change has led to food scarcity causing some farmers in rural Abuja communities to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. Also known as smart agriculture it encompasses things like reducing pesticide use, using extracts from neem plants, and using warm castings as a fertilizer. Farmers say the practice has improved the soil, increasing water retention, and sequestered carbon.

Quinn Organic Research Center sits at the hub of innovations slowly transforming farming culture away from industrial agriculture toward organic and regenerative strategies. Countering the decades-old "get big or get out" thinking about farming in Montana, the Quinn operation conducts small-scale experiments to develop new markets based on tactics that decrease soil erosion, improve biodiversity, and capture carbon. These climate-change-ready operations have seen many setbacks. But they've also been embraced by more locals and helped Big Sandy enjoy a subtle but real rejuvenation.

Bhojdari, a town in India, faced a severe drought in the early 2000s. The town doesn't have a river or canal nearby. However, after implementing an ecosystems-based approach, the town has reliable access to water, even in the dry months. Some of the methods that were incorporated in this approach included the creation of irrigation models, planting bamboo trees, and creating fish ladders so that fish can move up the stream. Ultimately, the model led to an increase in cultivation for local farmers and sufficient water for the town.

Climate change coupled with an increasing human population is reducing the amount of land that Kenya farmers are able to use for profitable crops. To get the most out of what's left of the arid land, many are turning to agroforestry projects and are seeing results in the form of healthier land and increased profits.

Agroforestry has become a powerful tool in El Salvador communities and is helping farmers grow crops they otherwise wouldn't be able to. The practices which has played a major role in bringing cacao back to the region, is also beneficial for the climante and ecosystem.

The effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and hotter global temperatures, are already having drastic impact on many communities, especially the rural, agricultural regions of countries such as Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Mozambique. Earthrise explores how people in these communities are learning new skills, implementing new techniques, and are striving in every way possible to adapt to these environmental changes while creating hope for sustainable growth in the future.

As climate changes causes seawater to flood land and increase the salt content in soil, farms in Scotland and the Netherlands are experimenting with using the saltwater to grow food. Seawater Solutions is growing crops called halophytes that have a high-salt tolerance and can be eaten or used as material for cosmetics and biofuels. And the Salt Farm Foundation has shown that potatoes, cabbage, and tomatoes can grow in saltwater. These projects can labor intensive, but seawater irrigation could be a viable climate adaptation solution.

Drastic solutions to climate change tend not to pan out (like trying to get everyone to stop eating meat), but careful adaptation is making real progress. In California, many smaller-scale farms are trying out new methods of adapting to the new realities of climate change, including not tilling the land so that nutrients build up and the soil strengthens. This article covers a range of approaches that farmers take to protect their livelihood and conserve their resources.

California’s Healthy Soils Initiative is providing funding for farmers across the state to grow cover crops that will help move carbon from the air to the soil. Doing so not only cleans the air, but helps the soil and crops retain moisture in a state that has often faced water scarcity. Besides being a response to climate change, the initiative has bridged the deep divide between California’s coastal and valley populations, showing that they need each other to respond to climate issues.

Mountains are particularly vulnerable to climate change, and a mountain city in India is finding sustainable solutions in traditional agriculture. Women overwhelmingly make up the farming workforce in Uttarakhand and are using a number of ways to combat the effects of the temperature increase. These solutions include bringing back an ancient grain, finger millet, to appeal to new tastes and dishes, storing seed banks of traditional varieties, and opening a cafe serving local food using the ancient grains to attract outside visitors.