Bengal banana farmers bask in sunshine

Nigerian farmers are adapting their practices to the dry season to avoid disastrous flooding during the rainy months. They use techniques like drip irrigation to conserve water by delivering it directly to plant roots and are cultivating drought-resistant crops. The government helps supports farmers in this endeavor by providing seedlings and fertilizer, too.

Communities in the Sundarbans have adopted shrimp farming as a sustainable livelihood strategy; the approach has proven successful, with environmental benefits and many farmers earning a good income.

Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India, are using an age-old farming practice known as flood recession farming, which involves planting crops in floodplains when water recedes, to grow crops with less water during droughts.

In the Indian state of Bihar, women-led self-help groups are challenging traditional gender norms and saving money to buy and install solar irrigation pumps. The pumps increase the local agricultural capacity by providing a cleaner, more affordable alternative to the diesel pumps typically used to combat water scarcity in the region.

In Paris, building-based agriculture, like rooftop gardens, allows for the production of nutritious food close to where they will be eaten. The practice helps eliminate carbon emissions, improve food security, and improve climate resilience.

The city of Amsterdam funded a blue-green roofs program to reduce both flooding and the urban heat island effect. The water collection system stores and releases rainwater, the variety of indigenous plants increase biodiversity, and the connected digital network allows them all to be controlled remotely.

Seaweed is emerging as a solution to Maine's shifting climate and economy, providing alternative industries for ocean farmers and also supporting land farmers' climate initiatives. While still in piloting stages, studies have shown up to 50 percent reductions in methane on New England cow farms that incorporate seaweed into feed.

Farmers living near the coast in India are turning to rooftop farming as cyclones lead to flooding that makes agricultural fields unusable. The Association for Social and Humanitarian Action taught local women how to grow food in tubs or sacks with compost, and those farmers trained others.

Farmers in Ndiob, Senegal, have returned to an ancient technique called zaï to combat drought, use less fertilizer, and increase their yields. Zaï involves drilling holes in the soil so rainwater can fill them and soak into the land instead of running off.

One of China’s many “sponge cities,” Haikou, experiences virtually no flooding after transitioning to primarily green, nature-based infrastructure instead of gray infrastructure like concrete and flood barriers. Prioritizing things like parks, wetlands, mangroves, and permeable pavement allows the city’s ground to soak up more rain.