California farmers turn to agave amid drought conditions and climate change

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.

Farmers in California are taking advantage of recent heavy rainfall by intentionally flooding their fields to restore the underground aquifers after years of drought.

Farmers in Zimbabwe are diversifying their income with beekeeping to offset financial losses from crops underperforming during increasingly severe droughts.

Farmers in southeast Utah grow wheat and other select grains without irrigation, a technique called dryland farming. Relying only on rainwater eases water pressure amid droughts.

Farmers in Bangladesh are switching from shrimp aquaculture to growing rice and watermelon during different seasons to increase their incomes and have more consistent harvests as they deal with the impacts of climate change.

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.

The nonprofit Group to Promote Education and Sustainable Development teaches women in drought-ridden Indigenous communities across Mexico to use ancestral methods of irrigation and grow drought-resilient medicinal plants. The four-year training program also aims to address gender disparity through empowerment. Participants are encouraged to set up savings funds to increase their financial independence and attend group therapy sessions, among other activities.

A seed bank was established in Sidi Ifni, a farming community in Morocco, to revive drought-ridden land by enabling the cultivation of traditional, drought-resistant crops. An accompanying training program is helping farmers market these crops to improve their livelihoods.

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.

The community in Jakhni, India, reimplemented old farming practices, like building embankments to trap rainwater and planting trees to prevent erosion, to combat severe drought.