Crop of the future? More climate-hit Kenyans count on fish farming

In the arid Karnataka region of India, millet is largely replacing rice as a staple crop. Not only does this drought-resistant grain require far less water and pesticide, but it's also highly nutritious. Perceptions are also beginning to change. What was once viewed as subpar food is starting to look like a winner in an increasingly thirsty world.

Farmers and researchers in Utah are growing Kernza, a perennial grain that requires very little water and improves soil health, in hopes of helping the local agricultural industry adapt to record-breaking heat and droughts.

Communities in Siaya are excavating water pans to store runoff from the rainy season for agricultural and household use during droughts. The pans are dug in clay soil, and their size and depth are determined based on community needs.

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

The International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) preserves genetic diversity and breeds climate-resilient varieties of staple crops to improve livelihoods and strengthen food security — specifically in dry, climate-change-affected areas — by creating seed vaults. Through breeding programs over the past four decades, ICARDA has released more than 30 improved varieties of wheat, barley, chickpeas, lentils, and fava beans.

A government scheme in Pakistan involves the construction of water-harvesting dams in areas that experience droughts, which allows farmers in the region to use the irrigation water from the dams for their crops. One farmer is growing onions and wheat and because of the access to water, his income has increased more than 60 percent. There are concerns about how helpful the water from the dams will ultimately be in the arid region, but there are plans to build more dams in the next few years.

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.

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.

Farmers in Mexico are keeping a 1,000-year-old tradition alive to produce reliable yields of healthy crops despite facing historic droughts. They're using chinampas, which are man-made “floating gardens” created by placing soil from the lake on top of reeds and grasses.

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.