Food: Farming for the Future

The village of Lamkani, in India, was lush but became barren after years of droughts. In 2000, Dhananjay Newadkar, initiated a multi-pronged approach that was supported by the community. It included watershed development, a ban on grazing and felling trees. However, the bans were not enforced. Instead, artists incorporated messages about conservation in their performances and educated the community. Finally, the grasslands were restored through rotational grazing. Now, the town is water-sufficient, even in droughts.

A Ministry of Agriculture project called "Seeds of Life" grants local farmers genetically-solidified seeds in order to fight food insecurity in the country. The farmers will produce the crops and sell them back to both the Ministry and the community, thus expanding access to quality food and stimulating the local economy. Since the program has started, maize production has increased 50%, rice production increased 25%, and sweet potato production increased 65-130%.

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.

Grasslands are important players in carbon sequestration. In the U.S. and Kenya some farmers are switching to regenerative grazing. For some this entails concentrating herds of cows and resting paddocks for long periods of time, and for others it means reseeding native grasses. This all forms part of a larger global network to restore grasslands.

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.

By reviving millet farming, farming communities are adapting to climate change. In India, the Millet Farmers Group, organized by a women’s rights nonprofit, the North East Network (NEN), helps farmers cultivate millet, an ancient grain that is less water-intensive than white rice. NEN Nagaland helps farmers from around the Nagaland district share knowledge about growing millet and obtain the necessary machinery to dehusk the grain.

When unexpected weather patterns began affecting crops in Kenya, the Government of the Makueni region provided a group of local leaders with weather information, through text messages, to distribute to the community to assist in food crop planning.

Climate change has led to shorter, more violent rainy seasons in the highlands around Lima, Peru, meaning that - even though there is theoretically enough water during the rainy season to sustain the local population, it flows downhill too quickly, leaving residents short of clean water during the dry season. Now, an organization called Condesan is helping the community to restore ancient stone canals from the seventh century that will help to store water from rainfall through the dry season and supply residents with a steady water source.

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 Fish Friendly Farming (FFF) program aims to alleviate the impacts of farming and ranching on local waterways, specifically local salmon and trout populations. The program works with area farmers to become certified and enact the best practices regarding soil health and erosion management to prevent too much sediment from entering nearby waterways. So far, the program has certified more than 280,000 acres of farms across 10 counties. In Napa Valley alone, about 90% of all vineyards are now FFF certified.