How are Afghans fighting climate change?

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.

A hydraulic network of man-made water tanks built 2,000 years ago, called an ellangawa, collects rainwater that locals in Maeliya, Sri Lanka, can release during the dry season to support the rice crop and recharge the groundwater.

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 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 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 federally-funded water conservation program, the System Conservation Pilot Program, is paying farmers in the Upper Colorado River Basin to not use the river’s water during the irrigation season. Leaving their fields dry for the program can earn them more money than they would get from growing crops.

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 Iowa are slowly turning to irrigation systems instead of relying solely on rain to combat more frequent droughts.