Using an innovative approach, farmers in Mali are adapting to climate change.
Using a technique commonly referred to as “farms of the future,” RIC4REC and partner ICRISAT have been providing farmers with a unique opportunity to see their climatic future before it happens. To do this, farmers’ locations are assigned to “analogue communities,” communities of similar size in a climate zone that is representative of what their location may look like in the future. In most cases this entails locations in cooler, wetter zones being paired with communities in hotter, dryer zones. Farmers are then brought to visit the analogue community they were paired with to see how people have adapted their agricultural techniques to suit the climate. Following their visit, farmers return to their communities with new knowledge and an understanding of how they can plan for, and adapt to, a changing climate in their community.
RIC4REC is funded through BRACED, a flagship DFID program under the International Climate Fund. To read more about the farms of the future technique and see what has been learned so far through the BRACED initiative, visit www.braced.rx.org.
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