In the Anantapur region of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, droughts, low-rainfall and extreme heat are a way of life.
A farmer trims the leaves in a vineyard in Anantapur district in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Anantapur and its people are greatly impacted by desertification the process by which fertile land becomes a desert. Climate change only hastens this transformation. – Ramesh Hanumaiya digs a few inches into his field with his hand and examines the soil. There is movement in the thick, brown earth: Tiny earthworms being disturbed from their homestead.
“It was always a dry region but we knew when it will rain and people used to farm accordingly,” said 69-year-old Malla Reddy, who runs a non-profit that encourages natural farming practices in the region. “Now what's happening is that the rainfall can happen at any season, farmers are unable to predict this and many a time lose their crops.”
Reddy, the director of Accion Fraterna Ecology Centre, and the farmers his organization supports use methods known as natural farming and agroforestry to avoid spoiling the land. Natural farming replaces all chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic matter such as cow dung, cow urine and jaggery, a type of solid dark sugar made from sugarcane, to boost soil nutrient levels. Agroforestry involves planting woody perennials, trees, shrubs and palms alongside agricultural crops.
Manohar quit his job as a mechanical engineer in Bengaluru, sometimes called “India’s Silicon Valley,” to take up natural farming in his home town. On his farm he grows tomatoes, chilies and cabbage, among other crops and vegetables. “We need serious financing for climate adaptation and government policies that encourage restoration. These are the only things that will make this impact on scale,” he added. Money for adapting to harsher weather conditions has long been discussed at U.N. climate conferences like COP27, as the effects of climate change make it harder for many to sustain their livelihoods. Some funding for vulnerable nations has been promised but much of it hasn't been fulfilled.
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