Miller Magazine Issue: 156 December 2022

75 INTERVIEW MILLER / DECEMBER 2022 ready extremely high, such as the Sahel belt of Africa or South Asia, rising temperatures could have a more immediate effect on crops such as wheat that are less heat tolerant. Without solutions, falling crop yields, especially in the world’s most food-insecure regions, will push more people into poverty – an estimated 43 million people in Africa alone could fall below the poverty line by 2030 as a result. Without solutions, falling crop yields, especially in the world’s most food-insecure regions, will push more people into poverty – an estimated 43 million people in Africa alone could fall below the poverty line by 2030 as a result. How can agriculture adapt to climate change? It’s possible to reduce emissions and become more resilient, but doing so often requires major social, economic, and tech- nological change. There are a few key strategies: Use water more efficiently and effectively, combined with policies to manage demand. Building more irrigation infrastruc- ture may not be a solution if future water supply proves to be in- adequate to supply the irrigation systems—which our research has shown may indeed be the case for some countries. Other options include better management of water demand as well as the use of advanced water accounting systems and tech- nologies to assess the amount of water available, including soil moisture sensors and satellite evapotranspiration measure- ments. Such measures can facilitate techniques such as alter- nate wetting and drying of rice paddies, which saves water and reduces methane emissions at the same time. Switch to less-thirsty crops. For example, rice farmers could switch to crops that require less water such as maize or legumes. Doing so would also help reduce methane emissions, because rice is a major source of agri-food emis- sions. But a culture that has been growing and consuming rice for thousands of years may not so easily switch to an- other less thirsty, less emitting crop. Improve soil health. This is hugely important. Increasing organic carbon in soil helps it better retain water and allows plants to access water more readily, increasing resilience to drought. It also provides more nutrients without requiring as much chemical fertilizer -- which is a major source of emissions. Farmers can restore carbon that has been lost by not tilling soil and by using cover crops, particularly with large roots, in the ro- tation cycle rather than leaving fields fallow. Such nature-based solutions to environmental challenges could deliver 37% of climate change mitigation necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. But getting farmers to adopt these practices will take time, awareness-raising and training. In places where farm plots are small and farmers can’t afford to let fields lie fal- low or even rotate with leguminous crops, improving soil health could pose a challenge. What is the World Bank doing to help countries build food security in the face of climate change? The World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan (2021- 2025) is stepping up support for climate-smart agriculture across the agriculture and food value chains and via policy and technological interventions to enhance productivity, improve resilience, and reduce GHG emissions. The Bank also helps countries tackle food loss and waste and manage flood and drought risks. For example, in Niger, a Bank-supported project aims to benefit 500,000 farmers and pastoralists in 44 com- munes through the distribution of improved, drought-tolerant seeds, more efficient irrigation, and expanded use of forestry for farming and conservation agriculture techniques. To date, the project has helped 336,518 farmers more sustainably man- age their land and brought 79,938 hectares under more sus- tainable farming practices.