Climate-smart villages are being promoted in indigenous communities in India to address the impacts of climate change and a lack of technical and financial resources.

An article in Business Standard outlines how a study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has recommended establishing climate-smart villages in tribal areas of Palghar district in the Indian State of Maharashtra.

Climate-smart villages are being promoted by the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) as a community-based approach towards sustainable agricultural development which helps communities adapt to climate change.

A range of interventions help villages to become climate-smart, such as agroforestry, rainwater harvesting, crop rotation, residue management and improved weather forecasts and crop advisories.

IFPRI researchers say marginal and smallholder farmers are most at threat from extreme climatic events because of their heavy dependence on agriculture and lack of technical and financial resources to cope with such events.

According to agriculture officer, Anand Kamble, changes in weather and rainfall over the past 3 years have impacted on crops in the region, and there is an urgent need for capacity building to help farmers implement conservation agriculture practices.

Read the full story: Experts stress on 'climate-smart' villages in tribal areas