Extreme weather can reduce the global water supply, disrupt food production, and impact crop quality. To cope with these climate changes, farmers worldwide are adapting their practices and technologies.
But that process isn’t always equitable, especially for farmers who belong to marginalized social groups.
“Climate change has a huge potential to widen social rifts in rural communities,” says O’Neill Assistant Professor Nathan Cook. “The already advantaged people can weather climate change more effectively, while the most marginalized people are often left behind.”
Cook is part of a team of researchers who want to know the impact of shifting toward climate-smart agricultural technology and practices—using solar panels, alternating cover crops, using a groundwater pump, and other changes—has on rural farmers in India.
“In India, more than 100 million people work in small-scale agriculture,” he explains. “That style of agriculture is very sensitive to the impacts of climate change, especially issues like unreliable or decreased water availability.”