Indian farmers beef up below sea-level system for climate fight – Gulf News India

Article Synopsis – In Kuttanad, India, scientists are working to adapt a 150-year-old Indian farming system used on land two meters (6.5 feet) below sea level that has withstood saltwater infiltration and monsoon floods, hoping it could help fight global warming, rising oceans and coastal storms. This traditional model uses a wider “ecosystem approach” that treats rice, fish, ducks, cattle, humans, houses, coconut and cash crops as part of a single system. This system uses dykes and pumps as well as incorporating the natural landscape for diverting and reusing rainwater, biological pest control and fertilization, and saline-tolerant crops. This model of farming could be used in many other areas facing food shortages due to climate change and sea level rise. To read the actual article click here.

By Sharon Gray April 6, 2017 Newsletter