Forest Agriculture for the Future 3C

Working with the drought

Rainfall is changing throughout the tropics. The year 2023 has been a stark reminder to all of us working in the field that rainfall will become increasingly episodic in the tropics, and that our systems must adapt and respond to these variations by placing much greater emphasis on water planning, field water conservation, water storage systems, and the increasing incorporation of local and drought-tolerant species.

1. Perennial Forest Structure
2. Grow Local
3. Climate Alliances
4. Biomass Plants
5. Plants for Water Capacity

The challenges are undoubtedly great, but the talent and creativity emerging to meet them are equally great.

Throughout the tropics—what are the sources of hope? There is so much talent and plant genetics strengthened by time in the tropics. The more we adapt our systems to account for drought and respond to the water changes we know are coming—because we are experiencing them in real time—the more we can adapt to drought as production systems aligned and allied with a rapidly changing, yet always creative and abundant, ecology.