Mountain farmers are on the front lines of climate change. Here's how they can adapt

Sep 1, 2023

Farmers in China are facing more extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods due to climate change. Image: Pexels/Quang Nguyen Vinh

Miaomiao Qi

PhD candidate, Department of Global Development, Cornell University

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The terraced fields of Shitoucheng, Yunnan, with farmlands stacked in layers on the mountainside Image: Miaomiao Qi

A rainwater-collection cistern in Wangjinzhuang, which local irrigation mainly relies on Image: Miaomiao Qi

A villager from Shitoucheng clears silt from an irrigation channel taking water from Baoshan River to the terraces – a system in use for hundreds of years Image: Miaomiao Qi

A basket of millet. The Wangjinzhuang villagers have transformed the former local primary school into a seed bank, where farmers can borrow seeds. Image: Miaomiao Qi

Villagers transport goods on mules through Shitoucheng, a place too rugged for cars Image: Miaomiao Qi

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A Naxi woman tending to a terraced field where she grows taro, corn and local vegetable varieties Image: Miaomiao Qi

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