Climate change will have an adverse effect on the world’s poorest populations, who rely on agriculture, because it will put more strain on the world’s food systems. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, droughts, and floods mean that traditional, rain-fed farmers will have a more difficult time sustaining their income than ever before. Farmers using climate-resilient irrigation, however, have revealed an approach to producing greater quantities of food through reduced amounts of water and land. Compared to traditional rain-fed agriculture, farmers using climate-resilient irrigation can produce more food in less time and feed an estimated additional 1.4 billion people by 2050.

Examples of farmers benefiting from using climate-resilient irrigation abound across the globe. For instance, in Senegal, farmers can now grow crops all year long because of better access to water, including during dry seasons. Modern irrigation methods in Turkey have replaced inefficient methods of flooding crops. Improved irrigation systems are resulting in higher yields, greater food production, and increasing abundance among farmers. Such improvements ultimately clear the way for reducing water-related stresses on farmers' ability to grow crops, diversify their crops, and maintain a stable food price.

The Mekong Delta in Vietnam is a region heavily reliant upon rice farming (the ‘Rural Bowl’). However, the water-based nature of rice farming causes another issue for Vietnam, as floods that continue to release methane gas, a greenhouse gas that adds to these problems for one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. Using climate-smart agriculture techniques, the Sustainable Agriculture Transformation Project (SATP) of Vietnam will reduce water and methane emissions while improving environmental conditions.

Climate-resilient irrigation in the Sahel Region of West and Central Africa is transforming lives. This region faces rapid population growth, conflict, and extreme environmental stress due to longstanding droughts and unpredictable rainfall patterns that threaten rural livelihoods. Since only 2% of crops in the Sahel are irrigated, climate change will affect nearly half of the region’s population. The Sahel Irrigation Initiative Support Project (SIISP), funded through the World Bank’s International Development Association, is bridging this gap by providing improved methodologies for irrigation.

In low-income countries, smallholder farmers provide 80% of all food consumed daily by over 500 million people. Through their creativity and ability to overcome challenges due to the changing environment through the use of the existing funds, the World Bank has invested money into irrigation solutions every year for 20 years. This approach will provide farm owners with the tools to respond to changing climate conditions, provide them with an opportunity to conserve our limited freshwater supply, reduce our carbon emissions, and promote rural economic development.