‘Thank you, climate change, for bringing attention to the countryside’
Foodthink Says
In May, with the support of the Oxfam Hong Kong Beijing office, Foodthink held the “When Nature Fails, Humanity Unites” Rural Social Organisation Climate Change Adaptation Workshop in Xianyang, Shaanxi. On the front lines of climate change, in a land ravaged by heat and drought, we sought answers to these questions:
How can we identify the gaps in rural climate vulnerability and leverage the strengths of social organisations to ensure farmers are prepared and supported when facing climate change?
How can rural agriculture not only be spared from climate disasters but even become part of the solution to climate problems?
Over two days, we visited well-known local ecological farms, drawing inspiration from their diversified business models covering the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. Through spirited discussions between social organisations, researchers, and farmers, we identified problems, reached a consensus, and opened up new ways of working. Below is a review of the workshop’s highlights.
I. Farmers’ Own Solutions
Mid-May is a critical period for wheat growth. However, the Guanzhong region has lacked effective precipitation since the start of spring, with some parts of Shaanxi experiencing severe or even extreme meteorological drought. Lüwo Farm primarily grows wheat, and thanks to the ample irrigation water from the Jinghui Canal (the ancient Zheng State Canal), it has been less affected by the drought.
The farm benefits from its location, but it also actively adapts to the elements. Since 2014, Da Hei has been practising Australian regenerative farming, improving soil structure through green manure and conservation tillage machinery, planting more resilient local varieties such as Abell wheat, and installing sprinkler systems and reservoirs to conserve water and combat drought. Furthermore, adding value by processing wheat into flour and biscuits is a strategy to diversify climate-related risks.
Beyond individual efforts to manage climate risks, what external support can farmers receive?
At the workshop’s second stop, Zheng Lixing, head of the Woye Qingqing ecological farm, noted that for cash crops like tomatoes and strawberries, the farm has received insurance payouts during disasters. However, compared to the losses or overall costs, this is a drop in the ocean. He believes that while insurance premiums must be paid as a final safety net, farmers cannot rely on insurance to recover their losses; they must strive to manage extreme weather themselves.
Woye Qingqing was co-founded by three young people returning to their hometown. It has since become a well-known local ecological farm. Its livestream sales are currently thriving, increasing the income of elderly employees and attracting many local youths to find employment—particularly young couples who have remained in the village to care for their children.
Only when there are people, vitality, and ideas in the countryside is there a foundation for discussing climate change adaptation.
II. Can Smallholder Farmers Adapt to Climate Change?
An expert in agricultural climate adaptation introduced the reciprocal relationship between agriculture and climate change. Firstly, agriculture is a key sector for the emission of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide; its contribution to the warming effect is second only to the production and distribution of fossil fuels. As climate change intensifies, the increase in meteorological disasters and higher extreme temperature thresholds have, in turn, placed an additional burden on agri-food systems, resulting in reduced crop yields and the loss of nutritional value in agricultural products.
On the international stage, “Climate-Smart Agriculture” is helping farmers adapt to climate change. Within China, the expert suggests that beyond technical innovation, climate adaptation should also incorporate socio-economic factors, striving to broaden the scope of research.
When discussing climate change in the Northwest, many people’s first reaction is to see the “benefits of warming and humidification”.
However, Liu Jie, a climate economist and Associate Professor at the International Business School of Shaanxi Normal University, points out that while rising temperatures and increased precipitation are overall trends in the Northwest, the specific climate trends vary across smaller geographical units. Examples include the warming and drying trend in the northern irrigation areas of Ningxia, as well as the worst drought in 60 years currently affecting the Guanzhong region of Shaanxi. Furthermore, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and torrential rain are becoming more frequent and intense.
Faced with the complex impacts of climate change, agricultural production must both mitigate risks—for instance, apple farmers in Guanzhong often use smoking, anti-frosting agents, and fruit bagging to “avoid harm” (increasing income by over 600 yuan per mu, which is cost-effective); and leverage opportunities—the wine grape industry in Ningxia has expanded its consumer base, targeting those willing to pay a premium, by applying for climate-ecological certifications such as the “Golden Climate Belt”.
Beyond the macro-outlines sketched by meteorologists and economists, research conducted by Shang Lan, a Master’s student at the College of Humanities and Development at China Agricultural University, in Liu Village (a pseudonym) in North China, provides a micro-sociological case study. It also poses a fundamental question: can smallholder farmers truly adapt to climate change? Whether they can or cannot, what are the conditions that shape their capacity to do so?
Located in the Taihang Mountains, Liu Village experienced the catastrophic rainstorms of 31 July 2023, but in recent years it has also been subject to a trend of increasing aridity.
Shang Lan found that to cope with drought, farmers have abandoned wheat in favour of more drought-resistant crops that require less labour. At the same time, for the sake of convenience (to facilitate migrant work in cities), farmers have stopped saving seeds; as a result, they are often cheated by low-quality, overpriced commercial seeds. These climate adaptation measures have deeply tethered farmers to market mechanisms, weakening their autonomy.
She believes that under the dominance of this “modern climate adaptation model”, changes in the economic system, rural culture, and political power dynamics within and outside the village have, in effect, deepened the climate vulnerability of smallholder farmers.
III. Suitability is Key: What Kind of Climate-Friendly Technology Do Farmers Need?
Regenerative agriculture expert Dr Li Ying introduced the environmental disaster of the 1930s in the US Midwest—the Dust Bowl—caused by unsustainable agricultural development. Exposed soil not only serves as a source of dust but also reduces the efficiency of irrigation water use and the insulating and moisture-retaining properties of the farmland, further amplifying the impact of extreme weather. Yuan Yong, an advisor to the Home Action in Chengdu, added that soil compaction and degradation are also severe challenges facing Chinese agriculture.
So, how can soil-protecting agricultural technologies be promoted in the right place and at the right time? What motivates farmers to adopt these technologies? Addressing different target groups, the three speakers provided three keywords: health, cost, and market.
Yuan Yong introduced the no-till rice cultivation techniques promoted by Home Action in the rice-oil rotation areas of Sichuan. With 30 years of experience rooted in the countryside, Yuan Yong observed that most elderly left-behind farmers are most concerned about the physical and mental health of themselves and their families. No-till farming, which avoids all chemical inputs, allows them to consume ecological farm produce, directly addressing this need.
Furthermore, management measures such as no-till ridge farming, straw mulching, and leaving crop residues are well-suited for small-scale farming where households manage only a few mu of land. If the scale is too large and becomes dependent on agricultural machinery, it not only increases production costs but also carbon emissions. Therefore, Yuan Yong specifically reminded the attendees: do not respond to climate change with short-sighted actions that exacerbate it.
Dr Li Ying, who works extensively with large-scale farms, believes that for these farmers, the focus of conservation tillage on maintaining yields and reducing costs is more attractive than simply increasing yields and income. For example, in the Huang-Huai-Hai region, promoting the practice of completing wheat sowing and fertilisation in one go under corn straw or stubble cover has effectively reduced soil disturbance by machinery and saved the energy and labour usually spent on rotary tilling and ploughing.
One highlight is the ecological tea production in Liugou Village, Hanzhong, Shaanxi. However, Liu Zhiqiang also pointed out that the ecological value of these agricultural products has not yet received sufficient market recognition. There is a need to further develop a complete value chain to garner more support for farmers’ low-carbon initiatives, promoting the revitalisation of rural ecological industries and increasing household incomes.
IV. Ideals vs Reality: Social Organisations in Rural Areas Tackling Climate Change
However, when this scientific and policy discourse is implemented on the ground, it encounters a ‘one-sided enthusiasm’: the general public finds it difficult to connect specific facts with climate change, while social organisations struggle to find a direction for their climate work.
Foodthink also found during research over the past few months that although exploration of climate work by domestic social organisations began 20 years ago, few rural social organisations have integrated climate change adaptation into their strategies, and a significant number of climate projects are driven by funding.
Where does the problem lie? How can social organisations participate in climate change work?
Liu Junyan observed that many social organisations engage in climate work through risk assessment, communication and advocacy, and disaster response, but they face challenges where the requirements exceed their own capacities. For instance, is the ‘hazard-vulnerability-exposure’ climate risk assessment framework applicable at a community scale? How can complex climate science be communicated effectively? Why is there a rush to respond to disasters, yet so few resources invested in post-disaster reconstruction?
Therefore, she suggests that local social organisations should view climate change as a result of existing problems, rather than an isolated issue, and identify their own path to climate action by combining it with the fields in which they excel.
Oxfam has been supporting social organisations in exploring such paths. Hu Wei, an Oxfam project officer, told us that over a decade ago, most project villages supported by Oxfam for disaster relief in the mountainous areas of southern Shaanxi were secondary disaster zones with relatively limited resources. Through emergency donations and reconstruction work, Oxfam helped establish disaster prevention mechanisms and provided facilities and training, gradually enhancing the communities’ capacity to cope with climate disasters.
Hu Wei further noted that compared to cities, rural communities are more visibly impacted by climate change, and its effect on agricultural production has received widespread attention. However, “rural areas are not just about agricultural production; they are also about the lives of farmers and rural infrastructure.” Consequently, there is still significant untapped potential for social organisations to carry out climate work in rural communities.
Many rural social organisations are also social work agencies; how can they contribute their expertise to climate work? Zhan Yuping from Guizhou Normal University reminded the audience that social work emphasises the concept of “person-in-environment”—where environment refers not only to the social environment but also to the natural ecological environment.
He called on social work agencies to reconnect with nature and environmental issues and to clarify their institutional visions. On this basis, social work agencies can conduct community research, facilitate dialogue between stakeholders, and promote community disaster preparedness. Those with the capacity can even conduct action research to break the knowledge hegemony of current mainstream climate discourse.
Kong Lingyu of Foodthink believes that social organisations must not only remain sensitive to climate change but also maintain a clear-eyed understanding of the political and social “climate” surrounding agriculture and rural areas, as the solutions for enhancing agricultural climate resilience are often found in the latter.
Alongside exploring specific possibilities, we raised further questions regarding the true meaning of “climate philanthropy”:
With climate impacts being omnipresent, the issue can seem all-encompassing. How should social organisations find their point of entry? And who exactly are they serving?
Do projects that lack the “climate” label but effectively deliver mitigation and adaptation results count as climate philanthropy?
Some social organisations are simply “putting old wine in new bottles” — fundraising under the guise of climate change to address more pressing community needs. Does this highlight a deteriorating funding landscape and a lack of discernment among funders? …
V. Facing the Challenges, Seeking Solutions
As more words appeared on the screen—hollowing out, fragmentation, lack of supply chains, the absence of small-scale individual action—the clouds of uncertainty began to clear. The antonyms of these challenges provide the key to climate action and define the future direction for social organisations.
Zhou Dianfan, a professional in the agricultural non-profit sector, believes that limited awareness is the biggest hurdle. The key to advancing climate initiatives is to influence people: stakeholders must first recognise and acknowledge the reality and impact of climate change before action can be taken.
Wu Longlong, a youth who returned to his hometown in Qingyang, Gansu, gave a brief but poignant answer: rural villages lack a sense of community and cohesion.
Kong Lingyu of Foodthink pointed to the systemic disempowerment of small-scale farmers. From the overarching urban-rural dual system to policies on machinery services and agricultural subsidies that marginalise smallholders, these factors amplify the negative effects of climate change. This institutional inequality renders rural communities far more vulnerable.
As one partner, who has worked in rural areas for many years, put it with a mixture of humour and bitterness: “Thank goodness for climate change; it’s finally made everyone pay attention to the countryside!”
Unless otherwise stated, all images were provided by Foodthink and the workshop participants
Compiled by: Ze En
Edited by: Lingyu
Photography/Editing: Wang Qian