Regional Case Studies in Climate-Adaptive Farming: Lessons from Dryland Systems Worldwide—Comparative Field Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, MENA, and Latin America
Megna Rashid Bakshi *
Division of Silviculture and Agroforestry, Faculty of Forestry, SKUAST-K, Benhama, Gaderbal-121201 (J&K), India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Agricultural systems in dryland regions feature high climatic variability, fragile soils, and limited access to supplementary irrigation, making them highly vulnerable to the combined impacts of climate change. Climate change is progressively undermining agricultural productivity across the world's dryland regions, threatening food security for hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers. This review synthesises comparative field evidence on climate-adaptive farming strategies drawn from four major dryland zones: Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Latin America. Through a systematic appraisal of peer-reviewed literature, intergovernmental reports, and longitudinal field datasets published between 2000 and 2026, this review examines how farmers and policymakers in these regions have responded to rising temperatures, shifting precipitation regimes, increasing drought frequency, and soil degradation. The review covers a spectrum of adaptive approaches, including conservation agriculture, agroforestry integration, indigenous water harvesting technologies, drought-tolerant crop varieties, integrated soil fertility management, and climate-smart land-use planning. Comparative analysis reveals significant convergence in the biophysical underpinnings of successful adaptations across regions, while also exposing context-specific social, institutional, and economic constraints that determine adoption rates and long-term sustainability. Soil health management, landscape-scale water harvesting, and agricultural diversification constitute the biophysical core of effective dryland adaptation, delivering co-benefits for productivity, resilience, and ecosystem services simultaneously. Key lessons highlight the critical role of farmer agency, local ecological knowledge, gender-inclusive extension services, and supportive policy environments in scaling adaptive practices. The review also identifies persistent research gaps, particularly in the areas of long-term monitoring, systems-level assessments, and the political economy of institutional change. These findings have direct implications for research prioritisation, international development investments, and the design of national adaptation plans under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Keywords: Climate-adaptive agriculture, dryland farming, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, drought resilience, food security