26 July 2012: A pilot project carried out by the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) programme in the Vaishali district, Bihar, India, has demonstrated the potential for climate-smart techniques, including improved quality of seeds and evenly spaced planting, to more than double productivity.

The project integrates mungbean planting into fallow periods to diversify farm production and handle risk. The project results have been shared with government officials and non-participating farmers through farmers’ field days and work with local research universities. Based on the project, farmers expressed confidence that mungbean cultivation can help farmers adapt to climate variability by providing yields with less irrigation. CCAFS is a programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [CCAFS Press Release]