plastic sheeting on vegetables to retain moisture and
maintain consistent temperatures. They are also using
techniques for improving water retention of upland
maize.
Improved irrigation methods – In Daojie, the high
clay soil content of some fields can hold water longer,
so the villagers make small water tanks and channels
along their fields to store extra water during the winter
irrigation season. The channels enable them to direct
water to the roots of the crops for water saving. Some
Small field-based water tanks store water for irrigation during the
winter in Daojie village, Yunnan, China.
planned collectively. Since the start of HRS, individual
households could respond to water stresses by adjusting
farming and livestock management decisions and doing
off-farm work. However, these common responses may
vary depending on the impacts felt, the consequent
responses, and the individual household’s socioeconomic
situation. The following strategies have evolved over time
to address water availability.
Changing crop variety and cropping patterns – In
Taokong, villagers plant maize, yam, or bean instead of
paddy rice in the summer cropping season when water
availability was low – even though this caused some
Single earth dam built by an individual household for irrigation of paddy
in Taokong, Yunnan, China
reduction in income. Villagers also replant, postpone
planting, or replace crops if the rains come late (after
early June). better-off households with fields near the Salween River
have purchased water pumps to draw water from the
In Daojie, responses to water shortage and market river. Poorer households will sometimes have to rent the
forces changed after the communal system was pump if there is a severe water shortage.
disbanded in 1983. The changes to cropping patterns
are shown in Table 4. Coping mechanisms by poor households – Poorer
households are more vulnerable to climate impacts on
Water-saving farming technologies – Farmers have livelihoods because they often lack alternative income
adopted dry seeding of paddy rice and begun using sources. During serious droughts in both Daojie and
Table 4: Village interviews, 2009
Time Cropping Patterns
Paddy field (irrigated land) Irrigable land Rain-fed dry land
Before 1983 (communal system) Early rice + late rice Maize Cotton
1983-2005 Midseason rice (MR) + sweet potato Maize + tobacco Sugarcane
(change to HRS) MR + tobacco Maize + sweet potato Maize (1 season/year)
MR + vegetable (small area) Maize + vegetable
Sugarcane
Longan
After 2005 Irrigated: MR+ vegetable Maize + beans (less)
(expanded market) Lack of water: maize (quit rice) + vegetable (80%)
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