Decent Rural Employment

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Enhancing the resilience to climate change of migrants and vulnerable households in India

Local villagers crossing a bridge heavily damaged by a tsunami that struck the south eastern coast of India.

©FAO/Ami Vitale

Introduction	In India, in recent years, record high temperatures and volatile cycles of drought and flooding have destabilized crops, putting millions at risk. Many are compelled to leave rural areas in search of better opportunities. To address these issues, it is imperative to ensure that migration is a well-informed decision that benefits everyone involved. This means developing livelihood strategies for those who choose to stay, those on the move, and those returning to their rural roots.
Country	India
Start date	01/09/2023
End date	01/09/2026
Status	Ongoing
Recipient / Target Areas	India
Objective / Goal	According to the Global Climate Risk Index, India ranked as the world's seventh most vulnerable country to the impact of climate change in 2019. Migration, historically tied to socioeconomic factors, has been exacerbated by the escalating effects of climate change and environmental degradation that deepen the vulnerability of rural households. Agriculture, crucial to India’s economy and a primary source of employment, especially for women, faces increasing threats from unpredictable and extreme climate events. This puts rural households with limited adaptive capacity at greater risk of climate-induced migration. The FAO–International Organization for Migration (IOM) Joint Programme, funded by the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund, aims to enhance the resilience of rural households to climate change, thus alleviating the pressure to migrate and improving migration outcomes.
Partners	IOM, Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of Odisha, Government of Telangana, civil society organizations, and rural microfinance and banking institutions.
Beneficiaries	The beneficiaries are rural people in areas at risk of climate-induced migration and climate migration, and agriculture stakeholders at state and local level. The programme focuses on marginalized groups, including women, youth, lower castes and smallholder farmers that are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change, have limited opportunities to adapt, and are at high risk of irregular migration, exploitation and abuse.
Activities	The joint programme builds on three main components: i) strengthening the climate resilience of vulnerable households; ii) empowering rural people to make informed migration decisions and adaptation choices; and iii) fostering policy coherence through awareness raising and capacity building of climate, migration and agriculture stakeholders. Activities include: Improving evidence on the links between migration, agriculture and climate change; Enhancing the capacity of rural people to adopt climate-adaptive agricultural practices and establish successful green agribusinesses through training and in-kind start-up support; Enhancing the capacity of agricultural extension services to provide gender- and age-sensitive support to rural people to build resilient and sustainable livelihoods; Improving access to information on migration and climate-smart agriculture for rural people through mobile migration resource centres and community-led knowledge-sharing mechanisms (e.g. radios, wall writings, community gatherings); Enhancing the capacity of state and local stakeholders, including policy- and decision-makers, to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities at the nexus of climate change, rural livelihoods and human mobility.
Impact	The joint programme was launched in November 2023 and is currently implementing its first activities in close collaboration with state and local stakeholders from the governments and with civil society.
Contact	Giorgia Prati, FAO Migration and Climate Change Specialist [email protected]