Giving Compass' Take:

• Food Tank writes about two nutritious crops that are climate-smart grains for farmers in places like Chad, Africa, where temperatures are high, droughts are prevalent and soil is relatively infertile. 

• Knowing what type of crops can survive certain climates is one thing, but how can donors help drive more action into producing and farming these resilient grains?

• Here's an article on the innovative possibility of breeding crops to resist rising temperatures.  

There are 4 million people with limited access to food in Chad, which ranks as second hungriest of the 119 countries assessed in the 2018 Global Hunger Index (GHI). Chad is also hotter and drier now than it was 40 years ago. The country is highly dependent on small-sized subsistence agriculture, but inadequate or maldistributed rainfalls have reduced crop production, resulting in food shortage and increased undernutrition. Now, the International Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) aims to provide food security and resilience for people in West and Central African drylands like Chad through more climate-smart crops.

Amid growing homogeneity of crop species worldwide in the past 50 years, major crops like rice, wheat, and maize have dominated markets. But climate-smart crops like pearl millet and sorghum can be incredibly reliable in regions with high temperatures, poor soil fertility, and recurring droughts. They typically do not require as much water to grow as other crops and can grow under challenging conditions. Served mainly as porridge or flat-breads, in addition, pearl millet and sorghum can provide Chadians with energy and micronutrients such as zinc and iron. These nutrients are essential for child growth and development—the future of the country.

Read the full article on climate-smart grains by Min Hyun Maeng at Food Tank