Let’s first understand El Niño and La Niña
El Niño – a set of changes in the weather system near the coast of northern Peru and Ecuador that happens every few years, causing the surface of the Pacific Ocean there to become warmer and having severe effects on the weather in many parts of the world. (Oxford dictionary).
La Niña – the cooling of the water in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that happens every few years and that affects the weather in many parts of the world. (Oxford dictionary).
El Niño is emerging as forecasted by Skymet—transitioning from La Niña neutral toward warmer Pacific conditions, with high odds by mid-2026.
How Cover Crops and Grassed Ways are the Practical Solutions for Farmers Navigating El Niño’s Effects
Soil cover is spot-on advice for small farmers: it locks in moisture, cuts erosion, and curbs weeds. Practical resilience move in drier spells. https://rainwater.blog/soilcover/
Grassed waterways are vegetated channels that safely channel concentrated runoff from fields, slowing water flow to non-erosive speeds.
For small farmers hit by El Niño’s drier monsoons and scanty rains, they prevent gully erosion—locking in topsoil nutrients that would otherwise wash away. The dense grass cover boosts infiltration, trapping more rainwater in the soil for better moisture retention during dry spells.
It’s a simple, low-cost fix for rainfed areas, complementing soil cover practices. https://rainwater.blog/grassedwaterways/
Combine cover crops (or simple mulch/soil cover) with grassed waterways. It’s a low-cost powerhouse for El Niño-hit small farmers—locking in topsoil nutrients, boosting infiltration for moisture retention during scanty rains, and curbing erosion/weeds all at once. Start by seeding grasses in runoff channels while covering fields. Perfect resilience hack for rainfed areas!
Read more about soil and water conservation: https://rainwater.blog/2022/02/14/soil-and-water-conservation-allen-county/
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