Bound by trust

Around the world, farming cooperatives – groups of farmers who work together to buy supplies, share equipment, and sell their crops and livestock – are a mainstay of rural economic development. The benefits are many, including greater market access, fewer costs, and reduced financial risk.

Increasingly, they are also one of the most powerful tools independent farmers have to survive and adapt to climate change. As punishing droughts and devastating floods squeeze crop yields, farmers must upgrade equipment to include technologies such as precision seeders and smart irrigation systems. By pooling resources and sharing tools, they can afford to do so.

In Vietnam, the Mekong Delta faces mounting threats from droughts, floods, typhoons, and rising sea levels, which are damaging crops and rural infrastructure.

In response, local governments and UNDP-backed initiatives are helping cooperatives and farmer households adapt by supporting them to develop circular and ecological agriculture models across rice, fruit, livestock and aquaculture.

Beyond policy-level support, there is also crucial social capital at play: neighbours trusting neighbours enough to share land and resources, and working together to achieve their common goal of a thriving and climate-resilient rural economy.

This award-winning photograph is from ‘Life in colour’, the fourth season of the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) Archive. The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA, leveraging the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.