Suboptimal Water Is the New Normal. Seeds Need to Be Ready.

Climate Resilience

Suboptimal Water Is the New Normal. Seeds Need to Be Ready.

Agriculture is entering an era where “perfect conditions” are the exception. In many production regions, farmers aren’t choosing between good and better irrigation water, they’re choosing between suboptimal water and no water at all.

This is especially true in areas experiencing:

Rising salinity in water sources
Declining groundwater quality
Soil degradation and compaction
Longer heat waves and irregular rainfall

So the question becomes: How do we maintain productivity when inputs are increasingly constrained?

Start with the seed

Most solutions intervene after planting. But by then, the crop has already lost time, uniformity, and yield potential.

Seed-focused solutions work differently:

They strengthen establishment and early vigor
They improve plant readiness for stress from day one
They integrate into existing workflows (no extra field operations required)

Why alfalfa is a powerful test case

Alfalfa is more than a crop t’s a system builder. It supports livestock chains, contributes to soil health, and can fit into regenerative practices. But it’s also vulnerable in the early stages, particularly under salinity or degraded soil conditions.

That’s why we see alfalfa as a meaningful use case for climate resilience: if we can improve performance where conditions are already limiting, we unlock value for farmers and entire regional supply chains.

A real-world example: Argentina with IDB support

In Argentina, we’re applying Salicrop’s non-GMO seed treatment approach to help alfalfa grow on degraded land using suboptimal water. This is the kind of practical adaptation pathway agriculture needs solutions that match reality, not ideal scenarios.