According to the Global Climate Risk Index, in 2019 India was the world’s seventh most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change. Largescale migration historically related to socio-economic factors has been increasingly exacerbated by climate change impacts and environmental degradation that are affecting traditional mobility patterns and worsening the vulnerability of rural households. Agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy and is the primary sector of employment, especially for women. Sudden and slow-onset climatic events adversely impact agriculture, thereby increasing the vulnerability of agriculture-dependent rural households, who generally have low adaptive capacity. 
The Joint Programme will aim to strengthen rural households’ resilience to climate change in order to reduce the pressure to migrate out of distress and to improve migration outcomes. Throughout this intervention, FAO and IOM will jointly act on the intersecting challenges of migration, climate change and food insecurity. 
Particular attention will be given to addressing the vulnerabilities of women, small and marginal farmers, and other vulnerable groups living in the coastal areas of Odisha State and drought-prone areas of Telangana State. This will be achieved via three components: 1) Strengthen climate adaptive capacity of households; 2) Improve access to information on safe and regular migration and climate-smart agriculture; and 3) Enhance policy coherence and multisectoral collaboration across the areas of climate change, migration, agriculture and rural development. 
Building upon implementation in Odisha and Telangana States, the Joint Programme holds a strong potential for scale-up and replication in other parts of the country.