How Does Climate Change Affect Agriculture?
Climate change is an ever-present reality. Everyone on the planet feels the effects, but especially people in low-income countries and those who depend on specific climate conditions and natural resources to survive: the world’s smallholder farmers. Ensuring farming households have the tools they need to protect their livelihoods — and the environment — is key to our work at Heifer International.
Climate change and agriculture are intimately linked by deviations in weather patterns and temperatures.?Farmers need healthy land and reliable weather patterns to maintain their livelihoods. But climate change is causing temperatures to rise and growing seasons to shift.
Agriculture itself, while necessary to feed the world’s growing population, has its own environmental impact and is also responsible for a share of the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change. However, people in lesser developed countries, where many smallholder farmers earn their living, have historically contributed the least to climate change yet are immensely affected by its impacts.
Extreme weather and shifting seasons are a direct threat to farmers’ livelihoods and well-being in multiple ways.
As dry seasons get longer and water becomes scarcer, farmers aren’t able to grow or raise the food they rely on to earn an income and feed their families.
Changes in rainfall patterns, deforestation and overgrazing have detrimental and often irreparable effects on agriculture. Land is gradually becoming less productive and more vulnerable to future shocks like drought, and competition and conflict over resources is increasing as farmers fight for claim to arable land and access to clean water.
It’s predicted global food yields could decline?by as much as 30% by 2050?if farmers aren’t able to adapt to the effects of climate change. These disruptions are not just a challenge for farmers — climate change affects the entire agriculture sector, leading to higher food prices and decreased availability of food worldwide.
领英推荐
Climate change also affects agriculture by destroying farms or making environmental conditions so challenging that farming is no longer an option. Every year, a growing number of farming families are forced to leave their farms and fields in search of new work. In 2021, extreme weather uprooted?more than 23 million people?globally.
As the world confronts the triple challenge of needing to produce more healthy food, with less ecological impact, in an increasingly difficult growing environment, engaging farmers is our first line of defense.
We are integrating climate-smart practices, taking time to understand smallholder farmers’ unique challenges and help them adopt new methods?and technologies that build resilience and protect precious natural resources, like soil and water.
Our Caring for the Earth programmatic approach?enables farmers to remain on their land,?adapt to climate threats ?and increase their productivity and income, at the same time promoting?regenerative land management practices ?that mitigate the effects of climate change. Alongside local farmers and their communities, we work to?restore soil nutrients , retain needed moisture in fields and devise strategies to?minimize waste ?and keep soil, rivers and lakes uncontaminated.
Additionally, we help?livestock farmers manage the size of their flocks and herds . By improving breed quality and?raising healthier animals , farmers are able to reduce the strain on vital local resources and protect their land for future generations, while earning better prices for their animals and outputs.
Together, we’re working toward a sustainable future, helping smallholder farmers build income-generating farms while protecting and restoring the environment and ensuring long-term,?resilient food production ?for the world.
Subscribe to the?Heifer International Updates ?newsletter for regular updates on our work around the world.
I am currently exploring Sustainable Food Production, Safety and Business Development in an International Food and Agribusiness degree programme while contributing to the logistics and operations at PostNL
1 年Great to see Heifer International taking a holistic approach to address the triple challenge of poverty, hunger, and environmental degradation through sustainable agriculture practices. Their dedication and commitment to creating a more equitable and sustainable world is inspiring. #HeiferInternational #SustainableAgriculture #ClimateChange