Add Questions Climate Impact Agriculture

A common misconception about climate change and agriculture is that, because it will be warmer and plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, our agricultural productivity will increase.  This is an over simplification.  Productive agriculture requires more than warm temperatures and carbon dioxide.  Plants require nutrients and water.  They can be attacked by pests.  Fires or flooding can interfere with growing crops or cause crop loss. 

 Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture 

Here is a summary of the major impacts of climate change on agriculture taken from article, A brief guide to the impacts of climate change on food production. 

• • More extreme weather can harm livestock and crops:
    • Storms that damage farms have become more common. Flooding can kill livestock (Nebraska alone, farmers lost an estimated $440 million of cattle.) , delay or prevent planting of crops. This all leads to problems with food availability and costs for consumers.
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  • Water Scarcity:
    • this makes it more difficult and expensive to grow crops and animals. Farmers  have to change the type of crop or are unable to grow anything at all. Between 2014-2016, for example, California endured an estimated $3.8 billion of direct statewide economic losses to agriculture as a result of drought.
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  • Growing seasons are starting earlier and getting hotter in a warming climate.
    • This creates conditions for more pests (insects, fungi, weeds) as well as making conditions unsuitable for crop plants due to changes in seasonality. An example is that almonds, peaches, and other  fruit crops that are grown in California need a certain number of cold days in winter to produce fruit.
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  • Wildfire and smoke
    • The smoke from fires ruins the grapes so that they can't be used to make wine here in Sonoma County. Farm workers bear the brunt of smokey conditions that lead to health problems. 
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  • Warmer weather and rising CO2 levels adversely affect food supply, safety and quality.
    • Food can go bad between when it is harvested, transported and sold. The warmer the weather, the greater the risk.   In addition, warmer weather can lead to better growing conditions for pathogens such as  Salmonella.  More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also can decrease dietary iron, zinc, protein, and other macro- and micronutrients in certain crops.
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Agriculture Impacts on Climate Change 

But the problem is more complicated. Food production isn’t just being affected by climate change – it’s actively contributing to climate change, too. According to IPCC’s land use report, agriculture and other land uses comprise more than one-fifth of global CO2 emissions, creating a vicious cycle.

Case Study: Guatemala and Coffee 

Watch the this short video below to see how increasingly unpredictable weather is affecting growth of coffee beans in Guatemala.