Adaptation options for the farming sector

OECD-INEA-FAO Workshop on Agriculture and Adaptation to Climate Change

23 June 2010Nieves Bottomley

Agriculture and adaptation project, Farming for the Future, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), UK

The UK experience

• The case for action

• Types of actions - examples

• Who needs to act

Background

• Agriculture manages around 75% of UK land

• Farming very vulnerable to, and among first to feel, effects of changing climate

• Some climate change is already inevitable due to past emissions

• Important that farming adapts, to:

• manage the impacts to the business

• maintain the environmental benefits that it provides to wider society and help manage the broader impacts of climate change (e.g. flood management)

• make the most of any new opportunities

What does this mean for farmers?

• In February 2010, almost 40% of farmers surveyed in England said they were already affected by climate change

• 33% were already taking action to adapt

• 57% expected to be affected in next 10 years

• Many actions will be taken by farmers themselves as part of their normal business decision process

• Individual farmers to make decisions about the level of risk to which their business is going to be exposed

• But Government action might be needed in some areas to help farmers adapt sustainably

Targets

Key elements of the Climate Change Act 2008

Long and medium term targets: reductions of at least 80%by 2050 against all Kyoto greenhouse gases, through

action in the UK and abroad

Budgets and accountability

Five-year carbon budgets with three budgets set ahead to set out our trajectory and help long-term business planning and investment - Annual progress reporting to Parliament.

Target for UK GHG reduction of 34% by 2020. Agriculture to contribute by reducing 3 MtCO2e (11% on bau)

Committee on Climate Change

New independent body to advise Government on carbon budgets and where the least-cost savings could be made.

Adaptation Sub-Committee.

Adaptation

Government to report in 2012 and at regular intervals on climate change risks (National Risk Assessments), and

programme to address them. Power to require reports on adaptation plans from public

(infrastructure) bodies – to be met also by Government ministries

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Scale of the challenge – UKCP09 projectionswww.ukcip.org.uk

• UK Climate Projections published in June 2009

• Projections under three scenarios: low, medium and high emissions

Projections can inform local adaptation actions

Applying probability allows organisations take a risk-based approach to a changing climate

All these individual models give a single result, but you cannot judge which is the most likely

From theory to action

Climate change provides both opportunities and threats.

Working with stakeholder, Defra:

• Compiled existing research and development

• Developed a list of 120 potential measures to adapt

• Following qualitative assessment of costs and benefits

(including co-benefits and potential unintended

consequences), identified priority measures in 8 areas

• Stakeholder workshop in December 09 supported the

list of priority adaptation measures for agriculture

Key principles

Defra published its Climate Change Plan in March 2010.

Adaptation action has to be:

• Sustainable

• Flexible

• Evidence-based

• Prioritised

• Effective

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/documents/climate-change-plan-2010.pdf

Adaptation actions in farming

Types of actions

8 types of response:

• Planning, monitoring and risk assessment• Changing crops/livestock varieties• Green infrastructure/land management• Technology and infrastructure• Water management• Livestock management• Crop management• Pesticide and fertiliser management

Types of actions – some examples

Planning, monitoring and risk assessment• Planning to deal with change and losses e.g. insurance• Take advantage of new opportunities e.g. new crops• Increased monitoring and forecasting of pests and diseases e.g.

Bluetongue in UK• Increased monitoring of natural and agricultural changes• Support networks to share information among farmersChanging crops/livestock varieties• Introduce new crops to take advantage of new opportunities (e.g. durum

wheat, tea in UK) or to increase resilience (varieties of wheat more resistant to heat and heavy rainfall)

• Introduce new livestock breeds

Types of actions – some examples (2)

Green infrastructure/land management• Sustainable drainage systems to slow water flow• Wider buffer strips around watercourses to prevent water pollution• Maintain/restore/create wetlands, ponds and water meadowsTechnology and infrastructure• Precision farming to optimise inputs• Improve livestock housing and transport• Improve manure storage facilities to cop with wet wintersWater management• Increase water storage• Improve irrigation efficiency• Collect rainwater/reuse water

Types of actions – some examples (3)

Livestock management• House livestock during times of flood risk• Provide sufficient shade/shelter for livestock• Adjust seasonal management of livestock to cope with extreme weatherCrop management• Change timing of activities (e.g. planting, harvesting, silage cutting)• Measures to increase soil organic matter• Appropriate tillage to increase soil organic matter and moisture retentionPesticide and fertiliser management • Minimise pesticide use e.g. through integrated pest management

strategies and timing of crop planting• Apply chemical inputs at times of lowest risk of pollution

Types of actions – examples by sector

Livestock

• Alter livestock management e.g. keep livestock off wet soils, plant more diverse pasture

• Plant trees for shade for livestock

• Improve livestock housing for hotter

summers/more extreme weather

• Adjust seasonal management of livestock

to cope with periods of heavy rain/drought

• Need to consider potential for new diseases

(e.g. Bluetongue)

Types of actions – examples by sector

Crops

• Alter crop management e.g. timing of planting/harvest, drought-resistant varieties, mulches to conserve water

• Optimise fertiliser inputs, e.g. through precision farming, to prevent water pollution during heavy rainfall

• Spray crops at night to reduce evapo-transpiration

• Optimise pesticide use; new pest control measures, to cope with new/increased pests

• Plant new crops or varieties suitable for changing conditions

• Improve facilities for storing and drying crops to cope with pests and wet conditions

• Crop protection against storm damage, e.g. nets or tunnels

Types of actions – examples by sector

Water

• Investigate building an on-farm reservoir or pond to secure water supplies

• Limit water abstraction in water-stressed areas

• Collect and store rainwater from roofs, barrels etc for crop irrigation and drinking water for livestock

• Consider making a ‘higher-level stewardship’ agreement where payments may be made for accepting additional flooding on land

• Improve water efficiency (both for crops or livestock)

Barriers to Adaptation

There are, however, a number of barriers that can make it challenging for people and organisations to choose the right adaptation strategy:• Market failures - These include lack of information or awareness of climate

impacts, misaligned incentives and the public good nature of some adaptation measures.

• Behavioural barriers - Adaptation decisions can be complex, and involve dealing with long time horizons and uncertainty. This can lead to inertia and procrastination in preparing for the future climate

• Adaptive capacity - Some people lack the ability to respond to climate change because of financial or other constraints.

• Natural capacity - Natural systems might be unable to adapt because of the natural pace of their adaptive capacity, their resilience to frequent stresses, and the surrounding environment.

Who needs to act

Need a combination of:

• Farmers’ own decisions

• Partnership between the industry and government (e.g. Industry-led GHG Action Plan)

• R&D and knowledge transfer

• Advice / information / best practice (e.g. Farming Futures www.farmingfutures.org.uk)

• Funding schemes (e.g. RDPE)

• Policy instruments/regulation – domestic and EU (e.g. UK water abstraction licensing regime)