Recent catastrophic weather events highlight the importance of tackling climate change. Whether it's Boscastle or New Orleans the signs are clear; the world is changing and for the worse. Farming and horticulture can make a serious contribution to reversing this trend.
Agriculture offers the opportunity to move from a carbon to a carbohydrate-based society.
TClimate change should bring about a radical change in agriculture's relationship with government, society and the environment. Agriculture can provide the engine for a move from a carbon to a carbohydrate-based society. It can do this through substituting fossil fuels, improving energy efficiency and being carbon neutral, particularly important with unstable oil prices and instability in producer countries.
During 2005 the UK is in a unique position to lead climate change discussions as Chair of the G8 leading industrial countries and President of the European Union. But there is now a real risk that the UK, far from being a climate change champion, will miss its 2010 Kyoto targets. UK CO2 emissions have risen for three consecutive years, up 1.79% in the first six months of this year alone. This is in contrast to many farming sectors, which have exceeded their targets to reduce energy use.
Ahead of the forthcoming meeting of European Ministers, NFU Deputy President, Peter Kendall, challenged the Government to act: "The UK is way behind other countries in investing in renewable energy. If the UK is to meet the minimum obligations it has set itself, we need action now; if we want to take climate change seriously we need to act now. Farming can develop renewable fuels and produce local food to assured standards. Why import food and renewable fuel when we can produce them here? What we need is the infrastructure and the commitment to deliver this win-win option."
The NFU is already promoting an alternative carbohydrate-based renewable energy policy. With climate change a potent threat, the NFU is now planning ahead, anticipating likely change and helping the farming and horticultural sectors understand, adapt to, and play a full role in mitigating the effects of climate change for the UK. Energy conservation is particularly important to farm businesses already suffering large increases in energy costs. There are real opportunities for agriculture in responding to this challenge, but public policy needs to play a role in encouraging the necessary developments.
The NFU has carried out a member survey to better understand farmer's experience of climate and changes to climate they see already happening. The average number of years farmers have taken weather recordings is 22, while some had recorded the weather for 65 or even 100 years. 98% of the farmers surveyed agreed there are warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers, and they expect more extreme weather events (as defined in UKCIP02 scenarios). 60% of respondents believe their growing season is on the increase. However, there is a challenge to the industry in the finding that twice as many (36%) view climate change as a threat to their current farming practices rather than (17%) who see it as an opportunity.
Among the things farmers have told us include:
'Sweetcorn used to be a marginal crop, but in recent years I've sown a second crop'
'I will have to introduce new varieties of blackcurrants as the winters are warmer'
'Some areas are now almost permanently waterlogged'
'The balance of nature has changed noticeably'
'The way we used to make hay is virtually impossible now. You can't leave it out for an extended period to dry: it would get rained all over'
'The extended growing season means I can graze livestock on natural feed for longer'
The NFU is calling for action on the following points:
The NFU welcomes the UK government's determination to combat climate change, but there needs to be a higher priority for renewable energy production, in particular rewarding energy conservation rather than simply penalising energy use.
There also needs to be a dedicated government minister to co-ordinate the climate change and renewable energy policy. This issue goes across many government departments and needs more effective co-ordination.
More resources need to be put into research. The UK needs to be at the forefront of technological development. More focused farm-specific climate change information will be vital as there will be significant changes in enterprises, new crops and diseases or renewed competition for vital resources like water for irrigation. Access to natural resources (water, air and soil) will be crucial to the prosperity of agriculture.
With biofuels offering some 60% CO2 saving on their fossil fuel equivalents, the NFU want to see government policy and strategy proactively promote and support adaptation within the industry. The adoption of a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (ReTFO) is the most realistic and acceptable vehicle by which to deliver the UK and EU targets.
The NFU believes that locally-based combined heat and power plants should play a significant role in developing local sustainable energy networks based on biomass production. The capacity should be local rather than importing raw materials from around the world. The NFU cannot see the sense in increasing carbon emissions by transporting raw material when it can be delivered locally and sustainably.
The NFU has negotiated collective agreements for the high-energy using sectors, which allow Climate Change Levy rebates when energy reduction targets are met. The pig, poultry meat and egg industries have exceeded their targets. Horticulture has reached initial targets. Reductions can be made with efficient equipment, new buildings, and by boosting best practice knowledge. There also needs to be industry confidence to invest money in energy saving equipment. The NFU accepts the climate change levy and backs the use of energy saving technologies.
The NFU supports the use of non-food crops in agriculture, and is a sponsor of the National Non-Food Crops Centre. The markets for these fossil fuel substitutes need to be developed further and government needs to do more in the way of investment and incentives.
Methane emissions from agriculture are a greenhouse gas. They can be reduced by feed changes in livestock farming, such as improving the digestibility of forage. The NFU supports any innovation in feed for methane reduction in ruminants, although the environment and animal welfare standards are key.
Decreasing food miles will also fight climate change. As a recent Defra study found food miles are increasing and cost £9 billion per year. The British Farm Standard is key to demonstrating the sustainability of British produce, with low food miles and a commitment to the environment.
