The Impact of

Climate Change on
Agriculture

Related to Sustainable Development Goal 13:

Take urgent action to combat climate change
and its impacts.

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INTRODUCTION I. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GLOBAL WARMING AND AGRICULTURE

Climate change can influence agriculture a lot because of many factors. There is no doubt that the global warming can influence agricul-
Generally, despite that under certain circumstances the crop yields in- ture in diverse ways including seasonality, water availability, car-
crease, the climate change will reduce the agriculture production because bon fertilization and the emergence of new pathogens and dis-
of extreme weather and many other causes (1). As climate change has a eases.
complex impact on agriculture, it should be discussed under the UN’s SDG It is reported that the overall impact of global warming by 2080s
so that we can take urgent action to combat climate change and its nega- on agriculture production is causing a decrease (2). Without con-
tive impacts. sidering the effect of carbon fertilization, it is predicted to be a
This poster will introduce how climate change influences agriculture 16 percent reduction in the agricultural production by the 2080
worldwide and reasons behind it, raise a specific example of how the neg- (2). Regions that are more greatly affected seem to be closer to
ative impacts are dealt with, and give suggestions on what we can do to the equator, since the temperature there has already been high
cope with this challenge. enough to approach the threshold temperature that crops can
Map 1: Without carbon fertilization (2)
tolerate (map 1) (2). Additionally, countries with higher elevation
and lower temperature appear to suffer less loss (map 1). We
reckon that it is due to the decrease of the freezing period in
winter. As the global warming is mainly caused by the emission
of carbon-dioxide and the carbon dioxide can promote photosyn-
thesis in C3 crops, the reduction of agricultural production is rel-
atively smaller (3 percent globally) if considering the carbon ferti-
lization (2). As shown in the map 2, some countries localized at a
II.REASONS FOR NEGATIVE EFFECT high latitude can even have increased crop production. Again, we
● Increased weeds, diseases and pests. consider it is not only because of the carbon fertilization, but also
Map 2: With carbon fertilization (2) due to the decrease of the freezing period. However, as men-
● Decreased water availability
tioned before, the overall effect of global warming on agriculture
● Shorter growth cycle
is negative.
● Extreme precipitation and soil erosion

III.EXAMPLE ANALYSIS
About 13.7% of Indian GDP in 2013 is made by agriculture and its relating
parts like forestry (3). So, climate change, global warming especially, has
caused and will continue causing huge impact on Indian economies. The
major influence is on crop production. Although higher concentration of
CO2 leads to more yield, a declining trend of Indo-Gangetic plain rice yield
has been observed in 1970-2000 owing to climate change (4). Moreover,
temperature rise also leads to fertilizer efficiency and crop pest troubles (5).
SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM
In model simulation, about 15% loss in rice yield and 22% in wheat by 2100 According to the content above, we can draw a conclusion that we are able to take actions to combat this
is projected (6). problem in two different aspects.
Despite of all these difficulties brought by climate change, farmers and gov- On one hand, we can take actions to mitigate the climate change like global warming especially. For instance,
ernment never fail to find ways of mitigating the influence. Although aver- limiting high carbon emission factories, developing green industry, increasing vegetation area are all effective
age temperature rises, farmers can change the planting time and crop vari- ways to cope with global warming.
eties to adapt the climate change. People can cultivate breeds more adap- On the other hand, it’s a good idea to make adjustment of agriculture production according to how the cli-
tive to climate change or even use transgenic methods. Besides, govern- mate changes so that we can avoid reduction of output and even increase the output, just like what the
ment can help by issuing policies of maintaining food storage, crop insur- farmers have done in the case above. Of course, this process should under scientific guidance.
ance and pricing.
All in all, this challenge is not a matter we can’t deal with, and what is vital is to take actions immediately.

References
1. The United States Environmental Protection Agency. Climate Impacts on Agriculture and Food Supply. Available from: https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-
agriculture-and-food-supply_.html#ref3 [Accessed 16th April 2018].
2. Cline W. global warming and agriculture. Finance & Development. 2008;23-27.
3. The Economic Times. Agriculture's share in GDP declines to 13.7% in 2012-13. Available from: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/agricultures-share-in-gdp-declines-to
-13-7-in-2012-13/articleshow/22163978.cms [Accessed 10 April 2018].
4. Aggarwal PK, Talukdar KK, Mall RK. Potential yields of rice-wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic plains of India. Rice-wheat consortium paper series. 2000;10: 16.
5. Aggarwal PK. Global climate change and Indian agriculture: impacts, adaptation and mitigation. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 2008; 78(11): 911.
6. Birthal P, Khan T, Negi D, Agarwal S. Impact of Climate Change on Yields of Major Food Crops in India: Implications for Food Security. Agricultural Economics Research Review. 2014;27(2): 145.