SCOTLAND is not immune to the impacts of climate change, and an environmental group has said our farmers need better leadership and support from the Scottish Government to adapt to its challenges.
WWF Scotland said 2018 has been a year of extremes, with the Beast from the East delaying spring and an unusually hot and dry summer bringing multiple challenges to our food producers.
This came as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] called for urgent, “game-changing” action on greenhouse gas emissions if the world was to keep warming below the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C goal.
The environmental group said Scotland’s biggest crop, barley, was affected by this extreme weather, as difficult conditions led to a drop in the amount of cereals and oilseeds planted. Production of winter barley was down 24% and spring barley, the main ingredient in whisky, fell by 6%. The yield of wheat also dropped by 16%.
WWF said hill farmers also suffered, as the combination of the unusually long winter and dry summer affected the availability of fodder, and led to a spike in sheep losses.
Sheila George, food and environment policy manager at WWF Scotland said: “We can no longer think about climate change as a problem other people are experiencing many miles away, it is happening right now in front of our eyes at home.
“The temperature extremes experienced this year, from the Beast from the East to the prolonged hot, dry summer have had a major impact on farmers and on the food we can buy and eat.
“That’s why we believe there’s an urgent need for greater leadership and support from the Scottish Government to help farmers adapt and build resilience to climate change impacts in the face of increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather.
Andrew McCornick, president of NFU Scotland, said: “Scotland’s farmers are on the front line of experiencing the impacts of climate change, but since agriculture is also a source of greenhouse gas emissions, farmers and crofters have an important role to play in reducing emissions. Reducing emissions in farming will not, however, be easy or immediate.
“It will depend on new innovation and the application of the latest science and on achieving widespread change in practices in an industry made up of thousands of small businesses. The Scottish Government puts great emphasis on leading the way in tackling climate change and it does already fund activity to help reduce emissions from farming, but there is so much more that it could do to work with and help Scotland’s farmers reduce emissions.”
Highland crofter, Lynn Cassells, added: “With climate change something we are now experiencing directly, our farm business model for the future must be based on long-term resilience.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here