| | Agricultural producers have always adapted to their local climate, trying to reduce any risks and make the most of any opportunities. With predictions that climate change could occur more rapidly than we’ve ever seen before, effective adaptation is especially crucial. So a national network is bringing together researchers, policy makers and producers to coordinate research and knowledge on climate change impacts and adaptation options for agriculture.
This network is called the Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network for Agriculture (C-CIARN Agriculture). It’s one part of C-CIARN, a network of networks that has six other sectoral networks and six regional networks, including one for the prairies (see ‘A World of Change’ on the Prairies in this issue). C-CIARN Agriculture, based at the University of Guelph in Ontario, was created in 2001 with a five-year mandate.
Dr. Ellen Wall, coordinator for C-CIARN Agriculture, wants the network to be a proactive, useful tool for the agricultural industry. She says, “[By 2006] I’m hoping we’ll have a very clear assessment of where we are with the state of knowledge, with the research, with our understanding of how the agricultural sector is adapting to climate and weather conditions, and with how we can build that adaptive capacity so that they will be able to handle any future climate or weather conditions.”
Having producers in the network helps to keep researchers and policy makers focused on practical, relevant issues, notes Wall. “It’s always been very important to have that reality check... [and] to hear about what the ag community is really facing on the ground and also about the innovations and resourcefulness that are out there.”
One of the challenges for C-CIARN Agriculture is to raise the profile of adaptation – reminding people that the climate change issue is about more than monitoring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A higher profile is key to getting adaptation on the agenda of policy developers and to gaining the interest of agencies that might fund adaptation research.
Adaptation isn’t always on the front burner for producers, either. Wall says, “From what I understand, there are a number of reasons why producers tend not to give adaptation a lot of focus. One is that they are already doing it.” With strategies like growing different crops, diversifying their operations, and obtaining crop insurance, producers try to minimize various risks including weather and climate risks.
She adds, “There is also so much going on in agriculture right now. When you look at the stresses for the Canadian agri-food sector, the weather just doesn’t matter at all at one level, compared to BSE and trade. But the weather is one of those fundamental elements that, if we’re not prepared to consider it, just might be a big problem.”
Wall cites the example of the profound drought that is currently crushing Australia’s agricultural industry, and she says, “We need to make sure that crop insurance and income stabilization programs are robust enough to help producers [adjust to such major changes]. Another big issue that I hear from producers is using biotechnology to build drought resistance into crop varieties. What would relying on GMO [genetically modified organism] technology mean for their markets? ... These are all things that we have to have some deeper understanding of.”
Although producers may not be focusing on global climate change, they are well aware of long-term weather patterns in their own area. Wall says, “Wherever we’ve gone across Canada, most of the producers we’ve spoken to can point out that [weather conditions] really do appear to be quite different now than they were 25 to 50 years ago, just based on their own experience and the experience of the old timers around them.”
Wall adds, “Even if our climate is changing purely because of normal, natural patterns, that’s still something to be aware of. I mean, we did have an ice age here 10,000 years ago! So of course the climate is changing; it’s always changing. What I’m saying is, ‘It appears we’re in for a bit of climate change right now, and are we really prepared, do we know enough to ensure that our ag sector is in a good position to handle this on top of all the other things that they are having to handle right now?’”
For more information, visit the C-CIARN Agriculture website at http://www.c-ciarn.uoguelph.ca/. |
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