Extreme weather and climate breakdown are causing low yields in farms both locally and abroad.
Farmers in the UK are unable to plant important crops like potatoes, wheat or vegetables because of record rainfall. The crops that have been planted, are of poor quality. Some of them are rotting on the ground.
The wet weather in the UK has led to a high death rate of lambs on UK hills. Some dairy cows are unable to go out to pasture, so they produce less milk.
Agriculture groups claim that the UK is more dependent on imports. However, similar wet conditions across Europe, such as in France and Germany, along with drought in Morocco could lead to less food being imported. Economists warn that this could lead to a rise in food inflation, which would mean higher prices at the supermarket.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union said that the markets have “collapsed”, as farmers are unable to produce food under the harsh conditions. He said, “We will be importing more product this coming year.”
A major retailer reported that the wholesale price for potatoes had increased by 60% in one year due to the fact that a large portion of the crop was rotting on the ground.
The potato supply has also been affected as a result of a 10% decrease in the area planted by farmers last year, who switched to crops that were less dependent on weather and more financially stable. Insiders in the industry predicted a further 5% drop in plantings this year.
Jack Ward, Chief Executive of the British Growers Association said: “There’s a concern we won’t have the volume [of potatoes] in the future that we had in previous years.”
He said that wholesale prices are too low to allow farmers to earn enough money to cover high fuel costs, labor and machinery costs, as well as climate change effects. “We are in a bad position, and it’s 100% not sustainable.”
Prices are rising due to the lower supply of carrots and potatoes, which have been left on the ground.
Martin Lines of Nature Friendly Farming Network said that the impact on the UK this season will be significant for potatoes and salad crops. Farmers have already experienced delays in planting due to the poor state of many fields. Planting will be delayed if it happens at all. This could lead to a shortage in root vegetables and potatoes for the winter.
Some farmers have stopped planning to plant, choosing instead to leave fields fallow or to switch to other crops. It could also lead to shortages of grains such as wheat, barley, and pulses due to low prices and the fact that it is currently not profitable to grow them.
Guy Singh-Watson is the founder of Riverford, a company that sells organic vegetable boxes. He said he has planted “virtually zero vegetables” so far. “Some plants that are too large to plant in the ground will need to be thrown out.”
Farmers in Europe have also had a difficult start to this year. They are having difficulty developing winter crops or sowing spring crops.
The French wheat growing season has been hampered by cold, wet weather. In Morocco, the drought is affecting fruit and vegetable production. Morocco’s second largest reservoir is dry, making it difficult to irrigate crops.
Amber Sawyer, a researcher at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said that last year, almost a third (and more than two thirds) of the UK’s raspberries and Brussels sprouts came from Morocco.
Sawyer stated that as climate change worsens the threat to food supply chains will increase, both domestically and abroad.
Scientists say that this is only the beginning of the shocks caused by climate breakdown to the food chain and the current system will not be sustainable unless we take rapid action to reduce emissions by ceasing the burning fossil fuels.
Dr Paul Behrens is an associate professor at Leiden University, Netherlands. He said, “We all should be extremely worried.” We must do everything we can to reduce emissions and transform our food systems.
He said: “If we do not… I predict huge turmoil and escalating price in the next 10-20 years.” We can always expect political unrest when food prices are spiraling. I wish more people were aware of the immediate climate threat to food security.
We know that there are many ways to make the food system more resilient and reduce food emissions. In high-income countries, the biggest opportunity is to reduce meat consumption and explore more plant-based diets.