Farmers confirm reduced productivity and income loss from climate change

A wide majority of UK farmers have been affected by extreme weather events in the past five years, leading to a reduction in yield, productivity and income, according to a new survey.

In a  study commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), 87% of farmers impacted by climate change-related extreme weather events said they had seen reduced productivity, 84% saw a reduction in crop yields or livestock output, and 75% said their income had taken a hit.

The survey of 300 UK farmers comes shortly after confirmation of the £1 billion hit to arable farmers due to last year’s extremely wet winter, leading to one of the worst harvests in decades. A majority of farmers are either moderately concerned (50%) or highly concerned (30%) about their ability to make a living in the future due to climate change.

Many (over two-thirds) are taking action to make their farm more resilient, but cite a lack of policy and financial certainty as barriers to implementation.

“The farmer is the only person who can really deliver change in the system. And if the system doesn't work for the farmer, it won't work at all. And for the moment, we're deeply concerned that the farmer is not being considered to the full extent of how important they are: they're not getting paid enough, the administrative burden on their shoulders is too high; they're isolated. I think a lot needs to be done to pay more attention to farmers,” Chuck de Liedekerke, CEO of agronomy-focused firm Soil Capital told CSO Futures in reaction to the report.

Barriers to regenerative agriculture

Regenerative agriculture practices like cover cropping, no tilling and organic fertiliser use are proven to increase soil health and carbon absorption and make farms more resilient to extreme weather.

As a result, many food companies – including McCain and PepsiCo – are promoting these practices among farmers in their supply chains. But the transformation has been slow, all the while climate change has accelerated.

de Liedekerke believes a lack of consistent regulation is part of the problem, but also says we shouldn’t underestimate the power of financial incentives to accelerate the transition. 

“Farmers will respond to financial incentives, and a few leading companies are showing up for this now, but they’re still too few and far between. I also think we need some form of harmonised infrastructure and way of looking at data, and a way for farmers to actually measure, understand and report their environmental impact today. There's still a lot of confusion as to what are the right frameworks that should be fixed,” he added.

Soil carbon and financial incentives

One emerging mechanism to close the financing gap is the development of carbon removal credits from regenerative farms: Microsoft recently purchased 2.6 million such credits.

Soil Capital, which helps farmers transition through agronomic solutions and software, also uses this mechanism as a way to compensate farmers for changing their practices – with the removals purchased by large food companies as part of their efforts to promote regenerative agriculture.

But de Liedekerke warns that “if you do want to drive the real change that the food system needs, it's not enough just to talk about carbon: you need to be able to talk about resilience, productivity and profitability for farmers”.

Assessing regenerative agriculture based on outcomes

Recent news has confirmed time and time again that the food sector is already suffering significantly from climate impacts, and that the pace of change must increase. The Soil Capital CEO has seen large food players double down on their commitment to transform their supply chains, even in the US where policy is currently less than supportive.

And compared to a few years ago, when the lack of a clear definition for regenerative agriculture was seen as blocking progress, “we're starting to see convergence in a smart way”, he says. 

“The moment we create a label on regenerative agriculture, you'll have those that are regenerative and those that are not, and that's not the way to think about regenerative agriculture. It's like being athletic: some people are more or less athletic, and you can always become more athletic in the same way that you can become more regenerative.”

Instead, people are paying attention to the outcomes these practices deliver: lower carbon footprint, increased biodiversity, better use of water – “a system that actually works for farmers, and that works to provide abundant, healthy and affordable food”.