World
30 THE NZ FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – July 27, 2020
Climate change trumps coronavirus concerns EUROPEAN Union regulations are constraining large farmers during the coronavirus crisis, as opposed to protecting them, a survey has found. Sixty percent of large farms in the European Union claimed current EU regulations had made it difficult for the farming industry to respond flexibly during the pandemic and other crises, according to an Ipsos Mori survey commissioned by Syngenta Group. The survey of 250 French,
German, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Spanish farmers found Germany had the least faith in regulations (9%), while Poland had the most (43%). Just under half said their farm business had been impacted by the covid-19 pandemic and onein-four had immediate concerns about the survival of their business. For one-third, the crisis had raised concerns about the longterm viability of farming. In line with the severity of the pandemic
World climate change facts • Three-in-four farmers in Africa and India said their farming businesses had been impacted by climate change, but under half said so in the USA • Just 13% globally did not feel they had been impacted at all by climate change • 9% believed reducing emissions would make their businesses more competitive • 76% of Brazilian farmers were convinced of the benefits, compared to just 48% in the US • One-quarter said financial viability was the greatest barrier to adoption • 15% had seen impacts on crop yields and 9% were unable to grow their usual crops • In Europe, Spanish and Italian farmers were the most concerned about climate change (93%) • Since February, the percentage of large French farmers who were concerned about the effects of climate change had increased from 71% to 89% Source: Syngenta Group
in Italy, Italian farm businesses were the worst hit with 78% reporting an impact, and almost half said the impact was severe. A drop in sales and revenue was mostly responsible, followed by disrupted supply chains and shortages of equipment, machinery and labour. Despite the pandemic, 63% believed climate change would have a greater impact on their business in the next five years, while more than half said climate change was their immediate priority. A separate survey, also for Syngenta, of 600 large-scale farmers in Africa, Brazil, China, USA, France and India, found 87% had experienced some negative effect on their ability to produce food as a result of climate change. This figure rises to 90% in India and 86% on the African continent. The most common problems were cited as volatile weather, droughts and flooding. Globally, two-thirds of largescale farmers said they had already taken action to reduce
Gas converted to animal feed AN INITIATIVE that converts carbon dioxide into animal feed is one of nine agritech projects to secure NZ$46.2m of government funding as part of a push towards more efficient food production. Led by Nottingham company Deep Branch Biotechnology, the project will turn carbon dioxide from Drax Group’s Selby power station in North Yorkshire into an alternative to soy and fishmeal for the animal industry. Deep Branch’s CO2-toprotein process uses carbon dioxide from industrial emissions to generate a singlecell protein that is optimised for animal nutrition. The carbon recycling company and Drax Group are part of the Nottingham-based React-First consortium which will receive more than NZ$3.8m for the project. Farming Minister Victoria Prentis said “It’s great to see investment in these outstanding ideas which will help us tackle the farming industry’s greatest challenges, from achieving net zero emissions to investing in sustainable alternative protein for animal feed.” A further project led by Saga Robotics in Lincoln will receive nearly NZ$4.8m to fund its work to create a fleet of robots to help growers in the UK.
SIMPLIFY: Farmers are being urged to offer easy online shopping solutions.
The consortium, which includes agri-robotics experts from the University of Lincoln, said the Robot Highways project could help reduce reliance on seasonal labour, estimating a 40% reduction in the manpower required. The intention is to design robots that will assist farmers by picking and packing fruit and treating crops to reduce pests and diseases. Kent soft fruit grower Clock House Farm Ltd is part of the consortium. The technology also aims to help move the sector towards a carbon zero future – something the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) wants the farming industry to achieve
by 2040 – by reducing fruit waste and fungicide use. The University of Reading’s School of Agriculture, Policy and Development will evaluate the economic benefits of the robots, and bring growers, policy-makers and tech developers together to create suitable uses for the technology in farming. Dr David Rose, associate professor of Agricultural Innovation and Extension at the university, said “Autonomous robotic technologies could play a key role in the future of agricultural production, but only if they are trusted, reliable, and provide a tangible benefit for farmers.” – UK Farmers Weekly
ALARMED: Since February, the percentage of large French farmers who were concerned about the effects of climate change had increased from 71% to 89%. their greenhouse gas emissions, with the most popular strategy being carbon management in soil. Financial and policy incentives were the top requests from farmers, with cost and lack of government support noted as the main barriers to implementing more sustainable farming practices. This comes as Syngenta launched its new Good Growth Plan, which pledged to help accelerate innovation for farmers and strive for carbon neutral agriculture. Speaking during an online event hosted by media network Euractiv, Syngenta chief executive Erik Fyrwald said the company has pledged to invest $2 billion (NZ$3bn) into sustainable agriculture by 2025 and deliver two technological breakthroughs
to market each year. This comes as all the targets from the original Good Growth Plan launched in 2013 were achieved or exceeded, including bringing more than 14 million hectares of farmland back from the brink of degradation and enhancing biodiversity on more than 8m ha of farmland. As part of the pledge, Syngenta also committed to reducing the carbon intensity of its operations by 50 per cent by 2030 to support the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. In Europe, the company has promised to increase biodiversity and minimise pesticide use by expanding its reach to farmers to train them in the safe use and precision application of pesticides. – UK Farmers Guardian
Paid damage claims sparks row FORMER British Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs adviser Professor Sir Ian Boyd has been accused of lying in claiming livestock farmers are being paid by the Government to damage the environment. Tenant Farmers Association chief executive George Dunn said he was immensely frustrated to see the spurious arguments being thoughtlessly regurgitated again. In a newspaper interview Boyd said “Most of the livestock production in the United Kingdom is unprofitable without public subsidy. “The public is subsidising the production of livestock to produce environmental damage, all the way from greenhouse gas emissions to water pollution. “Why should we continue to do that? “It is not sensible.” It is not the first time Boyd, who was the department’s chief scientific adviser from 2012 to 2019, caused controversy in the farming community. In 2018 he shocked attendees at the Institute for Agri-food Research and Innovation Metaldehyde Conference by saying the UK’s agriculture system was designed in the 19th century and had not changed much since.
And in November farm groups criticised his call for people to cut down on eating red meat to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target. Dunn said “UK livestock farmers are holding at least one-third of the below-ground store of carbon, providing a massive service to wider society. “It is simply a lie to say the public is subsidising livestock farmers to damage the environment. “In fact, livestock farmers are delivering great food to high standards at reasonable prices and a whole suite of environmental, animal welfare and wider societal benefits. “Switching our retail and food service purchases of meat from imported to domestic sources is what we should be doing if we want to raise our carbon and environmental efficiency.” National Farmers Union vicepresident Stuart Roberts said “A country with some of the most sustainable systems in the world and with a world-leading aspiration for net zero, alongside some of the highest animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards, is somewhere we should be looking to produce a greater proportion of food, not less.” – UK Farmers Guardian
