Sustainable agriculture and climate change

Agricultura sostenible y cambio climático

Fabian Miguel Carrillo Riofrio

Master in Agricultural Innovation for Rural Development, Research Professor, Escuela

Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH), Riobamba, Ecuador.

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the sectors most affected by the increasingly extreme effects of climate

change, but this activity also contributes a high percentage of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This research evidences and analyzes the importance of the contributions that sustainable and

resilient agriculture makes to the problems generated by climate change. Information was

compiled and analyzed from scientific databases and organizations specializing in the subject,

with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, since these regions are the most affected

because agriculture is a fundamental pillar of their economies. Environmentally responsible

Resumen

La agricultura es uno de los sectores más afectados por los efectos del cambio climático que

cada vez son más extremos, pero esta actividad al mismo tiempo contribuye con un alto

porcentaje de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI). Esta investigación evidencia y

analiza la importancia de las contribuciones que la agricultura sostenible y resiliente aporta a

las problemáticas generadas por el cambio climático. Se recopiló y analizó información de

bases de datos científicas y de organismos especializados en el tema, con un enfoque en

América Latina y el Caribe ya que estas regiones son las más afectadas al ser la agricultura

pilar fundamental en su economía. Una agricultura responsable con el medio ambiente reduce

significativamente las emisiones de GEI del sector, brinda beneficios como la restauración y

protección de cuencas de río, conservación de la biodiversidad, mejorar la rentabilidad y

calidad de vida, entre otros. Es clara entonces la necesidad de una transformación hacia

The negative effects of climate change are becoming more evident every year in several

strategic sectors, one of which is agriculture, from its producers to the global chains that supply

products on a daily basis in several countries, are suffering the consequences of more intense

meteorological phenomena, a greater appearance of pests, and even the involuntary

displacement of people.

Other factors that should be taken into account are the high level of people in the world

suffering from chronic hunger, the constant and increasing human activity on the capacity of

the land and the continuous growth of the population generating a higher demand for food

which is estimated to increase globally by 60% by 2050, there is also the inefficient

management of food produced since about a third of these are wasted throughout the process

On the other hand, there are also negative consequences in the socio-health area since several

studies have shown that sudden temperature variations generate a greater number of patients

admitted to hospitals and even an increase in morbidity and mortality, for example in countries

like the United States it is estimated that about 650 people a year die from heat waves, the

concern arises because these scenarios can generate situations of hyperthermia or heat stroke

and are more common every year (Lorenzo & Liaño, 2017).

Likewise, environmental pollution generates a great variety of chemical and biological

components that are present in the air we breathe and most of them have negative effects on

our health. Studies show that environmental pollution is directly related to the increase of

respiratory diseases in infants. In Spain after an investigation it was observed that the levels of

NO2 recorded in stations measuring atmospheric pollutants exceeded 40 µg/m3 that the World

Health Organization (WHO) establishes as the maximum annual permissible limit, evidencing

of mankind in three ways: more or less direct repercussions due to extreme weather phenomena

such as hypersensitivity of the skin, more frequent occurrence of acne or skin infections; health

consequences due to various processes of environmental change and ecological disturbances

such as the increase in infections due to the proliferation of vectors of various diseases such as

malaria, dengue, malaria, among others, due to the gradual increase in temperature, and health

consequences produced by populations displaced by climate change, which may be traumatic,

infectious, nutritional, psychological and other types (López Figueroa, 2011).

The adverse effects of climate change have been studied in specific sectors in several countries

around the world, showing that it can affect everything from crops to forests, and even

environmental flows. In Mexico, a projection study determined that 5 temperate forest tree

water is a limiting resource in these areas, it is established that sacrificing the water balance in

search of increased agricultural production and agriculture has brought consequences such as

water degradation, decreased availability and quality of water extracted from the aquifer,

therefore it is necessary to understand and integrate the processes in projects, management

plans and public policies oriented towards sustainable resource management (Diéguez et al.,

2014).

In southern Spain, a study showed that there will be an increase in water scarcity problems,

causing the population's demand to be inadequately met, with the reduction in contributions to

the basin due to climate change and agriculture being the main causes of this problem, the latter

representing a consumption of 90% of the water resource, making it necessary to implement

decrease due to less precipitation, less soil moisture and high temperatures that lead to higher

coffee-growing area in Colombia, out of 28 stations analyzed in 27 there is evidence of an

increase in the minimum temperature being the most worrying trend of 0.4° C more every ten

years, phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña directly influence the change of maximum and

minimum temperatures in this area that directly affect crops, such phenomena are influenced

American coasts (Pérez Rendón et al., 2016).

Phenomena such as these generate a threat to coastal systems and low-lying areas, with the rise

in mean sea level and extreme rainfall being the main causes of permanent flooding, affecting

crops which are completely lost, generating economic losses. A study in Asturias showed that

the lack of adaptation measures in the face of this problem will cause the loss of land in low-

lying areas, overflowing of rivers, requiring protection for the population and assets, generating

techniques such as irrigation, fertilization, pest control, among others. This has been effective

since the changes have been occurring with manageable margins, periodically and even in some

cases have been predictable to a certain extent, however, climate change has increased the

frequency and intensity of natural phenomena reaching ranges that are difficult to manage.

According to studies, the most affected areas are the tropical and subtropical regions, where

most countries are dependent on agriculture and primary activities. These areas have

populations with a higher rate of poverty, food insecurity and high vulnerability to

Food security is understood as the condition in which the inhabitants of a country have physical

and economic access at all times to sufficient food, guaranteeing its safety, as well as their

nutrition in order to satisfy their food needs and preferences for an active and healthy life.

Climate change certainly represents a threat to global food security in its four dimensions:

availability, access, stability of supplies and the ability of consumers to make adequate use of

food.

Availability refers to the physical existence of food; however, it can be considered a

precondition for access to food, since it will depend on the financial resources of the population

and market prices. The adequate use of food deals with nutritional well-being and is a function

security have been overtaken, making their actions less and less efficient, necessitating that the

primary actors in agriculture also make changes in their activities, thus bringing agriculture to

a sustainable mode seeking to ensure food security, healthy ecosystems and sustainable

management of natural resources. To achieve this, an approach must be adopted that meets the

needs of current and future generations, taking into account factors such as profitability,

environmental health and social and economic equity.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the key

principles for the development of new approaches and transition to sustainability are: more

efficient use of resources, actions to conserve and enhance natural resources, protect and

improve rural livelihoods and social welfare, increase resilience of communities and

as well as the level of knowledge, learning and management capacity of human groups and

institutions; while adaptability is the ability of the system to reduce the negative effects of a

disaster and obtain advantages and opportunities in search of sustainable adaptations, realistic

with the context, and with a focus on recovery (Balvanera et al., 2017).

A scenario in which the reconversion of several productive activities to more sustainable

practices with links to regional markets is a priority is a clear example of adaptation, this

involves the organization of producers, reducing production costs to obtain products that can

prolonged profitability and the short return on investment make these sustainable plans viable;

likewise, adequate land management allows more space to work in other activities, enabling

Several scenarios like this, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, are highlighted

by FAO, which have been successfully implemented in some projects focused on sustainable

and resilient production, demonstrating that it is possible to achieve a transformation of

improving the health of ecosystems through the responsible and efficient use of natural

resources such as water and forests. These results led several farms to replicate these practices,

and the provincial governments and Ministries such as the Ministry of Environment and

Agriculture committed to ensure their scalability in other territories of the country (FAO,

and the Paris Agreement, several countries committed to reducing GHG emissions by 2030,

one of them was Mexico, which took action in the agricultural sector and industry, since

agriculture accounts for 12% of the country's emissions while the industrial sector accounts for

17%. The initiative consisted of promoting efficient, low-emission technologies in both

kilowatt hours and the generation of local suppliers of technology and related services at a

Uruguay, generating environmental degradation with negative effects on the rural population

and on exporters; therefore, alternatives were sought, such as the development of new

technologies that replace chemicals as far as possible. The project demonstrated that it is

possible to implement good agricultural practices without negative effects on profitability; on

allowed a 12% reduction of all chemicals used in a planting cycle (soybean), and finally

improved the image of the conglomerate in the eyes of society due to the environmental and

Regulated in 2010 and structured as a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action under the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), they initially sought

to promote environmental improvements by boosting the productivity and competitiveness of

enterprises (SMEs) and family farming. The agreements in this sector have promoted

sustainability, safety, efficiency and competitiveness, while the benefits for farmers include

technical assistance, subsidies for clean technology and easy access to international markets.

different crops and about 631 thousand producers, becoming one of the most outstanding and

replicable initiatives in terms of climate and agriculture. Thanks to this, producers are able to

act preventively before adverse climate events due to the timely information they receive, they

have also improved agricultural practices through adaptability to climate change, minimizing

costs and improving profitability, finally, the rural sector is taken into account, seeking its

In the basins of the Porce and Chinchiná rivers, Colombia, an investigation evidences the

practices that some coffee growers take as a measure against extreme climatic events, among

the findings were observed the management of shadows in the coffee plantations, the

that seek a sustainable and climate-smart agriculture, since economic subsidies are only

A frequent problem in rural populations is the lack of information that facilitates the planning

and management of the sectors involved. Databases, statistics, geospatial maps, pollution

meters, among other relevant data must be updated or created, as this will help to verify that

the measures implemented have an effect and to observe indirect benefits in some cases such

as the reduction of pollution in natural resources, reduction of pests, better quality of life of the

The influence of climate change on agriculture is evident, not only in the variability of

although there are countries that contribute less to climate change, they are the ones that suffer

the most from its adverse effects, that is, we are facing a model in which development is

promoted without control and with a high rate of pollution, the same that is rooted in world

powers and the main affected are the populations with few resources. It is necessary an

international ethical-political court which focuses its actions on climate justice, with the

protagonism of peoples and organizations that are the most affected, thus enabling the creation