 A recent New
York Times article shed light on one of the emerging effects of climate
change--climate refugees.
“Around the globe, governments are
confronting the reality that as human-caused climate change warms the
planet, rising sea levels, stronger storms, increased flooding, harsher
droughts and dwindling freshwater supplies could drive the world’s most
vulnerable people from their homes. Between 50 million and 200 million
people —
mainly subsistence farmers and fishermen — could be displaced by 2050
because of climate change, according to estimates by the United Nations
University Institute for Environment and Human Security and the International
Organization for Migration.”
NIFA
is one of many government agencies that support communities effected by climate
change, through programs like the
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Climate Variability and Change
Challenge Area and services such as cooperative
extension.
Cornell
University’s Cooperative Extension Office provides training
and online resources for local farmers to assist them in successfully adapting
to increasingly variable climate conditions. The primary opportunities
to increase profit margins while reducing carbon footprints lie in energy
conservation; improved carbon storage, or sequestration, in the soils through
increasing soil organic matter; and efficient use of nitrogen fertilizer. For
farmers to seize these opportunities, they need tools tailored to New York's
diverse soils and cropping systems that will help them navigate their options,
whether their crop is field corn, vegetables, fruits, or dairy.
Low cost soil tests for strategic soil sampling and soil carbon
assessment as part of the Cornell Soil Test help
capture carbon and nitrogen cycling information. The Adapt-N
tool, a tool for calculating the precise nitrogen needs of a crop at a
particular time point, also helps farmers estimate nitrogen needs. A video, “Agriculture
and Adaptation,” shows how New York farmers are adjusting their management
to the realities of a changing climate.
Researchers at Mississippi State
University are studying how local environmental stressors impact crops and
equipping both seed breeders and farmers with the tools they need in a changing
climate. They are helping to breed cultivars resistant to abiotic stressors,
such as extreme temperatures, drought, solar radiation, and assisting producers
in selecting the right cultivars for their niche environments. Row-crops such
as corn, rice, soybeans and cotton, along with crops like sweet potatoes,
peppers and cowpeas are the focus of these efforts. Scientists are also
including biofuel crops in the study. As the climate changes, understanding its
impact on crop production is essential to feed a growing population.
For
more NIFA impacts, visit nifa.usda.gov/impacts or the Land-Grant University Impacts
website. Send
us your NIFA-funded impacts at impactstories@nifa.usda.gov or share them with USDA_NIFA on Twitter #NIFAimpacts.
NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges.
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