Climate Change and Agricultural Development: The Need for a Policy Framework

Taken from the Impak magazine 2008 of Department Of Environmental of Malaysia which written by Prof Dr Mad Nasir Shamsudin, the article closely relate the link of climate change with the agricultural development. Climate change poses challenges for all sectors of the Malaysian economy, but particularly those sectors dependent on natural resources such as agriculture and forestry. Despite technological advances in biotechnology, climate is still a key factor in determining agricultural productivity. Agriculture and climate are mutually dependent. Their interactions involve temperature effects, water supply and demand, and fluxes of carbon through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Emissions from agricultural sources are believed to account for some 15% of today’s anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Climate also affects the crop pests and predators. Climate is important not only in terms of average conditions, but also in regard to the frequency and intensity of extreme events, such as floods, droughts, and heat spells.
A study by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Muda Agricultural and Development Authority (MADA) indicated that tropospheric O3 is increasing and above the Ozone Threshold of 40 ppb (AOT40) cases during the growing period of year 2003 and 2004, and this significantly reduced the rice yield to 12%. Despite general uncertainties, studies have consistently shown that overall production in the mid and high latitudes is likely to benefit in the near term (approximately to mid-century), while production systems in the low-latitudes are likely to decline. This finding has implications for world food security, since most developing countries, including Malaysia, are located in lower latitude regions. The vulnerability of developing countries is related to the growth of crops under current climate conditions nearer their optimum temperature limits and the potential for greater increases in water stress under a warming climate.
There is a general agreement that the long-term effects on agriculture are negative. If climate change effects are not abated, agricultural production in the mid and high latitudes is likely to decline in the long term (approximately by the end of 21st century). They are due primarily to detrimental effects of heat and water stress on crop growth as temperatures rise. Malaysia, being a food deficit country with an import bill of RM15.4 billion in 2005, a policy framework that deals with the effect of climate change on her agricultural development is crucial. This framework is needed to provide practical tools to develop effective and efficient policies to deal with climate change challenges. Some possible areas in the framework include adaptation strategies to build resilience into production systems; mitigation strategies to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions; research and development strategies to enhance the agricultural sector’s capacity to respond to climate change; and awareness and communication strategies for inform decision making by agricultural producers.
Mitigation strategies – such as carbon sequestration in agricultural soils – are aimed at reducing the atmospheric concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, thereby countering climatic change. Adaptation strategies, such as changes in crop types and management practices, are responses that optimise production under changing climate conditions.Mitigation and adaptation responses are synergistic. Mitigation practices can enhance the adaptation potential of agricultural systems. For example, carbon sequestration in agricultural soils leads to more stable soil-water dynamics, enhancing the ability of crops to withstand drought and floods, both of which may increase under changing climate conditions. In addition, many of the strategies proposed for reduction of GHG emissions from agriculture are ‘best practices’, that is, they increase input efficiency while limiting environmental damage. For instance, use of tree shelterbelts can help to minimise soil erosion and stabilise soil carbon; mulches added between row crops help to conserve soil water, reduce erosion, and sequester carbon. Recent studies have shown that improved agriculture practices can significantly help in reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide by increasing carbon sequestration.

The potential contribution of the agricultural sector in the reduction of GHG emissions by sources and removals by sinks in the agriculture soils largely depend on the farmers’ adoption of environmentally friendly land use and management practices. Farmers’ decision on adoption of these practices that result in additional carbon sequestration in particular eco-logical settings, are largely influenced by the net returns from the farm and existing agriculture and environmental policies. Although adoption of these practices by farmers also creates on-farm benefits such as increased crop yields, adoption of these practices in a wider scale largely depends on to what extent farmers are compensated for the additional global benefits and taxed for the negative externalities they generate from their local activities. Farmers may need additional knowledge and resources for investing in such practices. Farmers’ decision on land allocation for different purposes and their shift towards adoption of land management practices, on the other hand, are also largely influenced by the existing economy-wide policies, and strategies such as investment in research on soil fertility management, provision of required infrastructure and market facilities.
Agricultural soils can be both a contributor to and a recipient of the effects of a changing climate. In the past, land management has generally resulted in considerable depletion of soil organic matter and the release of carbon dioxide. Now, there is the potential to restore soil organic carbon through improved management techniques, enhancing soil structure and fertility and helping to counter climate change. An important caveat is that the capacity for agricultural soil carbon sequestration is constrained by the amount of carbon lost during the conversion of natural ecosystems to agriculture, so that its effectiveness as a mitigating activity for climate change is not unlimited.

For detail information you can go to http://www.doe.gov.my