Book details how Pacific farmers can cope with climate change

Transcript

A new book shows Pacific farmers and foresters examples of how to adapt to climate change over the next 70 or so years.

The book has been compiled by scientists working with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

It details the impact of climate change on agriculture and agroforestry, and what can be done to mitigate it.

One of the editors, scientist Brian Dawson, told Don Wiseman there are still gaps in the knowledge but it has been ascertained many crops are more resilient to climate change than earlier expected.

BRIAN DAWSON: What the report highlights is there wasn't a lot known on what the actual impacts on the Pacific agriculture and forestry where and also there are still a lot of gaps in that information base. But what we have ascertained is that quite a few of the crops are a lot more resistant to climate change than what we would have expected but there is options and a whole range of adaptation options that farmers can adopt to really reduce their vulnerability to climate change and a lot of that goes around better farm management, soil management, you know ecosystem preservation increasing the use of biodiversity in their cropping systems and using more traditional crops. So the good news is that there are options available the bad news is over time the impacts become worse.

DON WISEMAN: We will come to adaptation in a bit more detail shortly but how did you acquire the information, what did you do?  

BD: The SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community did a major report on fisheries which took several years of preparation and that unveiled a lot of information and we thought well we need to do the same for agriculture and forestry because what is known there is a pretty limited knowledge base. So we drew together a whole range of experts, of scientists you know all across the world. All researched all the available information and was able surprisingly to stitch together a report that did a pretty good coverage of all the sectors that the report covers. So it was a long process, took three years of work, but the end result is that we are now in a much better position to know some of the what is going to happen and when it is going to happen and what we are going to do about it.

DW: All right well let's just look at some of those adaptation ideas you mentioned, in terms of seeds, more resilient seeds. Just how do you go about that process is it just a matter of breeding?

BD: You have got to look at the system as a whole so there is what the genetic input that goes into the system the sort of crops you grow what their biodiversity is your productivity. The management systems that are in place how they manage the soils, the water, the fertiliser and also the sustainability of production and so the risk factors so you have got all your eggs in one basket. You don't want to lose your whole crop. So with the Pacific staple crop in particular but also some of the cash crops there has been a centre established in Fiji, they call this the centre for Pacific crops and trees. They have actually identified a whole range of climate resilient traits in known traditional Pacific crops like sort of Dalo and cassava etc. And establishing that sort of genetic bank enables farmers over time to be able to access this and therefore inherently by the crops they are actually growing and the mix of diversity is building much greater resilience.

DW: There are significant parts of the Pacific where there is more and more emphasis going on the breeding of animals, animal husbandry. Vanuatu, Fiji, Papua New Guinea would they be enthusiasts if they read your book or not?

BD: Oh absolutely and one of the things is there is actually a chapter in there that specifically deals with livestock. And if you overlay what is likely to occur in terms of temperature variations in particular because temperature is one of the key variables you know particularly for things like chickens. Very susceptible to heat stress etc. But what they have found is some of the Pacific breeds those bred in New Caledonia and Vanuatu that have sort of been adapted more to tropical environments have a much greater ability to withstand the potential changes coming up than some of the more introduced species. So one of the things farmers could learn and what farmers can put into their program is to give a lot more emphasis to breeds and types and mixes of livestock that better suit what the future is going to be. And also to the changes in nutritional value of pastures that are likely to occur over time in climate change.

DW: If farmers across the Pacific apply these techniques that you guys are suggesting in your book, how do you see the long term viability of agriculture in the Pacific?

BD: Well I mean it varies between the countries I mean you have to first look at where is all the arable land, who produces most of the food etc. And that is largely the Melanesian countries that is where most of the population is that is where most of the food production is they have different sorts of factors that affect them compared to say what Atoll countries have with a very limited amount of land who are already quite dependent on imported foods. What the court actually says is that if you actually use a better mix, better governance, better mix of different species etc. and you apply that over time, what you will do is actually buy a greater period of time before your productivity is adversely affected by climate change. But the big factor here is how much is the climate going to change in the future. So we are pretty confident out to 2030, 2040 because that is already in the system. But if the world actually adopts a very aggressive emissions reduction strategy and avoids the future sort of climate change and climate variables. Then we will be in a much better position to maintain food security and productivity. But if it comes at a worse case you can only buy time, eventually you are going to have to either change your crops completely or have transformative sort of adaptation including greater imports of food materials to the Pacific which is probably something they can't afford.