A recent study, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, saw a team of researchers from Austria and Belgium diving into the perceptions and challenges of 553 farmers across 22 European countries.
The results of this extensive survey was recently published in the journal ‘Climate’ in a scientific paper titled “Farmers Feel the Climate Change: Variety Choice as an Adaptation Strategy of European Potato Farmers“. It sought to understand how climate change is impacting potato production in Europe and what farmers are willing to do about it.
European potato yields are under severe threat from climate change. Drought and heat, two of the most significant by-products of global warming, are drastically reducing crop yields. To add to the growers’ woes, issues like poor soil water retention and the lack of proper irrigation systems are exacerbating the situation. Without adaptation, global potato yields could plummet by 18% to 32% by 2069. However, effective adaptation strategies could halve these losses.
Source: potatonewstoday.com