Climate Change

Agriculture is directly affected by the scenarios on global climate change depicted in recent climate research. Scientists expect global changes in the annual precipitation and temperature distribution.

Scientific projections for Europe indicate that in winter temperatures will fall below zero much less frequently. Precipitation is expected to increase in winter and to decrease in summer. This might result in the spreading of new pests.

Such environmental changes will also have an impact on agriculture and plant cultivation in Europe. In order to maintain the current yield performance, new varieties need to be developed to achieve the same yields even in the new environmental conditions. 

It is true that research and development e.g. of drought resistant crops are still in the beginnings. Yet, genomic research has provided important clues as to the genetics of heat and drought resistance which will need to be transposed into practical breeding in the medium term.