International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction: Towards More Resilient Agriculture
Today, 13 October 2024, is the 35th International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. Established by the United Nations, this day aims to raise international awareness of disaster prevention and mitigation.
Over the past year, the increasing frequency of abnormal natural disasters across various regions has remained the greatest threat to Chinese farmers; the status quo of agriculture being ‘at the mercy of the elements’ persists.
Since the start of summer, extreme weather has been frequent across the country. In June, several southern provinces faced continuous heavy rain and severe flooding, while the North suffered from high temperatures and low rainfall. This was particularly acute in Henan, where average precipitation was 71% lower than usual for the period, leaving many farmers unable to irrigate their land and consumed by worry.
In July, the North saw a rapid shift from drought to flood. Taking Henan as an example again, record-breaking heavy rainfall occurred in mid-July, flooding homes, cutting off power, and trapping residents. Crops that farmers had barely managed to salvage from the drought were suddenly submerged. There was a rare decrease in national summer grain production, falling by 0.9% compared to the previous year; however, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that while there was a slight decline, it was still a harvest year.
Driven by successive waves of high temperatures and heavy rain in the country’s primary vegetable-producing regions, vegetable prices climbed steadily throughout the summer. Autumn finally arrived, but in September, Super Typhoon Yagi made landfall in Hainan, causing total losses exceeding 10 billion yuan across the agriculture, forestry, and fishery sectors. Typhoon Bebinca, the strongest to hit Shanghai in 75 years, flooded vegetable fields and damaged greenhouses in Shanghai and Jiangsu. Crab farmers at Yangcheng Lake reported that their nets were destroyed, allowing the crabs to escape.
Other distressing events include the 16 June torrential rains in Meizhou, Guangdong; the breach of Dongting Lake in Huarong, Hunan; and the extreme rainfall in Huludao, Liaoning… Meteorological disasters have come one after another, but this is not unique to this year. Rising global temperatures have increased atmospheric moisture, making weather systems more active and prone to extremes such as torrential rain and typhoons.
At the start of this year, the World Meteorological Organization confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record and predicted that the average temperature for 2024 could be even higher. Data shows that every decade since the 1980s has been warmer than the last. Currently, the global average temperature is approximately 1.45°C higher than pre-industrial levels (1850–1900), and it will only get hotter. This means that more frequent and destructive meteorological disasters have become the ‘new normal’ for agriculture.
Taking this opportunity, we have curated a collection of climate-related articles previously published by Foodthink. We invite our readers to look back at the climate disasters agriculture has faced in recent years and explore how to build more resilient agricultural systems.
I. Frequent Extreme Weather: Who is Looking Out for Smallholder Farmers?
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Double Typhoon Strike: Farmers in the ‘Free Shipping’ Zone Heavily Hit
Vegetables ‘Steamed Above and Soaked Below’: How do farmers survive a hot and rainy summer?
Under the Influence of Extreme Weather, How is the Spring Tea Faring Across the Country?
Hail Strikes Beijing: Heavy Losses for Fellow Farmers
Three Full Months of Rain: A Lesson in ‘Eating According to the Sky’
Once extreme weather events fade from the public eye, the situation for disaster-affected small-scale farmers remains dire. Faced with crop losses, destroyed homes, and various uncertainties about the future, rebuilding their lives and restoring production is a long and arduous process. Many small-scale farmers are still unaware of what weather insurance is, and even when available, the payouts are often insufficient to cover the losses.
In addition, we are also paying attention to the situation in grazing areas and among herders. Although less common in media reports, those in ecologically fragile regions are facing even deeper climate threats.
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More Than a Month After the Floods: How are the Villagers of Mentougou Faring?
Wuchang After the Floods: Affected Farmers Disappear from the Camera While Selling Produce
As Urban Yellow Sands Recede, the Impact of Sandstorms on Herders Persists
Altay Herders Moving to Summer Pastures Still Live in the Shadow of Blizzards
II. Treating Every Year as a ‘Lean Year’
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The hottest summer, the coldest lychee season: how do fruit farmers face a ‘super lean year’?
Will ‘good vintages’ of wine become increasingly rare?
Celery is toughening; is climate change to blame?
Unavoidable heat, unplantable sweet potatoes
Understanding climate change through the terraced fields in the deep mountains of Guilin
Are climatic disasters acts of nature or man-made catastrophes? When we focus on climate events, do we seriously consider the other human factors that trigger these disasters—such as irrational land use and the neglect of environmental health—which exacerbate the homogeneity and fragility of agricultural systems?
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Merging small plots into large fields: what happens to the insects? | National Ecology Day
The fires of the Amazon: what sparked them, and who is fueling them?
Hundreds of mu of farmland submerged: act of nature or man-made disaster?
III. A Way Out of the Crisis
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The climate is changing: how are German scientists collaborating with farmers to find a way forward?
Soil, water cycles, and biodiversity: three fundamental questions from regenerative agriculture
Understanding organic farming: environmental benefits and inspirational value
What are the benefits of organic farming? Can it feed us all?
Common ground in basic concepts and principles does not mean that one can simply follow a set formula. Every farm differs in its natural environment, varieties, and scale. Applying these principles in a way that suits local conditions to reduce climate risk requires a deep understanding of local climate conditions and dedicated technical research.
In this regard, farmers are the ones who know the land beneath their feet best. Only by working and researching side-by-side with farmers can scientists uncover truly effective solutions. To expect a single technical solution to solve the agricultural crisis on a large scale is a delusion—and worse, a disaster.
Re-evaluating livelihoods and life, reconstructing connections with nature and community, and collectively resisting risks—agroecological smallholders across the globe are proving through local practice that ecological agriculture has the potential to provide innovative solutions and create a more resilient future for farming.
▼ Click the links below to read related articles
Ten years of farming: reading nature in the details
Every blade of grass is a fertiliser plant: learning to farm from the Cangshan Mountains in Dali
Preserving over two hundred heirloom varieties every year: how this organic farm does it
Saying no to glyphosate: how I transformed a large lawn into a permaculture garden
Editor: Wang Hao