LIFE Biodiversity Foundation AgriAdapt Project: Sustainable adaptation of European agricultural systems to climate change

Agriculture is the economic sector most exposed to climate change, given that it directly depends on climatic factors that will affect the volume, quality, and stability of food production. In this context, the Global Nature Foundation has carried out the project "LIFE AgriAdapt. Sustainable adaptation of European agricultural systems to climate change" with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation. The project has contributed to increasing the available information on the vulnerability of the agricultural sector to climate change, initially through the publication of a basic reference report, catalogs of adaptation measures, and the creation of two crop vulnerability analysis tools at the agroclimatic zone level and the farm level.

To this end, the project has worked with 32 pilot farms (6 arable crops in Castilla y León, 6 processing tomatoes in Badajoz, 6 extensive cattle farms in the dehesas of Cáceres, 6 intensive dairy cattle farms in Castilla y León and Cantabria, 7 vineyards, and 1 orange grove in the Valencian Community). These farms have been offered a series of sustainable climate change adaptation measures to increase their resilience. These results have led to the creation of a "Didactic Training Module on Climate Change Adaptation in the Agricultural Sector." Some of the main conclusions drawn from the project are that while water shortages are one of the main impacts that will affect the Mediterranean agricultural sector, heat waves, droughts, and high temperatures are also climate risk factors. In some cases, these cannot be combated with more water, and water will also be less available in the near future.

For this reason, it is necessary to implement adaptation measures, ranging from efficiency improvements to farm redesign and crop substitution. It has been proven that agricultural practices that ensure a better soil structure, with greater porosity and organic matter content, are more resilient than more intensive soil practices. In the intensive livestock sector, measures should be aimed at combating heat waves by designing facilities adapted to these conditions. To disseminate this information, the project has been presented at 16 events and conferences, with more than 800 participants. An international platform for LIFE projects on Climate Change Adaptation in the agricultural and forestry sectors of the Mediterranean Region has been organized with 110 participants. For information on the project, as well as documentation and reports, please visit its website.