A two-way relationship: ​

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Agriculture contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions, including methane from livestock and rice fields, nitrous oxide from fertilizers and manure, and carbon dioxide from deforestation, machinery, and land-use change.

Climate change also affects agriculture by changing growing conditions. Higher temperatures, shifting rainfall, droughts, floods, heat waves, new pest patterns, and soil degradation can reduce crop yields and make food production less predictable. Some cooler regions may temporarily gain longer growing seasons, but many tropical and already-warm regions face higher risks.

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The relationship can be summarized like this:

• Agriculture drives climate change: emissions from livestock, fertilizers, land clearing, and energy use.

• Climate change disrupts agriculture: heat stress, water scarcity, extreme weather, crop failure, and pest spread.

• Agriculture can also help solve climate change: better soil management, agroforestry, reduced food waste, improved irrigation, lower-emission fertilizers, and climate-smart farming can reduce emissions and increase resilience.

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Climate change and agriculture have a two-way relationship: farming contributes to climate change, and climate change makes farming harder and less predictable.

Global Examples

In many parts of the world, climate change is already affecting food production:

• Sub-Saharan Africa: More frequent droughts and irregular rainfall threaten maize, sorghum, and millet production. Small farmers who depend on rain-fed agriculture are especially vulnerable.

• South Asia: Heat waves and changing monsoon patterns affect rice and wheat production in countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

• Southeast Asia: Rice farming is vulnerable to floods, sea-level rise, and saltwater intrusion, especially in low-lying areas such as Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

• Latin America: Coffee production in countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras is affected by rising temperatures, changing rainfall, and crop diseases.

• Europe: Heat waves and droughts have reduced yields of wheat, corn, grapes, and olives in southern Europe.

• Australia: Drought and extreme heat affect livestock, wheat, and water availability for irrigation.

• Small island nations: Sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion damage farmland and freshwater supplies, making local food production more difficult.

Agriculture also contributes to global warming. For example, cattle produce methane, rice paddies release methane, fertilizers release nitrous oxide, and clearing forests for farmland releases carbon dioxide.

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Examples in the USA

In the United States, climate change affects agriculture differently by region:

• Midwest: Corn and soybean farms face heavier spring rains, flooding, soil erosion, and hotter summers. Too much rain can delay planting, while drought can reduce yields.

• California: Drought, water shortages, and wildfires affect fruits, nuts, vegetables, dairy farms, and vineyards. Crops like almonds and grapes depend heavily on reliable water supplies.

• Great Plains: Wheat farming and cattle ranching are affected by drought, heat stress, and declining water from sources such as the Ogallala Aquifer.

• Southeast: Hurricanes, flooding, heat, and pests threaten crops such as cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and citrus.

• Florida: Citrus production is affected by warmer temperatures, hurricanes, flooding, and diseases that can spread more easily in changing climates.

• Pacific Northwest: Apples, cherries, wheat, and wine grapes face risks from heat waves, drought, wildfire smoke, and shifting water supplies.

• Northeast: Some farms may benefit from longer growing seasons, but heavier rainfall, new pests, and unpredictable weather create new risks.

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How Agriculture Can Adapt

Farmers around the world and in the USA are using different strategies to respond:

• Planting drought-resistant or heat-tolerant crop varieties

• Using drip irrigation and better water management

• Rotating crops to protect soil health

• Planting cover crops to reduce erosion

• Practicing no-till or reduced-till farming

• Using trees and crops together through agroforestry

• Improving fertilizer use to reduce nitrous oxide emissions

• Reducing food waste

• Managing livestock feed and manure to lower methane emissions

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Overall, agriculture is both a contributor to climate change and one of the sectors most affected by it. The challenge is to produce enough food for a growing population while reducing emissions and helping farms adapt to a changing climate.

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