Introduction: The Effect of Climate Change on the Global Agriculture Industry
Climate change has been vastly changing how and where food is being produced globally. Factors such as increasing temperatures and water scarcity are directly impacting the yields of specific crops around the world, often times decreasing the profits earned by agricultural companies. Unfortunately, most of these businesses are doing nothing to confront the problem.
A seemingly never-ending drought and water scarcity are straining the operations of major food companies. The typical business model of these companies assumes that water needed for production is limitless and inexpensive. According to the UN-Water withdrawals of freshwater supplies have risen by at least 1% each year in the past 3 decades, and could rise to as much as 55% in the upcoming decades. The agency believes that one of the reasons for the lessened water levels is the increased demand for water in production of agricultural products.
Other climatic conditions are greatly impacting the production of various crops around the world. In Honduras, for example, the summer rainy season has grown to be hotter and drier, which has in turn forced producers to pump up more groundwater and sometimes turn to expensive irrigation technology. Cool spells during the current dry season become even cooler, which causes the rate of ripening of bananas to slow down. In India, wheat and rice crops also suffer from the hot weather during the dry season.
The decrease in yields globally causes current agricultural workers to shift their focuses to the production of different crops, and is drastically changing the current global agricultural system.
For more information on global agriculture industry, check out globalEDGE Agriculture Industry section!
Featured Resources
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change offers a broad range of resources concerning issues surrounding climate change. In addition to daily updates and information about what kind of action is being taken, the site offers an extensive background about climate change, a detailed outline of the Kyoto Agreement, and national reports of emissions data.
Categories: Social Responsibility , Environmental Regulations
AgWeb
AgWeb provides the latest news in the agriculture industry including information on weather, markets, crops, and livestock. The site also offers blogs and discussion forums.
Categories: Industries , Agriculture
Featured Academy
Global Agricultural Trade
The Global Agriculture Trade module contains information on the following: the reasons for the growth of trade in agricultural products and why countries want to trade globally rather than protect domestic markets; comparative and competitive advantage; how trade can benefit consumers in all countries; and the reasons behind increased global agricultural trade. An interactive game designed to teach students about global agricultural production is also included.
Export Subsidy Provisions in the AoA
The Export Subsidy Provisions in the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) module informs one of the following: the export subsidy provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) AoA and how they impact global agricultural trade; how export subsidies work; how export subsidies effect trade; examples of some types of export subsidies; the effects of export subsidies on all trading partners; some levels of export subsidization among WTO member countries; and the effects of some export subsidies in the U.S. market for agricultural goods. Interactive games are included.
globalEDGE Business Beat
globalEDGE Business Beat: Diana Haytko
Tomas Hult speaks with Diana Haytko, Howard Professor of Marketing at Florida Gulf Coast University and Program Chair for the annual conference of the Academy of Marketing Science in Denver, Colorado May 11-14 as well as AMS Newsletter editor. They discuss the AMS annual conference in Denver and the blend of academics from around the world with top notch businesspeople. They also discuss the July AMS World Marketing Congress to be held in Bari, Italy July 14-18, 2015. AMS is the owner of one of the world’s top scholarly marketing journals, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and has members in most corners of the world.
globalEDGE Business Beat: Terry Terry
Tomas Hult speaks with Terry Terry, President of MessageMakers. They discuss Message Makers, the core focus of MessageMakers, and what services the company provides the community and beyond. MessageMakers has a vision “To make positive change in the world by creating experiences that transform.”
