The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has produced a report on the effects of climate change in the agricultural sector, which appeared on its web site on 22nd December 2014.
This document assesses the impact of the effects of climate change as currently known, whether positively or negatively.
The projected yields of maize, rice and wheat are expected to decline by 10%, 7% and 6% respectively between now and 2050, according to the OECD, which will lead to the price of agricultural commodities increasing by up to 30% in the most extreme cases.
The document also proposes two types of scenarios that could be developed to mitigate these negative effects on the yields and prices of agricultural products. The first relates to the research and develop0ment of improved varieties adapted to the climatic conditions and the second concerns the use of irrigation systems that optimise water use.
By way of an example, the study shows that using varieties of maize and wheat that are resistant to drought and high temperatures would have the effect of reducing the world prices of these two cereals by 4% and 2%.
As far as irrigation is concerned, the authors of the report are proposing the use of pressurised and drip irrigation techniques in order to reduce water consumption in agriculture while increasing efficiency.
The use of such systems should allow for the prices of maize, rice, potatoes and even vegetable to fall by between 1.5% and 3%.
The potential additional cost of these two applications specifically adapted to cope with climate change could amount to between 16 and 20 billion US dollars for the countries of the OECD.
By 2050, most of the cost of this investment will be born by the private sector, which is becoming more and more involved in agricultural research and development.
