There are people that believe global warming will have a positive effect on crops. It is true that as the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, plants that grow by absorbing the carbon dioxide will be more bountiful and produce higher yields. However, we must also consider the disadvantages of higher temperatures. These include, reducing the amount of farmland suitable for cultivation, and producing heavy rains, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events that will damage rice paddies and fields, resulting in reduced production.

What are the predicted effects of global warming on agriculture around the world?

In Europe, the effects will be different in the north, the center, and the south. In Northern Europe, agricultural production is expected to increase and forest growth is expected to flourish. However, floods are expected to increase during the winter, threatening ecosystems, ruining agricultural lands, to produce an overall negative effect. In Central and Eastern Europe, summer precipitation will decrease, and water scarcity will affect crops. In the south, the effects of high temperatures and droughts are forecast to become even more severe, and crop production is expected to decline.

In Asia, floods will increase in densely populated deltas and food shortages will continue to cause starvation in developing countries. The agricultural nations of Australia and New Zealand are also expected to experience reduced agricultural and forestry production due to reduced rainfall, worsening water shortages and increasing droughts and fires.

Since Japan is a long country from north to south, it may be possible to reduce the effects of global warming by changing the location of crop production between Kyushu and Hokkaido. Let's take a look at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries predictions that take into account the effects of global warming. Rice yields will increase only in Hokkaido, with decreases expected in other regions. Cultivation of apples will gradually move northward, and while the entirety of Hokkaido becomes suitable for cultivation, the areas south of Tokyo will become increasingly unsuitable for cultivation. Chicken production will decline significantly in western Japan. The fishing grounds for Pacific saury are traditionally off the coast of Nemuro in eastern Hokkaido, but in 100 years these fish will no longer be caught in the waters near Japan. The above is the future forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. However, in reality, the Pacific saury fishing grounds have already moved away from the waters off Nemuro to the Pacific Ocean far to the east.

Agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fisheries are all dependent on nature. If global warming continues, it will have a far greater negative impact on the planet as a whole and will cause serious damage to our way of life creating serious food shortages.

episode 10
The Crops Don’t Grow, the Fruit Doesn’t Come