Helping Farmers to Survive Climate Change

The Australian government has released a national plan of action to help Australian farmers cope and deal with the effects of climate change on the availability of water, how much they are able to produce and the risk of pests, weeds and diseases to their farms.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Peter McGauran, said that it was vital for Australia that the farming community was able to remain sustainable, competitive and profitable.

"This plan will tackle head-on issues such as the availability of reliable and high-quality water supplies. It also gives us the chance to collect and share knowledge and experience in developing practical solutions to environmental problems caused by climate change."

Climate change can affect all natural resources, and has the potential to make sustainable farming even more complicated and challenging than it already is.

The new plan of action will focus on providing suggestions on how to adapt to climate change, how to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, research and development of alternative ways of doing things and creating an awareness of some of the most important climate change issues for farmers.