'Climate change will force UK to be dependent on imported crops as droughts hit farmers'

SHRINKING water supplies in Britain could devastate food production in the England by the 2020s, Government advisers have warned.

The Government should act to counter climate change a report has warned The Government should act to counter climate change a report has warned

The harsh impact of climate change could leave farmers with only half as much water as they require to produce crops in the future, the Government advisers said as they urged that the price of water ought to be increased where it is scarce.

Higher temperatures, drier soils and more demand for food from a growing population will increase demand for irrigation of crops, which are largely produced in drier areas of the UK, the Committee on Climate Change's adaptation team said.



Water prices should be increased in troublesome areas, the report urged, which will provide an incentive for farmers to employ efficient irrigation methods and construct on-farm water storage facilities to make the most of wet conditions.

 Climate change could leave farmers with only half as much water, the report warned

We are putting future agricultural production at risk

Lord Krebs

The study warned that the majority of upland peatland in England is in a degraded, dried-out state, making it unable to cope with a warming climate and provide important services such as storing carbon and hold and filter water supplies.

And the proportion of important wildlife sites which are classed as being in good condition has fallen in the past decade, despite pledges to improve habitats, making species more vulnerable to a changing climate, the report said.


"There is an important opportunity for the UK as a food producer in a world subject to climate change. However, this is at risk under current farming practices.

"The Government should act now to develop and implement policies to ensure that we make the right land use choices to ensure we are resilient to climate change."

Lord Krebs said that while any one extreme weather event could not be attributed to climate change, the droughts, storms and floods seen recently were likely to become the "new normal".

The report comes after the UK suffered the wettest autumn on record, followed by the coldest spring for more than 50 years, reducing wheat yields by around one third and forcing food manufacturers to import 2.5 million tonnes of wheat - the amount the UK would normally export.

While warmer temperatures and a longer growing season as a result of climate change could provide opportunities to British farmers, they will only be able to benefit if changes to farming practices ensure sufficient water supplies and preservation of soils.

The Government must press ahead with reforms to the rules governing the taking of water from rivers and groundwater, which makes up around half the total supplies used in agriculture, the report urged.