There are many reasons to worry about climate change, but one of the serious long-term effects is the impact on agriculture. We are seeing crop effects already. Coffee plantations report reduced harvests as do coco bean farmers. A record heat wave in Japan led to subpar rice harvests. This year, Japan is projected to import 20 times more rice than it did in 2024, and 2024 imports were already up from 2023. Bananas are also in trouble. “Bananas are the fourth most important food crop globally, with more than 400 million people relying on the fruit for 15% to 27% of their daily calories,” Time reports. As warming temperatures expose bananas to humidity and disease,  experts forecast that in coming decades bananas will be both scarcer and more expensive.

Sustainable agriculture research aims to offset the impacts of a warming world on crop production.  In the US, Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems National Programs support researchers at seventy locations developing the technologies and strategies needed to help farmers, ranchers, and other managers effectively steward the diverse agricultural mosaic spread across the nation.

One example of how green technology and agriculture can be mutually beneficial comes from Australia. A three-year study following nearly two thousand sheep found the wool from sheep grazing under solar panels was stronger and grew faster.  The shade provided by the panels provides shelter for the sheep and also improves the vegetation under than panels which the sheep feed on. A short video about “panel sheep’ from a Wellington sheep farm tells the whole story.

We hear about a lot of problems, but people all over the world are making science-based advances that will mitigate some negative impacts of global warming. We must support the scientific community.