In the period from June 30 to July 1, 2022, in the organization of the Zlatibor Regional Development Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), representatives of 23 municipalities met in Zlatibor to discuss challenges faced by farmers and ways in which they can adapt or manage the risks of climate change.
Agriculture is exposed to natural disasters and this exposure is further aggravated by climate change. Effects of climate change are becoming more frequent and threaten lives and income of many people. About 40% of the population of Serbia lives in rural areas, while a fifth of the working-age people are employed in agriculture.
Experts estimate that extreme weather conditions already significantly affect agriculture, while in the period from 2071 to 2100 they can lead to a decrease in corn yields of about 20% to 50% in non-irrigated fields.
Moreover, more frequent heat waves, droughts and floods come with material and financial damage, reduce yields of agricultural products and can lead to poverty and, in the worst case, loss of life.
What can be done?
The Government of Serbia adopted a policy document that sets a framework for action in case of emergency situations and disaster risk reduction. And since not all parts of the country are threatened in the same way, an overview was made that shows the level of vulnerability of individual cities and municipalities to climate change. It is interesting that there is no one decisive factor that makes a city or municipality vulnerable, but rather a combination of several factors. For example, increased exposure to drought and lack of water supply, combined with insufficient investment in irrigation, make a municipality more vulnerable to climate change.
Global challenges and local approaches
High temperatures and drought are the largest challenges for many Serbian municipalities and this is confirmed by Zorica Marinković, expert associate for agriculture and water management in the municipality of Krupanj.
"In Krupanj, we have experience with floods and hail, and the drought is currently threatening the harvest of blackberries, corn, autumn raspberries and many types of vegetables. This is why the conversations about climate change and its impact on agriculture were important to me. In addition to being important, they are also applicable, especially when effects of natural disasters need to be prevented or reduced", said Zorica.
And when it comes to prevention, there is a game changer in the susceptibility of municipalities to climate change: access to water. Data indicate that access to water makes a significant difference between municipalities that are most and those that are least vulnerable to climate change.
"We have extremely good cooperation with over 3,500 registered farmers and supplying them with water is one of the priorities of our municipality. For this reason, understanding climate change impacts on water availability was very important to me. In addition, the farmers will benefit from new measures in fruit growing introduced by the European Union Pre-Accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD)", added Slavka Jovanović, junior officer for agriculture in the municipality of Paraćin.
This was the first in a series of trainings. The cooperation with cities and municipalities continues with the aim of strengthening their capacity to program and implement measures that will strengthen agriculture's resilience to natural disasters.