Climate change threatens potato production in China, says study
A new study led by molecular biologist Li Jieping at the International Potato Center, or CIP, in Beijing is casting a question mark over potato farming in China as temperatures rise and climate change sets its new high point. Simulated conditions due to what the end of this century could bring the research points underlines risks that warmer temperatures pose for one of China’s most valuable crops.
China is the world’s largest potato producer, accounting for more than 22% of the global production. Potatoes are one of the country’s core agricultural products and an integral part of food security for millions of people within and outside the nation. However, a new study, as part of a three-year study on the impact of climate change on potato crops, claims that rising temperatures could significantly shrink yields, threatening both domestic food security and global supply. This study, in partnership with the Chinese government, looked at the cultivation of two of China’s most widely grown potato varieties under simulated higher temperatures. In a controlled environment, potatoes were grown at 3°C above current average temperatures in key potato-growing regions in northern Hebei and Inner Mongolia. “There was some concern over the results.”.
Where as the growth cycle had advanced 10 days ahead of schedule, yields for potatoes were more than halved. The tubers of the harvested potatoes were not large enough; the harvested weighed only 136 g and were less than half of the size of the one usually seen in China weighing an average of 300g-that is almost baseball-like in size.
In effect, the outcomes indicate that global climate change, especially with regard to higher global temperatures, is greater than projected by the increases due to green-house gas emissions. Expectedly, it will tend towards having a rise in temperature level of 3.1°C above pre-industrial levels until the year 2100. Potatoes, like other agricultural crop production, are likely to deteriorate dramatically.
The results of the study are alarming in terms of food security in China and potato farmers’ livelihoods. This changed growing condition will reduce the output of potatoes and drive up the prices, even making the potatoes scarce sometimes. One more determinant of the unstable nature of potato production is based on the increased danger of pests and diseases that are escalated by warmer and wetter climates.
Li Jieping and his team may make Chinese farmers change their planting schedule. The crops will have a head start before the worst of the summer heat begins if they plant potatoes early in spring instead of their usual summer planting. Others will have to shift to higher altitudes where temperatures are cooler, away from the extreme heat in lower-lying areas.
Aside from warmer temperatures, the yields are also increased by humidity. In Inner Mongolia, where rain may fall unpredictably, farmers need their potatoes to be ready when another downfall occurs. All races against adverse weather would worsen the challenge in harvesting crops, so potato farmers increasingly seek new varieties of potatoes that could live in less hospitable conditions and be more resistant to diseases. This research is part of the larger research being undertaken by CIP, based in Lima, Peru, toward assisting farmers in adaptation to climate change. This is done in collaboration between the Chinese government and CIP to explore strategies and solutions for assisting farmers to better cope with adverse impacts of crop production through climate change. The findings of this study are to provide policymakers and agricultural experts in China and worldwide with insights on future efforts to secure potato production against climate change.
Rising temperatures and conditions for growth suggest an international trend where many regional areas are characterized by fluctuations in climatic changes, drought, and flood.
The United Nations published a report in October of 2023, raising the alarm that global temperatures will rise to 3.1°C at the turn of the century if drastic measures are not adopted concerning greenhouse gas reduction. This would, therefore mean that China needs to act more swiftly ensuring that potatoes and other agricultural produce remain stable because they would be affected similarly by this climate change.
Being the world’s largest potato producer, climate-induced changes will most definitely not only affect China alone but will also affect the flow of food globally. Whether the country will be in a position to feed her population and continue exporting more potatoes is at risk-very urgent global cooperation on these climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. The climate change has provided new challenges to agricultural experts for developing more resilient crop varieties, which can survive even in extreme temperatures, pests, and diseases. However, it demands research, development, and education investments for an optimum result. The current situation underlines that with China looking at a rather uncertain future for potato production, much larger risks loom in the area of climate change for global food security. Higher temperatures mean nations around the world have to invest in strategies that would help secure food production and make sure agricultural systems can adapt to the rapidly changing climate.