Climate change and prospects for Scotland's agricultural sector

Climate change, accompanied by droughts, plant diseases and heavy downpours, is creating challenges for tea producers worldwide. However, Scotland's relatively stable climate can help the local tea industry. For example, a family farm near Forfar is already growing Kinnettles Gold tea. According to experts, due to its location on the 57th parallel, year-round harvest in Scotland is impossible, but with sufficient rainfall, the country can become an ideal location for such crops.

In a changing climate, farmers have to diversify production. One option could be the use of greenhouses similar to those used in the Netherlands. As Pete Ritchie of Nourish Scotland notes, greenhouses would make it possible to grow not only tea in Scotland, but also Mediterranean vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and melons. The use of renewable energy from wind farms in the future will make heating relatively cheap and reduce the carbon footprint of products.

The James Hutton Institute is using a climate simulator in its new plant growth centre to artificially reproduce the conditions that may establish in Scotland in 75 years' time. Climate modeling predicts hotter, drier summers and milder, wetter winters. Scientists, including Dr Robert Hancock, are experimenting with beans and emphasize the need to breed stress-resistant cultivars, which takes time for farmers to plan and register.

The future of agriculture is also linked to precision farming, artificial intelligence, automation and autonomous harvesting. At the same time, David Murdoch, chairman of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers, notes the importance of traditional skills alongside the introduction of technologies that allow working with large livestock herds and machinery.

Professor Wayne Powell of SRUC predicts that Scotland could turn into the "breadbasket of Europe" and become one of the most important regions with climate-resilient food production, which will also be facilitated by access to cheap renewable energy for irrigation, cooling and processing.