FAS Highlights Climate-Smart Ag to South American Visitors - USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
FAS Highlights Climate-Smart Ag to South American Visitors | USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service hosted a delegation of government and private sector representatives from Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay who traveled to the Washington, D.C., area to learn about sustainable, climate-smart agricultural practices being implemented in the United States.
The delegation was introduced to USDA’s newly launched International Climate Hub and other sustainability-focused programs and initiatives, and had a chance to see a variety of agricultural conservation practices in a real-world setting at the Hutchison Brothers Farm in Talbot County, MD. They also visited the University of Maryland’s Wye Research and Education Center on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to learn about how research and innovation are leading to more sustainable and resilient food systems.
The South American visitors were especially interested in learning more about climate-smart agricultural practices, based on what they have experienced in their own countries. Cristian Feldkamp, executive director of the Argentine farm organization, CREA, noted, “In the past five years we started seeing maize seasons changing, forcing the farmers to adapt their corn production practices.”
USDA plays a critical role in fostering international collaboration on climate change and other challenges facing agriculture worldwide. Through international partnerships and coalitions, FAS and other USDA agencies encourage the adoption of science-based policies and innovative approaches that will sustainably increase agricultural productivity and facilitate trade to feed a growing global population.
FAS Highlights Climate-Smart Ag to South American Visitors
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”