By Margaret Maccoll
Faced with longer and more intense droughts and extreme weather events than ever before farmers are lobbying governments and taking action to find solutions to climate changes affecting their land.
Farmers for Climate Action (FCA) CEO Verity Morgan-Schmidt spoke on Friday at Noosa Parks Association’s forum about the organisations rapid growth since being established in April last year and its aims for the future.
The Cooroy resident grew up on a farm in Western Australia and knows both the difficulties farmers face dealing with changed weather conditions and their ability to adapt and innovate.
With farmers claiming stewardship over 50 per cent of Australia’s land mass they need to be part of the solution, she said.
Verity said FCA wanted to dispel the myth that farmers don’t want anything to do with climate change.
She said farmers acknowledge the agriculture sector contributes 15-18 per cent of greenhouse gases and their aim collectively was to make the industry carbon neutral by 2030.
Surveys conducted by the organisation found nine tenths of farmers were concerned about damage to climate and 88 per cent wanted politicians to bring in policies to support and invest in agriculture to adapt to a changing climate.
“We’re putting those on the front line front and centre in creating solutions. It’s hard for politicians to ignore when it’s not environmentalists saying it but farmers,” she said.
Verity told the group FCA’s future projects included funding a climate smart agricultural fellowship and initiating the Cuppa for the Climate project in which farmers share information on climate change with fellow farmers.
She said they were calling for a coordinated national plan to combat climate change and are protesting against the Adani mine go-ahead. After struggling through drought farmers are angry the government wants to give ground water to a mine, she said.
For more information visit www.farmersforclimateaction.org.au/
