He will be talking about the need for farmers to recognise that the weather is getting more volatile, as are the markets. The need to invest in farms to make them weatherproof is essential.
Reservoirs provide storage for surplus water and provide irrigation in drought and improved or renewed drainage will enable land to withstand a lot of water.
The IPCC’s review of the latest evidence points to the range of possible challenges ahead. So whilst some things might appear counter-intuitive, like global warming alongside the risk of cold winters, what is clear is that farmers will have to try and be resilient to all types of weather.
We’ve seen already this decade how vulnerable farming, even in the UK, is to extreme events as we’ve suffered from drought (2010 + 2011), floods (2012 and 2014) and snow (2013). Reservoirs are vital to farmers especially those in the driest areas of the UK. Agriculture needs a fair and secure share of water
In addition to improving food security, our contribution to energy security is important and the potential to generate renewable energy.
The government can support this by providing tax relief on reservoirs and looking more closely at the Rural Development Programme.