Decisions Made by Farmers That Relate to Climate Change

Abstract

This paper is the executive summary of a report1 on a study of 4,000 Australian farmers based on an analysis of a dataset provided by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. It covers farmers from across Australia working in horticulture and broadacre farming. It examines factors that are associated with decisions they may or may not make to adapt to risks posed by climate change. This study found that the human aspects of adaptive capacity, based on the ability to cope with change, social connectedness, and the ability and readiness to use information uniquely differentiated types of farmers from one another and influenced their interest in and capacity to adapt to climate change. The material reported in this paper will be of relevance to policy makers, social researchers, industry groups and farmers, as they address the many adaptive challenges posed to agriculture by climate change.