From extreme heat to heavy floods, the impacts of climate change are bringing unprecedented challenges to the livelihoods of Chinese farmers. Some resorted to doubling their prices to mitigate the loss of their crops.
The aftermath will not be short-lived. As extreme weather events worsen, some smallholder farmers have switched to growing hardier crops instead of vegetables or leaving the fields for other jobs entirely, according to the report by Sixth Tone.
Looking ahead, smallholder farmers in China will need long-term adaptation strategies as climate change penetrates deeper into their lives. In the current policies addressing agricultural adaptation against climate change, there is a predominant focus on national food security but few mentions regarding the support for farmers. They are in dire need of financial, technological, and policy support.