Denial of farmers' climate begins to fade as reality dies

Yet, disconcerting enough for many commentators, climate denial has been widespread among farmers and within the ranks of the national party, which claims to represent their interests.

In 2008, only one-third of farmers had accepted the science of climate change. Our 2010-2011 survey of 946 irrigators in southern Murray-Darling Basin (released in 2013) yielded similar results: 32% recognized that climate change posed a risk to their region; half disagreed; and 18% did not know.

These figures have always lagged behind the general public, a majority of whom have always accepted scientific data. In 2018, more Australians accepted the reality of climate change than at any time: 76% of them accepted climate change, 11% did not believe it and 13% did not. to be uncertain.

However, there are signs that we are on the verge of drastically changing the attitude of farmers towards climate change. For example, we have witnessed the creation of Young Farmers for Climate Action at the first-ever farmers' meeting in Canberra on climate change and national announcements by farmers about the need to take action on climate change. climate measures. Since 2016, the National Farmers Federation has reinforced its calls for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The latest results from our preliminary research have also revealed evidence of this change. We interviewed 1,000 irrigators in 2015-2016 in the southern Murray-Darling Basin and found that attitudes had changed significantly since the 2010 survey.

Today, 43% of farmers consider climate change to be a risk for their region, compared with 32% just five years earlier. Those who did not agree fell to 36%, while the percentage of those who did not know it slightly increased to 21%.

Why would farmers deny science?

Many factors influence the denial of climate change in a person, gender, race, education and age all playing a role. Although this partly explains the attitudes that persist among farmers (who tend to be predominantly male, older, Caucasian and less educated), that is not all.

The very fact that farmers are at the forefront of climate change also leads to their denial of climate change. For a farmer, accepting science means facing the prospect of a tougher and more uncertain future.

However, as these changes move from a future perspective to the current reality, they can also have a galvanizing effect. The results of our survey suggest that farmers who have seen their farm productivity decline over time are more likely to accept the science of climate change.

Many farmers who have turned to regenerative, organic or biodynamic agriculture, have evoked the change of mindset that they went through when they realized that they could no longer handle a landscape in the process of drying up without a major change in their farming practices.

In addition, we discovered another feature associated with the denial of climate change: the fact that farmers identified a successor on their farm. Many farmers want to give their farm to the next generation, in a better condition than they have been. This is where the psychological aspect of increased uncertainty in the future plays an important role: farmers do not want to believe that their children will have a darker future on the farm.

We all want our children to have a better life than ours, and for farmers in particular, accepting climate change makes it very difficult. But it can also encourage stronger advocacy to do something before it's too late.

What can we do?

Whether or not farmers accept climate change, they all face the uncertainty of weather – and in fact they have been doing so for a very long time. The question is, can we help them do better? Since the term "climate change" can be polarizing, explicit climate information campaigns will not necessarily yield the desired results.

Farmers need policies to manage risks and improve their decision-making. This can be done by focusing on how adaptation to climate variability can increase profitability and strengthen the long-term viability of the farm.

Agricultural policy should be more strategic and more forward looking. subsidies should be removed for unsustainable practices; and farmers should be rewarded for their good land management – before and during droughts. The quest remains to minimize the suffering endured by everyone in times of drought.

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