Avocado farmers in Taiwan are suffering from production yield losses as high as 80% due to extreme weather, Taiwan News reported.
What's happening?
A healthy, mature avocado tree produces 100 to 200 avocados per year, according to Avocado Variety Collection.
Farmers in Pingtung, Taiwan, are looking up at their avocado trees to see only "two to three small fruits on many trees this harvest season," per Taiwan News.
The extreme weather in Taiwan in recent years has led to dismal avocado production losses, which are tangible financial losses affecting farmers' livelihoods in Southern Taiwan. Mango farmers in Bangladesh and Belgian winemakers have experienced similar production declines.
Despite Taiwan being one of the wettest places in the world — receiving about 100 inches of rain per year, with rainfall particularly concentrated during monsoon and typhoon events — Taiwan has been experiencing some of the worst drought conditions the island has seen in nearly a century.
Taiwan depends on the area's heavy rainfall to replenish water reservoirs that support agricultural activities, as well as semiconductor manufacturing (manufacturing computer chips) — both of which are water-intensive activities.
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Due to drought conditions, however, Taiwanese farmers are being subsidized not to plant certain water-hungry crops, such as rice, to leave enough water for semiconductor manufacturing activities to persist.
Taiwanese avocado farmers with mature, fruit-producing trees, however, can only follow the course of nature.
One farmer, who saw his avocado production yields fall by 80%, joked that there won't be much work for him this year, per Taiwan News.
Why are production declines important?
Rising global temperatures are causing wild swings in climate conditions (e.g., lack of rain, followed by erratic, intense rainfall), which have harrowing consequences on the land and available water resources. This affects crop yields, making produce and groceries more expensive.
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Not enough time ⏳ Farmers also depend on available and affordable water to grow crops and food for humans, but if water is scarce or not predictably available, water prices become more expensive. That increased cost is also passed on to consumers, who notice increasing grocery prices.
What's being done about production declines?
Gaoshu township chief Liang Cheng-han petitioned Taiwan's legislators and agricultural officials for subsidies to alleviate the financial burden of farmers' production losses. He also pushed for more research on how Taiwan's recent and changing climate conditions will impact avocado seedlings and future harvests.
In the United States, scientists at the University of California, Riverside successfully developed a new smaller avocado variety that allows for more efficient harvest capabilities that may aid the global avocado shortage.
Disruptions to the global food supply may inspire more consumers to pursue food security at home. While many of us may not have access to acres of land for farming, a small garden plot may do. You can grow your own food by replanting vegetable scraps, making the most of your produce.
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