Primary Sector Preparedness

Climate change presents unprecedented challenges to our primary sector. Yet significant gaps exist in our understanding of its impacts on agriculture, the costs of these impacts, and the most effective and equitable ways to adapt.

Through a suite of approaches incorporating physical science, agricultural productivity models, economic approaches and social science, this project aimed to fill some of these gaps. Detailed modelling and analysis focused on dairy, due to its economic dominance, but the research is transferable to other sectors, and findings are of immediate use across the agricultural sector.

The research represents an important link with the Resilience Challenge, and complements other research across the SLMACC programme, wider National Science Challenges, and recent Endeavour programmes.

Led by Anita Wreford in the AERU, the project team included researchers from NIWA, Manaaki-Whenua Landcare Research, University of Canterbury, GHC Consulting and DairyNZ.

This research was funded by the Deep South National Science Challenge, with co-funding from DairyNZ (November 2020 to October 2023).

Related Links

• Deep South National Science Challenge: Primary Sector Preparedness for Climate Change

• What We Do: Climate Change