The Scottish Spud Farmers are Dealing With the Worst Drought They Have Seen in Years

According to recent warnings from experts, climate change may cause potatoes to no longer grow in Scottish soil over the next several years. In certain areas of the country, farmers are dealing with the worst drought they have seen in years.

It is anticipated that the price of potatoes might treble in the upcoming months as growers struggle to satisfy their mandates. The weather this year, according to experts, was not an anomaly but rather a foreshadowing of things to come.

“We’re expecting hotter and drier summers. There’ll be many more plant-heat stress days, as many as 60 by 2030 – that’s only eight years away. It could dramatically affect the types of crops we can grow and where we grow them. We might still be able to produce some potatoes in the north of Scotland, but we really need to do something now,” Lesley Torrance, from the James Hutton Institute, said, cited by STV News.

Water is essential for the growth of potatoes. Currently, many farmers irrigate their crops with water from local rivers. This technique is prohibited during droughts, which makes the issue worse.

“Over the summer officials have been working closely with SEPA to monitor the water scarcity situation. Multiple rivers reached a level of ‘significant scarcity’ due to the dry conditions. In line with the National Water Scarcity Plan, SEPA took action to temporarily suspend abstraction licences within the affected catchment to protect the water environment. This is the first time in Scotland abstraction licenses have had to be suspended due to water scarcity and shows the seriousness of the situation. This harm is as a result of climate change, and it is one of the key priorities of this government to combat climate change,” Rural affairs secretary, Mairi Gougeon, concluded.

A source: https://www.potatobusiness.com