National Institute of Environmental Research Seeks to Strengthen Agriculture Response Based on Climate Data

Experts in climate adaptation for the agricultural sector will gather to address fluctuations in agricultural yield.

The National Institute of Environmental Research announced on March 9 that it will hold an expert forum on the agricultural sector under the "National Climate Crisis Adaptation Research Council" at Conference House Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul, on March 10.

This forum has been organized to share research trends in the fields of agriculture, livestock, food, and horticultural special crops, and to discuss collaboration strategies for establishing an integrated national climate crisis adaptation information platform in response to changes in the agricultural environment caused by climate change. Around 40 people, including officials from the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the National Institute of Environmental Research, and other climate adaptation specialized institutions, are expected to attend.

Previously, in September 2022, the National Institute of Environmental Research and nine other climate adaptation specialized institutions launched the "National Climate Crisis Adaptation Research Council" and have since held expert forums at least twice a year to standardize adaptation information and develop the integrated national climate crisis adaptation information platform.

At the upcoming forum, experts from each institution will introduce research on climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector. Key topics include: ▲ Research on the impact and vulnerability assessment of climate change in the agricultural environment sector (National Institute of Agricultural Sciences); ▲ Research on climate crisis response by livestock species and the establishment of an integrated livestock meteorological information system (National Institute of Animal Science); ▲ Research to improve rice production forecasts in response to climate change (National Institute of Crop Science); ▲ Research on climate crisis response for horticultural crops and the application of the fruit growth and quality management system (National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science).

It is analyzed that rising temperatures and abnormal weather due to the climate crisis are increasing the vulnerability of the agricultural environment, leading to fluctuations in the yields of major food crops such as rice, changes in livestock farming conditions, and shifts in suitable cultivation areas for fruit and horticultural crops, thereby affecting the entire agriculture and livestock industry.

Meanwhile, the National Institute of Environmental Research is pursuing the development of an integrated platform to provide climate crisis adaptation information currently scattered across ministries in a single location. The plan is to begin with the water environment and marine fisheries sector in 2025, expand to agriculture, livestock, food, and health in 2026, then to land, transportation, and ecosystems in 2027, and finally to the forestry, industry, trade, and energy sectors in 2028.

Lee Jongcheon, Director of the Climate and Carbon Research Division at the National Institute of Environmental Research, said, "This forum serves as a venue for inter-ministerial cooperation to enhance Korea's overall response to the climate crisis in agriculture," adding, "We will continue to build a science-based integrated platform so that the public can easily access customized climate information."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.