Understanding inter-farm inequalities in extreme weather event impacts: Insights from the Dutch agricultural sector

Abstract

As a result of global climate change, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. Susceptibility to extreme weather events (EWEs) is high in the agricultural sector, as these extremes can cause a decline in yields and revenue for farmers. To provide insight into ways to reduce the impacts of EWEs, this study assessed which factors explain the differences in the impacts of past weather extremes between Dutch arable farms. A survey was conducted among potato and onion farmers in the Netherlands to collect information on the past impacts of EWEs between 2018 and 2022 and the vulnerability of farmers (N = 81). The survey results showed that EWEs have already had a strong effect on farm revenues, but the extent of the impacts varied among farms. By coupling the survey data to meteorological data on EWEs, it was found that dry summers, wet fields during harvest and plowing, and warm winters were the extremes that best explained the more detrimental impacts of extreme weather amongst respondents. Additionally, differences in the physical and social vulnerability of farmers played a significant role in the observed inter-farm inequalities in impacts. Farm practices that reduce physical vulnerability are frequently inaccessible to smaller-scale or younger farmers. Further research is needed to understand the access barriers faced by these farmers. Further, future research and policies targeting the Dutch agricultural sector should no longer ignore social vulnerability factors to avoid exacerbating inter-farm inequalities, as the impacts of EWEs increase due to climate change.