Farmers must diversify to survive – study BROADENING the mix of
agricultural enterprises could help farmers protect themselves
from the long-term impacts of climate variability, according to
a new report from the CSIRO. Aside from market fluctuations and
changes in commodity prices, climate variability is the greatest
threat to the long-term economic viability of dry-land farms,
the research organisation says. In order to counter these
uncertainties, many farmers have turned to diversification as a
short-term survival strategy, but little research exists on the
long-term benefits. A recent study by the CSIRO’s Sustainable
Agriculture Flagship in the Lower Murray region in southern
Australia set out to confirm whether diversification has any
real long-term benefit for farmers. The findings were presented
in a paper published recently Ecological Economics. The study
used advanced simulation, probability theory and soil and
climate modelling, including the Agricultural Production Systems
Simulator (APSIM), and f