A team of University of Southern Queensland scientists and industry partners recently visited rural India as part of a collaborative project to help local farmers adapt to climate change.
Dr Jenny Wang and Dr Louis Kouadio from University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Applied Climate Sciences were part of a team that travelled to the city of Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu to hold discussions with farmers, insurance providers and other stakeholders involved in coffee, tea, sugarcane and mango production.
The team also included colleagues from Queensland Farmers’ Federation, Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
The international collaboration is supported by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund.
Dr Wang said crop yields in Tamil Nadu had in recent years been severely impacted by extreme weather events, particularly drought and unseasonal rainfall.
She said one of the project aims was developing financial strategies and tools that account for the unpredictable effects climate change can have on agribusinesses.
“One of our discussion points was on how insurance companies and researchers can work together to develop effective financial products to mitigate and adapt to climate change,” she said.
“We also discussed how policymakers and regulators could provide support to farmers and agribusinesses in the uptake of innovative financial products to tackle climate change.”
QFF representative Adam Knapp said the work with University of Southern Queensland and TNAU was leading the way in collaboration between the two countries.
“Tackling climate change with our important trading partners demands comprehensive research and early consideration of climate risks, impacts and opportunities for low emissions, and climate-resilient development,” he said.
Researchers from India will hold a reciprocal visit to Australia in coming months.
