Primary Industries Climate Change Research Strategy

Primary industries in NSW operate in one of the most variable climate in the world. Primary producers already deal with a changing and variable climate through responses to droughts, floods, storms, bushfires, pests and diseases. To ensure the continued growth of NSW Primary Industries, and safeguard the future of the regional communities, our $21 billion sector (2022-23) needs to be resilient and adaptable to changes in economic and environmental conditions.

Climate projections indicate that in the future, areas of NSW are likely to face decreasing winter and spring rainfall, increased intensity of extreme rainfall events, increasing day and night temperatures, fewer frosts and harsher fire weather. Evidence shows that these changes are already impacting on agricultural productivity, water availability, soils and the spread of pests, weeds and disease.

In addition to the challenges of a changing climate, energy security and energy affordability are becoming increasingly critical issues for primary industries. Whether its pumping water for irrigation, fuelling tractors and boat, or refrigerating packing sheds; energy is a fundamental input to the primary industries sector.

What is the Primary Industries Climate Change Research Strategy

Supported by an investment of $29.2 million from the NSW Climate Change Fund, the Strategy invested in research, development and pilots that were thought to support the sector to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. The Strategy ran from 2018 until 2023.

The Strategy identified :

clean and renewable energy supply and demand solutions
carbon market and emission reduction opportunities for agriculture, and
climate resilience and adaptation solutions across all primary industry sectors.

These programs have aided primary industries in preparing and responding to the challenges and opportunities climate change presents. The results of this research are being used to inform government, producers and industry of opportunities for timely and appropriate responses to the changing climate, carbon markets, and energy opportunities. The results are also being used by NSW NSW DPIRD to inform forward work programs and policy supporting the long term sustainability of primary industries for NSW.

Strategy documents

Primary Industries Climate Change Research Strategy

Findings and Recommendations

Primary Industries Climate Change Research Strategy

The Strategy

Research Strategy Projects and theme areas

The Strategy was comprised of 3 main themes:

This image shows the CCRS 3 themes of energy, carbon opportunities and climate resilience

Energy

Energy was a new area of research for NSW DPI and is divided into 2 key areas of research.

The first key area is energy efficiency and clean energy solutions which is driven by agriculture’s historically poor energy productivity, particularly in energy intensive industries. These 2 projects:

tackled barriers to uptake of clean energy solutions in agricultural industries
piloted clean energy and energy efficiency technologies
provided simple information to help farmers make informed decisions

The second key area of research was in bioenergy (where biomass is used to generate energy). This project:

trialled native woody species as short-rotation tree crops for biomass production on marginal farmland
researched the feasibility of biomass as a fuel source for energy generation
investigated ways of optimising material handling and storage of biomass to improve efficiency and reduce costs;
carried out technological and economic feasibility assessments of bioenergy;
developed technological and economic assessment tools for stakeholders; and
engaged with the broader community to improve understanding of bioenergy and its opportunities.

Clean Energy Solutions

Energy Efficiency Solutions

Biomass for Bioenergy

Carbon Opportunities

The carbon opportunities theme had two projects solving problems with carbon markets from both a policy perspective and from a farmer involvement perspective. Mitigating climate change and sequestering carbon is an important opportunity for primary industries to participate in the global efforts for net zero emissions and to diversify on-farm income.

The Emissions Reduction Pathways project considered all the policy barriers to landholder in carbon markets. It included investigation of livestock, cropping, and farm management opportunities that are currently not well catered for in the Australian Carbon Credit Unit methodologies.

The Accessing Carbon Markets project worked to enable farmers to better engage with carbon markets through information and decision support tools.

Emission Reduction Pathways

Accessing Carbon Markets

Climate Resilience

The projects in this theme worked to understand how primary industries can best adapt to climate change and the new conditions and risks it brings.

The Vulnerability Assessment project identified the risks and opportunities of a changing climate for key commodities and biosecurity risks in NSW. In total, 28 commodities across cropping, extensive livestock, horticulture, viticulture, forestry and fisheries and 14 related biosecurity risks (weeds, pests and diseases) were investigated. Results have provided industry and policy makers with a state-wide assessment of the vulnerability of NSW agriculture to a changing climate and identify adaption strategies that could mitigate identified climate risks.

Climate Smart Pilots is the second project in this theme and it assessed the value of technological support to enhance management decisions in a changing climate. Using a range of digital sensors such as humidity sensors, soil moisture probes, trough and tank level sensors combined with weather stations to provide real-time data to support decision making in the real world. This project also created the Farmer Stories which are a series of case studies illustrating the adaptation activities already being undertaken by farmers across NSW.