Irish crop shortages caused by extreme weather
Irregular weather patterns coupled with a decline in farmers will see a shortage of various fruits and vegetables on Irish shelves for the rest of year, warns agricultural consultant with Teagasc, Dr Richard Hackett.
Intermittent and clustered rain fall followed by extreme heat has impacted the crop growth timeline due to delayed planting and moisture deficit.
Dr Hackett says: “Overall our rainfall is probably normal enough, but it’s coming in bursts and crops don’t really like that.
“What happened this year, during the very wet March and April, we just couldn’t plant the crops; the crops are sitting in boxes and seed bags where they shouldn’t be.
“Then when the weather stopped raining, the moisture deficit meant that the crops couldn’t establish [themselves]”.
With yield levels down across Europe, importing the shortfall will likely be met with significant challenges.
“The growers in the UK are under severe pressure as well; the number of growers in the UK is collapsing. They had worse weather than we had.”
Weather conditions are subject to increased intensity in response to the climate challenges warn meteorologists, applying sufficient pressure on both the horticultural and agricultural sectors.
The Horticultural Trades Association have already urged action on water management grants to increase drought resilience.