For millennia, farming communities have faced the vagaries of climate — including dry spells, changing rainfall patterns, floods, extreme temperatures, and hurricanes. To predict and cope with the coming weather, farmers have developed intricate knowledge systems.

But with increasingly unpredictable variations in weather, like surprise storms and floods, and with changes in average temperature and precipitation, climate change is threatening both farmers and our food supply. Small-scale farmers, who depend on the weather to produce much of the world’s food, are very vulnerable to these shocks.

Globally, our industrial farming system produces more than 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists tell us are causing these climate change impacts. Canada has been a major emitter of greenhouse gasses, giving us the moral imperative to set targets and plans for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that hurt farmers in the South.

Act Now:

• Sign the KyotoPlus Petition calling for strong Canadian climate targets and plans
• Speak out about Bill C-311,Canada’s Climate Change Accountability Act
• Learn about your carbon footprint
• Track preparations for the December 2009 UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen

The farmer-participants in USC Canada’s Seeds of Survival program build their ability to respond and thrive amidst shocks. Community seed banks and a diverse supply of seeds act like an insurance scheme, ensuring farm families always have food to eat and sell, even if their crops fail. And sustainable natural resource management ensures that healthy soils and water can keep the farm together through difficult times and seasons. These ecological farming practices are not only time-tested, but feature farmer-led innovation to respond to climate change.

• Explore the linkages between resilience and climate change
• Learn more about USC Canada’s Seeds of Survival program
• Support resilient, ecological farming through USC Canada

Through their work with biodiversity, seeds, and soils, small-scale farmers have many of the answers that can help us reduce climate change. Sustainable farming stores millions of tonnes of carbon in our planet’s soils which are the largest store-house of the carbon dioxide that otherwise heats up our planet. Organic farming doesn’t use as many fossil fuels, since it doesn’t use chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides. And small-scale, localised farming systems reduce food’s footprint on our atmosphere, using less trucks, boats, packaging, and processing.

• Learn about agriculture’s role in mitigating climate change

Greening our food system involves localising agriculture, restoring knowledge and skills, working with nature and growing food for people – not cars. Quick fixes, like agrofuels, which use food for fuel, have been criticised widely by scientists and aid agencies for their environmental and human rights impact.

• Get Involved with the campaign on agrofuels
• Read new research on false solutions to climate change