Economic effects of environmental change on the rural areas

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the economic sectors most directly affected by climate change. Agriculture must adapt to changed environmental and biological conditions in order to be effective. In extreme cases, certain areas must be completely set aside due to soil erosion or desertification. At the same time, agricultural activity is not only a victim of global climate change, but also one of the causes of it. In our work, we examine climate change in Hungary, projecting it into agriculture where extreme weather conditions are most noticeable. As a testing area, we chose the Hungarian Sand Dunes area because of the diversified agricultural production here and because this part of the country is most affected by climate change. The Homokhátság occupies a significant part of Hungary and has always been a major agricultural production center. The homestead farms established here define the image of the Hungarian Great Plain. Interviews with local farmers provide an overview of the local impacts of climate change and measures to mitigate the expected and future damages in the farms surveyed. In our research, we shed light on the causes, extent and consequences of climate change, especially in the areas of agriculture. We present climate impacts and measures to reduce them through secondary and primary research.