LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The continued wet weather and intense flooding have been impacting farm businesses and threatening food security in Britain, farmers warned.
According to the National Farmers' Union (NFU), record-breaking rainfall linked to climate change in the past few months has caused significant disruptions to farming, in terms of crop sowing, livestock health and increased cost burden on farmers.
Farmers in all sectors have found the incessant wet weather extremely challenging, said Aled Jones, president of NFU Cymru in Wales. "This is a time when sensibility and flexibility should take precedence to ensure that our farming businesses are resilient and can produce food to feed the nation."
As revealed by a Met Office seasonal weather assessment, rainfall totals during the past winter were above average for all regions of the United Kingdom (UK), with rainfall at 1.29 times the average of the 1991-2020 period.
Throughout the 2023-2024 storm season in the UK, 11 storms have so far been named with numerous flooding alerts issued.
Farming unions in Britain have been calling on the government to do more to assist farmers and support domestic food production. ■