Scotland's farmers are being urged to diversify as climate change alters what can be grown, with experts pointing to tea, glass-house crops and hardier plants as possible future options.
01Summary
- 01Susie Walker-Munro has grown tea on her family farm in Angus since 2007 and says her most expensive product costs about £40 a packet.
- 02Experts say Scotland's settled climate and acidic soil could suit tea, while glass houses could support tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and melons.
- 03The James Hutton Institute in Dundee is testing crops such as fava beans in a climate simulator set up to mimic conditions 75 years from now.
- 04Climate models suggest Scotland may see hotter, drier summers and milder, wetter winters by the end of this century.
- 05Prof Wayne Powell of the SRUC says Scotland could become 'the bread basket of Europe' as climate change redraws the farming map.
02Why it matters
The changes could affect what Scottish farms produce, where jobs are created and how food is grown locally. It also points to a shift towards more technology, renewable energy and climate-resilient crops.
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