Climate-resilient agriculture can help maintain productivity and stabilise farm incomes—while safeguarding food security and the ecosystem in Europe. Strategic investment and stronger governance are needed to support farms’ transition, shows an EEA briefing published today.
European agricultural production is under great pressure from climate change, soil degradation and rising costs of external inputs, such as fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation, imported feed and energy. The EEA briefing “Building climate-resilient agriculture in Europe: an economic perspective”, analyses 51 European farm-level case studies, showing that climate-resilient agriculture practices may support income stability for farmers, not only food security and the ecosystems.
Climate-resilient agriculture describes farming approaches that reduce exposure and sensitivity to climate shocks while maintaining long-term economic viability. Climate-resilient agriculture offers a systemic strategy that combines changes in farm-level practice with economic and governance support.
The 51 case studies extend from farms in the United Kingdom to Ukraine, and the climate-resilient agriculture practices are organised across four practice areas (soil & water management, crop system diversification, landscape level management and livestock system redesign).
Across the case studies, a consistent lever is reducing dependence. One concrete CRA practice highlighted in the briefing is reduced tillage. By improving soil structure and water retention, reduced tillage helps farms cope better with droughts and heavy rainfall. In the case studies used for this briefing, diesel use was cut by around 50%, while production costs were reduced by about 40% and labour needs by roughly 25–30%, depending on context.
Lessons learned from the 51 CRA farm transitions
The analysis of 51 CRA farm transitions shows that farms are often most economically vulnerable during the transition to climate resilient systems. Many practices deliver public benefits — such as landscape features and ecosystem services — while offering limited short term private returns for farmers, underscoring the need for targeted financial and policy support.
In regions where farms are already under climate-stress (notably southern Europe), implementing resilience measures deliver benefits immediately – by reducing losses and costs. In other regions, though, it might take a longer time until the benefits become apparent to farmers. System redesign and public co-investment are necessary in these cases to manage the upfront costs and transition risks.
To secure Europe’s food systems and rural economies, climate resilience must be treated as a core economic priority. With targeted investment, stronger governance and better monitoring of climate risks and adaptation, Europe can move from reactive crisis management to proactive resilience — stabilising farm incomes and safeguarding longterm agricultural productivity.
