Project title: Climate change and agricultural products

Team: Smartberries

R. Henriques Nogueira 41 2º   Torres Vedras   Portugal   6 Student’s age: 14-15 years old, 16-17 years old

“Does climate change affect the quality and quantity of agricultural products?”

In order to obtain an answer to the proposed question, we started by doing research on the various topics involved in the project, namely, climate change and its consequences on temperature and precipitation. We decided to specify the data collection for the municipality of Torres Vedras in the period of 6 years (2017 to 2022). To check the evolution of temperature, we used the sentinel-3 satellite and, based on the data obtained, we built graphs. In order to analyze whether climate change has affected agricultural production in the West zone, we went to two institutions, namely, Quinta da Almiara, located in the municipality of Torres Vedras, specialized in Viticulture and Oenology, and FrutOeste, located in the municipality of Mafra. Based on the interviews, we made a video as a summary of the work, where all topics are presented. In order to disseminate the results obtained, a website was built and is currently published.

Climate change is the long-term changes in weather patterns on planet Earth, such as precipitation and temperature. The main cause of these changes is the burning of fossil fuels, which emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, with carbon dioxide being the gas emitted in greater quantities. The concentrations of this gas in the atmosphere have been increasing since the industrial period, which has intensified the greenhouse effect and caused an increase in temperature. Over the past few years, an average increase of 1.5°C has already been recorded. This phenomenon is called global warming.
In the period under study (from 2017 to 2022), based on data collected from the sentinel-3 satellite, the year in which the highest temperatures were recorded was 2021, which corresponds to the year in which the precipitation period was lowest (about 400 mm).
Plants are autotrophic beings, that is, they produce their own food. This process is called photosynthesis. It requires the action of enzymes, which act at certain temperatures and conditions. These variations in meteorological patterns cause a decrease in the photosynthetic rate, which consequently affects the development and growth of agricultural products, leaving them more exposed to diseases, thus reducing their quality and quantity.

Climate change has been registered in agricultural production, which consequently affects human beings. The fact that climate change affects the development of agricultural products, leaving them more vulnerable and exposed to diseases, promotes the use of plant protection products by producers and leads to a greater dependence on imports from abroad. These adaptations by the producers are necessary to guarantee quality food to the consumer.
With the population increase, human beings have been betting on intensive agriculture, which contributes significantly, negatively, to climate change, as well as imports of these same products, since they are a source of large carbon dioxide emissions.
In this way, we must choose to support regional production, making our purchases at local markets and fairs, to reduce imports and, at the same time, support local trade!
It is up to us to change our attitudes and opt for more sustainable options that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and, consequently, reduce the impacts of climate change

https://megancpatrick218.wixsite.com/website?fbclid=IwAR3M6luNZ1luISRctczN6FeVBwoTWw43kqxc32vUIMFCOGl8n2G7-EYEylQ

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