Climate change and the resulting extreme weather conditions increase the likelihood of natural disasters, which is reflected in the quantity and quality of crops and in livestock production. In recent years, Slovenian agriculture suffered the greatest damage from drought, heavy rainfall, floods, hail and wind storms, frost, snow, glaze ice, and weather-related diseases and pests.

Measures to address the risks posed by climate change aim at:

• adaptation of agricultural production and manufacturing, technological and economic adaptations to changing conditions,
• mitigation or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and
• prevention and reduction of natural disasters.

At the same time, efforts must be made to achieve a higher self-sufficiency in healthy and quality food, competitiveness of agriculture and food industry, a sustainable use of production potential, a coherent and socially sustainable rural development, and a stable income situation of agricultural holdings and agriculture.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food promotes and co-finances the implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures through the Rural Development Programme or other programmes, projects or regular work and tasks carried out by public services in the field of agriculture.

Providing information to farmers on how to reduce or avoid the impacts of natural disasters is also an important part of these measures. Namely, the biggest challenge for Slovenian farmers is the introduction of new, innovative approaches that enable them to maintain and increase their productivity level while also successfully adapting to climate change.

The agricultural sector is one of the most sensitive sectors to the effects of climate change, while at the same time it has limited adaptation capacity and is therefore the most vulnerable.