Impact of climate change on the dairy production in Fiji and the Pacific Island Countries and Territories: an insight for adaptation planning

Abstract

Climate change affects weather patterns, leading to changes in average temperatures, increased frequency, variability, and intensity of extreme weather events, especially in the Pacific Island countries. Climate change poses the greatest threats to the sustainability of smallholder dairy farming in Fiji, with the farmers being highly vulnerable, yet their adaptive capacity is low. Additionally, the Pacific’s current and future sustainable livestock development will heavily depend on its ability to cope with climate variability and adapt to future climate changes. Available data indicate that there is high spatial and temporal variability of rainfall over Fiji Island with the mean annual rainfall ranging from 1600 to 3600 mm, with Rotuma station receiving the highest rainfall over Fiji Island. Rainfall in Fiji has shown an increasing and decreasing trend, where both minimum and maximum temperatures have shown a decreasing trend. This will have a great impact on the smallholder dairy farmers who consist of over 95% of the existing farmers. Using available information and drawing from other contexts or countries where data or information is unavailable, we provide an overview of dairy production in Fiji as a prototype to other Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), highlighting smallholder dairy systems in the Fijian dairy sector, challenges, and opportunities of the dairy sector in the PICTs. We conclude that climate change significantly impacts dairy production in Fiji and the Pacific.