The densely populated Overseas Europe, with limited resources of agricultural land, was able to establish a highly productive agriculture that could largely meet the food needs of the population.
In most European countries, livestock farming has been predominantly developed. Farming is also subordinate to it, and fodder production has become the main branch of it. Not only agricultural products are used for fodder production, but also a significant part of the fishery products.
European countries are exporters of soft wheat, but they have to import large quantities of durum wheat. They are almost entirely self-sufficient in beet sugar and almost entirely self-sufficient in meat (as imports of overseas mutton are outweighed by equivalent exports of beef and pork). Europe is the largest exporter of milk and dairy products. In addition, it has retained its position as the world’s main producer and exporter of grape wine.
Nevertheless, the level of self-sufficiency in Europe’s agricultural production in the postwar period has declined slightly. It had to import forage and oilseed crops, as well as products of tropical agriculture: fruit, coffee, cocoa, tea, etc. Some sectors of agriculture in Europe have fallen into decline. For example, Belgium and Holland have greatly reduced their once significant flax production, and wool production has virtually ceased in all countries except Great Britain and Iceland. But positions in floriculture have strengthened (Holland – tulips, Bulgaria – roses, rose oil).
Europe is an area of developed fisheries. Such countries as Iceland, Norway, Portugal are among the leaders of world fisheries.
Adaptation of the sector to climate change will be crucial; effective planning and implementation of adaptation measures at various levels is essential.
However, farmers have already begun to adapt themselves and are learning how to benefit from global warming. In Sicily, plantations of tropical fruits such as mangoes, papaya and lychee have blended seamlessly into the local landscape. According to one study, 64.7 percent of farmers in Spain have already switched to new farming conditions, especially in terms of water use. They are investing in more efficient irrigation systems, moving from continuous irrigation to spot irrigation when really needed. Spanish farmers have also changed the timing of planting and switched to new varieties of crops whose life cycles are better suited to weather conditions, and are using fertilizers more efficiently.
The availability of climate data is critical to adapting European agriculture to weather and climate anomalies.