Viennese vegetable production fights with climate change and shortage of space!

Viennese vegetable production fights with climate change and shortage of space!

Wien, Österreich - in Vienna, vegetable production has changed drastically in winter because the higher energy costs require an adaptation of the extension. According to ORF Vienna , farmers are forced to adapt the extension to the seasons to save energy costs. The increase in equipment prices, including fertilizer and fuel, additionally stresses the companies. Climate change also shows its effects: extreme weather events have affected the earnings, and pests like the cotton capsule worm have led to harvest losses. This means that the cultivation area for vegetables in the city of over 700 hectares in 2023 shrink to only 623 hectares in 2024, as more and more residential buildings are being built.

harvest numbers and challenges

Despite the difficult conditions, the acreage remained stable all over Austria, and the farmers were able to harvest a total of 667,700 tons of vegetables, which represents an increase of three percent compared to the previous year. However, the weather conditions were challenging, followed by dry and hot periods followed by heavy rainfall. These climate extremes led to loss of quality, especially for onions that were produced by ten percent more, but also suffered in quality, so that a lot had to be sorted out.

such as the City of Vienna , agriculture is an essential part of the urban landscape, with about a third of the green areas that are used for agriculture. Vienna also leads to the production of vegetables and special crops such as sugar beet. The agriculture focuses especially in the south and north of the city, while the vineyards can be found on the slopes of the Viennese forests. The city also faces the problem of shortage of workers, which makes the situation of the vegetable farmers further difficult. These developments show the important challenges with which Vienna agriculture has to struggle.