Adaptation10: April 2025

Humans aren’t the only species whose health, habits, and habitats are being transformed by higher temperatures. All kinds of life forms are affected by climate change — including some that have long bedeviled humanity. 

Insects and microscopic pests (the kind that ravage crops and undermine food security) are becoming more numerous and spreading into new regions as a result of global warming. The pace and scale of this transformation threatens to overwhelm small farmers and major agribusinesses alike. The consequences for global food systems, not to mention the billions in GDP tied up in the agricultural economy, could be enormous.

A study in the journal Science suggests that greater pest damage in a world warmed 2°C could worsen yield losses for wheat, rice, and maize by 46%, 19% and 31%, respectively. Moreover, every additional degree in temperature rise could increase yield losses by 10-25%. A separate report from the OECD underlines the rapid geographic expansion of certain pests. For example, the European corn borer — a menace to maize farmers — has already shifted 1,000 kilometers outside its historical range, challenging whole new swathes of agricultural land and the people who tend them.

And it’s not only insects that pose a growing threat in a hotter world. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says higher temperatures and greater humidity are encouraging the growth of fungi that produce harmful chemicals known as mycotoxins. These can cause infected crops to sicken, and can even engender health problems in humans and animals.

Pests and disease are also a worrying issue for aquafarmers. Global warming is affecting water temperature and salinity, leading to the rapid spread of infectious fish diseases. Left unchecked, these diseases can decimate fish stocks, crippling aquaculture businesses and undermining the food security of entire countries.

In the face of these challenges, old-fashioned approaches to pest management and animal and crop health are coming up short. Scaling up traditional preventative measures — for example, increasing the use of pesticides — are costly, and may have diminishing returns. 

Hence why this represents a huge opportunity for adaptation startups. High-tech solutions that can protect crops, provide early warning of potential pest outbreaks, and offer continual monitoring of farmland are well-positioned to make bank in a warmer, wetter world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said as much in a 2019 special report, in which scientists said biodiversity monitoring for pests and diseases and “adaptive climate risk management” are critical in the near term 

This month, the Adaptation10 series spotlights a selection of companies providing just these kinds of solutions to inspire would-be adaptation tech founders and early-stage investors curious about this space.

Enjoy!

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Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall & Daniel Schmitz-Remberg