[Lavender in Germany]
Hotter summers and drier soil allow German farmers to grow lavender
traditionally grown in the Mediterranean or France's Provence
Matthias Tafelmeier says climate change has led to similar weather in Bavaria
[Matthias Tafelmeier, Lavender farmer]
"The first lavender was planted in 2019 when we first set up the planting technique, and it grew from there. It's always been very dry, and in the last decade, the soil has had poor elements to it. The lavender can cope with that though. There's also an ideological reason for growing it, which is to make the landscape more rich in variety, and bring in new crops that could help cultivate the area in the future."
[Watermelons in South Korea]
After 25 years of farming, Kwon Gye-soon says she's lost hope of getting back on her feet
Location: Nonsan, South Korea
Climate change-induced flooding in July devastated her watermelon farm and ruined her crop
More than 1,690 farms in Nonsan were damaged, from watermelon farms to rice paddies
[Kwon Gye-soon, Watermelon farmer]
"These watermelons are like my own children. They were supposed to be sent to market in 10 days, but they are now rotting in the fields. I don't know what to do for our farm for next year. It is so hard and sad."
[Chapter heading: Dates in Iraq]
This Iraqi date farmer may be one of the few thriving in the heat
Location: Basra, Iraq
Scorching temperatures of 120F and above allow his crop to ripen quicker
and improve the quality of the yield
It also means he can extract and produce date syrup known as 'damaa'
[Abbas Ali Abdel Latif, Date farmer]
"In addition to this, we benefit from high temperatures as we make date syrup which is very famous among consumers. It is only made in high temperatures. These dates are taken and put in compressors and then exposed to the sun. The more intense the sun rays, the better-quality syrup we get, which is known as 'damaa'."
