Food Security and Climate Change

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Food Security and Climate Change

Posted by Guest Blogger | October 21, 2009

By William Saab

Only a few days after World Food Day, the issue of food security and climate change deserves some discussion.

Food and poverty are closely related. 75% of the poorest people in the world live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for their livelihoods; however, agriculture in these areas is very difficult—often the soil is poor and there isn’t enough water resulting in low yields. In total, 2.5 billion people in the developing world depend on agriculture and any threat to agriculture makes escaping poverty that much more difficult. Climate change is one such threat. A recent study predicts that by 2050, there will be 20% more malnourished children than there would be without climate change.

In the past few decades, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty, including in China and India. In consequence, more people are now demanding an increase of meat in their diets, which creates pressure on food systems. For example, did you know that cows eat around 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of food every day and drink a bathtub of water? Raising livestock requires more water and energy than agricultural crops, and increasingly, cattle are being fed corn, grains, and soybeans instead of grass. What’s more, livestock may be one of the biggest contributors to climate change!

Some of the main expected impacts of climate change are higher average temperatures and reduced water resources. Regions will be impacted differently, but in general, the poor are much more vulnerable. More than 80% of agriculture in the world depends on rainfall, so if there is less water, it will be more difficult to grow crops in these regions. In parts of Africa, crop yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50% by 2020.

But the situation is not hopeless. Farmers could become less vulnerable by using irrigation techniques rather than relying on rain for their crops. Crops that need less water can be used in regions where rainfall is expected to decrease. In fact, in 2008 food production in Africa was increased due to both of these two strategies, and billions of dollars are being invested to increase African agricultural productivity. And historically, boosting agricultural productivity has often been the first step towards escaping from extreme poverty.

What else do you think needs to be done to help solve climate change and food security?

Tell us at www.itsgettingpersonal.com.