May 29, 2009
Climate change will threaten global food security
Worldwide food production is going to suffer from the effects of global climate change, creating a pressing need for research and investment to prepare for the changes, according to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, or CGIAR.
"Higher temperatures, more variable precipitation, and changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climate events will have significant consequences for food production and food security," CGIAR said in a report prepared to stimulate debate ahead of December's UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen.
The report is one of a dozen gathered by the International Food Policy Research Institute to highlight the link to climate change and agriculture.
While modelling the changes is difficult, the frequency of heat stress, drought, and flooding are expected to increase.
"The current climate-change scenarios demand adaptation to temperature increases, changing amounts of available water, climatic instability, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and rises in sea level and saline intrusion in the coastal zones," CGIAR said.
Crops and other food systems will need to be adapted to handle salinity and higher temperatures, as well as increased pests.
"A major risk of climate change is that it will change or extend the range of current diseases or, through unknown effects, create the conditions for the spread of new diseases to the livestock population," the report said.
In addition, fisheries are likely to gradually be displaced or migratory patterns may become erratic, affecting fish supplies. Rising ocean levels also pose a risk of salt water intrusion into agricultural land.
The International Food Policy Research Institute is pushing for the inclusion of agriculture on the agenda for the December talks, noting that "agriculture is part of the climate change problem, contributing about 13.5 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions - with forestry contributing an additional 19 percent - compared with 13.1 percent from transportation."
