Integrating climate change in agriculture and food security policies and strategies: Experiences and lessons from East Africa (original) (raw)

Climate Change, Food Security and Agricultural Productivity in Africa: Issues and policy directions

This paper examines the economic impact of climate change (CC) on food security and agricultural productivity in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). It examine the impact on the basic components of food security; availability, accessibility, affordability, preference, utilization and nutritional value and food system stability. The so-called "greenhouse fertilization effect" produces local beneficial effects where higher levels of atmospheric CO2 stimulate plant growth. This occur primarily in temperate zones, with yields expected to increase by 10 to 25 percent for crops with a lower rate of photosynthetic efficiency (C3 crops), and by 0 to 10 percent for those with a higher rate of photosynthetic efficiency (C4 crops), assuming that CO2 levels in the atmosphere reach 550 parts per million. the European heat wave of 2003, when temperatures was 6 ºC above long-term means, crop yields dropped significantly, by 36 percent for maize in Italy, and by 25 percent for fruit and 30 percent for forage in France. Increased intensity and frequency of storms, altered hydrological cycles, and precipitation variance also have long-term implications on the viability of current world agro ecosystems and future food availability. Climate change has been described as the most significant environmental threat of the 21st century. Wetter climates and more floods are predicted for parts of East Africa and Latin America. Agricultural productivity in Africa, Asia and Latin America is expected to decrease by as much as 20%. In 2004, agriculture directly contributed about 14% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Agriculture is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Projections to 2050 suggest both an increase in global mean temperatures and increased weather variability, with implications for the type and distribution of agricultural production worldwide. One successful path to tread is to boost agricultural production. Projections based on population growth and food consumption patterns indicate that agricultural production will need to increase by at least 70 percent to meet demands by 2050

Climate Change and African Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities

2020

Climate change impacts on the productivity of the agricultural sector through processes such as weather uncertainty, environmental changes and pest or disease distributions, land degradation, land grabbing, heat and migration. A number of solutions can be tested and scaled to reduce climate change impacts. These solutions include diversification of livelihood options, early warning systems and use of ICT to provide climate services, smart and sustainable crop and livestock management strategies/practices, alternative renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, preventive measures that reduce the chances of developing heat stress, and overarching regional adaptation governance strategy to tackle borderless climate risk.

Climate Change: Threat to Agricultural System and Food Security in Africa

Global Scientific Research in Environmental Science, 2021

Climate change is unequivocal and nothing hides itself from its negative repercussions. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa will continue to be impacted due to their low adaptive capacities and geographic position. Unfavourable weather trends coupled with climatic variations will have adverse effect on agricultural sector which is the main source of livelihood to rural households on the continent. This literature review article assessed the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security in Africa. The lives of several in Africa cling on agriculture as it supports majority of the population. However, since over 90 percent of agriculture system in the region depends on rainfall, livelihoods of the citizens on the continent have been hit hard due to rising temperature, erratic rainfall and extreme weather conditions.

Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture across Africa

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science, 2017

Confidence in the projected impacts of climate change on agricultural systems has increased substantially since the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. In Africa, much work has gone into downscaling global climate models to understand regional impacts, but there remains a dearth of local level understanding of impacts and communities’ capacity to adapt. It is well understood that Africa is vulnerable to climate change, not only because of its high exposure to climate change, but also because many African communities lack the capacity to respond or adapt to the impacts of climate change. Warming trends have already become evident across the continent, and it is likely that the continent’s 2000 mean annual temperature change will exceed +2°C by 2100. Added to this warming trend, changes in precipitation patterns are also of concern: Even if rainfall remains constant, due to increasing temperatures, existing water stress will be amplified, putting even more ...

Food security and natural resources management: Overview on climate change implications for Africa

In Africa, agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change because of its seasonality, the lack of resilience to disaster of the peasant farmers, the presence of major non-climatic stressors that influence sensitivity to changes in climatic conditions, and endemic poverty. This paper examines the implications of climate change for food security and natural resource management in Africa. It presents information on the current state of knowledge on the vulnerability, impact and adaptation of African agriculture and natural resources to climate change. Though the impacts of climate change on smallholder and subsistence farmers will be locally specific and hard to predict, research has shown clear crop physiological and agronomic evidence that climate change will significantly reduce productivity in some cases while increasing productivity in others. An increase in the frequency and severity of flooding will result in the loss of agricultural land and yield. Changes ...

Climate change and its effects in Africa: can agroecology rescue agriculture?

Climate change has been topical over the last decade as the world grapples with the issues of food insecurity due to changes in seasons and crop patterns, melting of glaciers as temperature increases (global warming) and consequently, rising sea levels. As debates on negative effects of climate change intensify, it has become apparent that human insecurity will become the norm if adaptation and mitigation strategies are not implemented. Climate change is already happening and represents an additional environmental, social, economic and political threat facing Africa at continental, national and individual household levels. Agroecology and other forms of ecological farming methods are key to ensuring both social stability and environmental sustainability in the face of climate change. As the recently published Oxfam brief (April 2014), rightly notes that agro-ecology is foundational to building a new agricultural future for the people and the planet. The bulk of the African economies are agro-based, reviving agriculture would set the wheels of home market development into motion once again, and bring prosperity for the majority poor people.

Climate change and variability in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of current and future trends and impacts on agriculture and food security

Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2011

Sub-Saharan Africa has been portrayed as the most vulnerable region to the impacts of global climate change because of its reliance on agriculture which is highly sensitive to weather and climate variables such as temperature, precipitation, and light and extreme events and low capacity for adaptation. This article reviews evidence on the scope and nature of the climate change challenge; and assesses the impact of climate change on agriculture and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. From the review, it is apparent that the climate in Africa is already exhibiting significant changes, evident by changes in average temperature, change in amount of rainfall and patterns and the prevalence of frequency and intensity of weather extremes. The review also revealed that although uncertainties exist with regards to the magnitude of impacts, climate will negatively affect agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, as result of current and expected climate change, the area suitable for agriculture, the length of growing seasons and yield potential, particularly along the margins of semi-arid and arid areas, are expected to decrease. These impacts will affect all components of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilisation and food stability and hence increase the risk of hunger in the region. The review thus confirms the general consensus that Sub-Saharan Africa is the most vulnerable region to climate change. It suggests that, policymakers and development agencies should focus on formulating and implementing policies and programmes that promote farm level adaptation strategies currently being practiced by farmers across the region.