Food security is the state when everyone at all times has the economic and physical access to nutritious, safe and sufficient food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life according to FAO.
Food sources can be categorized as agriculture, livestock and fish farming. They all rely heavily on the state of the surrounding environment.
Agriculture
Agriculture is heavily dependent on the weather; it requires the right combination of rain, sun and warmth to produce the food that we all need.
Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are especially vulnerable to climate change because they rely on rain fed agriculture as opposed to irrigation systems.
Farming is also seasonal as farmers have to harvest before the end of each season in order to prepare for the next.
According to the United Nations, 80% of the world’s food production is by family farms. Therefore, climate change will not only affect these families at an individual level, but the world as a whole.
Factors that affect agriculture:
- Extreme weather: erratic weather is a hallmark of climate change which can manifest in various ways, i.e., droughts, storms, floods, frosts and heat waves. It is expected that there will be an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events in the future as the Earth’s atmosphere continues to warm.
- Pests and diseases: when there is a change in temperature and moisture levels, crop diseases and pests can thrive. One example of a pest is the fall army worm that has invaded farmlands in certain African countries. This is an invasive caterpillar that is known to devastate maize yields.
- High temperature: average global temperatures should rise in coming decades which would lead to severe desertification and painfully small yields.
Unfortunately, many farmers in developing countries turn to unsustainable avenues to increase their yield such as deforestation, converting natural land to farmland and other unsustainable agricultural practices which lead to a vicious cycle of land degradation and low yields.
Agriculture is a necessity for all humanity because it provides a source of food as well as a primary source of livelihood for around 36% of the world’s total workforce according to FAO. The impacts of climate change are expected to be negative in tropical regions and positive in temperate zones. We may see higher yields in temperate regions which could potentially offset lower yields in tropical zones. However, low income countries with limited financial capacity to trade and high dependence on their own local production of food may find it difficult to offset declines in food supply without a reliance on food aid.
Livestock farming
Heat waves have been known to increase with climate change and this may pose a risk to livestock. The heat can affect livestock directly or indirectly by making them more vulnerable to disease, reduced fertility and reduced milk production. It can also increase the prevalence of parasites and diseases that affect livestock which will lead to the increased use of pesticides that will be introduced to the food chain.
Climate change is a threat to livestock production because it impacts quality of feed crop and forage, animal and milk production, water availability, livestock disease and animal production. Due to an increase in temperature and carbon dioxide the quantity and quality of feed will be affected.
Fisheries
Fisheries are already under stress with overfishing and water pollution. With aquatic waters warming, many aquatic species have been forced to search for colder areas of streams and lakes or move to higher latitudes where temperatures could be more conducive for their survival. This potentially could put them in competition with other species for food and other resources. Trout and salmon are examples of fish losing their habitat due to the migration of warm water fish into cold water regions.
There will be changes in catch size of sea food as fish species change their geographic distribution and migration patterns due to climate change. This can impact national incomes of countries that solely rely on fisheries.
Conclusion
Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is a solution to aid farmers in the wake of the climate crisis. By implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation measures such as ecological farming, agroforestry, crop rotation and more; sustainable agriculture could be achieved which will go a long way with improving food security in several countries.
Additional information on CSA
There are three pillars of CSA, namely, productivity, adaptation and mitigation. CSA aims to increase agricultural productivity and incomes sustainably, reduce farmers exposure to short-term risks, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A successful case of CSA intervention is the development of drought-tolerant maize for Africa (DTMA). This has seen the development and successful farming of drought-resistant maize varieties in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In livestock farming, CSA, is achieved through better feeding using crop by-products, agroforestry, fodder banks and improved pastures species. A successful case of CSA intervention in livestock farming, is the East Africa Dairy Development Project (EADD). The project supports about 200,000 farmers by increasing their milk production in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
In fisheries, catfish aquaculture is seen as the alternative source of protein for mankind. Catfish aquaculture consumer less water per tonne, has few impacts on water quality, and allows the use of both wastewater and discarded fish parts as fertilizer and animal feed/oil respectively. Catfish aquaculture has proven to be a successful CSA intervention in countries like Vietnam generating 1 million tonnes of food every year and employing over 170,000 people.
To Our Esteemed Readers: We would like to open the floor to all of you, kindly comment below what topic you would like us to write about in the next blog.
Can’t wait to hear your ideas 🙂
Good read, Also, Desert Locusts have really affected food security in Subsaharan Africa.
That is true. I intend to write an entire article on desert locusts so stay tuned for that.
Great post yet…
You could write about how climate change has affected peoples attitudes and perceptions in general
Thank you 🙂
Hmm interesting suggestion I shall consider it. Thanks for your feedback.
Job well done. Keep it up.
Thank you Mr Mbatia.
I appreciate it.
Enlightening read. Well done and thank you. Great to know someone who truly cares about the environment. Pray and hope that each one of us plays a part in this. Look forward to more of the posts.
Thank you Ms Wanjiru for the kind words. 🙂 I pray that will happen too.
Yes, more posts coming soon.
An informative article! Explore other topics such as biodiversity ; preservation of natural heritage, water ecosystem, forests…
Keep at it…
Thank you Senga.
Great suggestions, we shall consider them. 🙂
Such an awesome read, keep up the good work.
I recommend that you write about; Water Pollution in Nairobi River
I’m humbled 🙂
Good idea thank you.
Good job Cindy Wanjiku, I love your passion for the environment. Keep up the good job earth defender.
I recommend that you write about Air Pollution in Athi River and its environs
Thank you Kosovo for the kind words.
great idea
Climate Smart Agriculture is the way to go. Can you write about the ‘Plastic Deal’ where the US intends to use Kenya as it’s dumping site for plastic wastes. Thanks
Thank you Kidy for your ideas. 🙂
Good read!
That was an amazing article, comprehensive and informative…Good work Cindy..😊
Kindly do an article on the Climate smart agriculture and the role of pollinators to food security in the world/how climate change is affecting them plus human activities impacts on them.
Congratulations
Thank you
Thank you Douglas so many good ideas we shall consider them stay tuned to future posts to see if your idea was chosen 😀
Excellent overview of food security & how climate change threatens it. I recently wrote about it. Please go through it & give your inputs.
https://visvasambodhi.wordpress.com/2020/10/17/nobel-peace-prize-2020-food-security-international-peace-in-the-context-of-climate-change/
Hey, thank you for your feedback. 😀
I will definitely check out your post and let you know what I think.
YES!!! SUCH IMPORTANT TOPICS!!! Thank you so much for sharing this with the rest of the world!! To spread more awareness of the climate crisis, please feel free to check out my recent blog post! (:
Thank you for the positive feedback..😊
I checked out your post.. it’s very insightful..looking forward to more ..
thank you! xo
[…] the post Climate change and Food Security, we asked you, our readers, to suggest any topic in the comment section that you would like us to […]
Wow… Nice piece
Thank you Abuka 😊
[…] Climate change affects us all no matter where you live, through extreme weather, flooding, droughts and rising sea-levels. The disruptions brought about by this will affect our health, food security and clean water supplies. For the sake of life on earth we have to fight climate change. You could fight it by getting educated and learning how it works. Other things you could do are reduce food waste, eat plant based meals and opt for clean energy technology. I have written about climate change on my blog so you can find out more here. […]
[…] Climate change affects us all no matter where you live, through extreme weather, flooding, droughts and rising sea-levels. The disruptions brought about by this will affect our health, food security and clean water supplies. For the sake of life on earth we have to fight climate change. You could fight it by getting educated and learning how it works. Other things you could do are reduce food waste, eat plant based meals and opt for clean energy technology. I have written about climate change on my blog so you can find out more here. […]
Love this. Awesome article.
Thank you Kally 🙂
[…] the post Climate change and Food Security, we asked you, our readers, to suggest any topic in the comment section that you would like us to […]