Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security
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CATALYZING INTEGRATION Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security BACKGROUND CATALYZING INTEGRATION SERIES Despite decades of progress, there are Efforts to reduce extreme poverty and achieve the approximately 702 million people living 1 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require in extreme poverty and the Food and an in-depth understanding and reflection of the Agriculture Organization of the United interconnected nature of people’s lives. Development Nations (FAO) estimates that 795 million solutions need to be as multifaceted as the challenges people worldwide remain chronically they are designed to address. FHI 360 believes that undernourished, the majority of whom live an intentional, integrated approach to the design, in low- and middle-income countries.2 delivery, and evaluation of programs has the potential to make an enduring difference in the lives we are dedicated to serve. 795M PEOPLE WORLDWIDE WHO ARE At its core, integration refers to activities in which CHRONICALLY UNDERNOURISHED actors from different sectors deliberately coordinate their work to maximize impact and progress toward common or complementary goals. Integration is most 9.8B ESTIMATED GLOBAL POPULATION BY 2050, effective when it purposefully leverages opportunities WHICH WOULD REQUIRE A 60% INCREASE to reach more people, offer better services, reduce IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION TO FEED inequality, or reduce costs. If the current rate of food i. Food security is consumption continues, by comprised of four FHI 360 has developed a suite of resources designed dimensions: food 2050 a 60 percent increase in availability, stability of to advance integrated development approaches. food supplies, access to Many of these resources also synthesize lessons agricultural production will be food, and food utilization.3 ii. Climate change, as learned and recommendations from integration required to feed an estimated defined under the United Nations Framework across a diverse array of sectors. The Catalyzing global population of 9.8 billion Convention on Climate i Change (UNFCCC) is “a Integration Series offers a closer look at integration people. As a result, food security change of climate which is attributed directly between specific development sectors — including will remain an elusive goal for or indirectly to human 4 activity that alters the the rationale, evidence of impact, promising practices, many in the developing world. composition of the global atmosphere and key tools, and other technical guidance resources. With the power to reduce crop which is in addition to natural climate production and food availability, variability observed ii over comparable climate change further time periods.”5 threatens this goal.2, 4, 6 INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT CATALYZING INTEGRATION Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security In order to address food insecurity by increasing the Without action, climate change availability of, and access to, food it must also be could reduce the global caloric recognized that agricultural production is itself a driver production of maize, soy, wheat, of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions result from and rice by up to 24 percent land clearing, the use of fertilizers, livestock waste, and by 2090.10 Understanding the storage and transportation of agricultural products. and developing integrated 24% Climate change causes shifts in weather patterns, which programming that acknowledges WITHOUT ACTION, CLIMATE CHANGE increase the frequency of extreme weather eventsiii the interaction between human COULD REDUCE THE that directly affect crop production and threaten activity (including agriculture GLOBAL CALORIC PRODUCTION OF MAIZE, food security. If the current rate of greenhouse gas production) and climate is critical SOY, WHEAT, AND RICE BY UP TO 24 PERCENT accumulation in the atmosphere continues, the effects to reducing the threat climate BY 209010 of less predictable extreme weather eventsiv are likely to change poses to long-term food cause wide-scale food insecurity.7 security.11, 12 Essential to this two-way relationship is the need to maintain the integrity of the ecosystems Smallholder farmers and and natural resources that are key to the prosperity of pastoralistsv who mainly rely smallholder producers, and to increase the capacity of on rain-fed agriculture and poor and vulnerable populations to adapt to climate predictable weather patterns change-related impact.13 Indeed, food production for consistent production are in most low-to middle-income countries is largely especially vulnerable to the 1/3 dependent on both ecosystem services and natural increasing unpredictability of BY 2050, RICE PRICES IN LOW- AND MIDDLE- resources, furthering the importance of an integrated extreme weather. For example, INCOME COUNTRIES programmatic approach. production of rice (a key food COULD INCREASE BY APPROXIMATELY ONE- crop), could decline by up to THIRD AS A RESULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE9 iii. Examples of extreme weather events include: greater variability in precipitation patterns 15 percent in low- and middle- that may result in more intense rain events that are less frequent, increased periods of dryness and drought, increased threat of flooding, and changes in the temperature and income countries by 2050, and prices could increase by salinity in bodies of water. approximately one-third as a result of climate change.9 iv. Scientists foresee significant sea level rise and coastal inundation, increased salinity, and significant disruption of food systems.7 Extreme weather events can also destroy the roads and v. Smallholders are small-scale farmers, pastoralists, forest keepers, and fishers who manage areas varying from less than one hectare to 10 hectares. Smallholder farmers facilities that support agricultural production, disrupt are characterized by family-focused motives such as favoring the stability of the farm household system, using mainly family labor for production, and using part of the communications with markets, hinder food distribution produce for family consumption.8 systems, and cause further food insecurity.7 2 CATALYZING INTEGRATION Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security The Importance and Impact of Integrating Climate Change Interventions with Agriculture and Food Security Efforts The linkages between climate change and food food.15 The ability of the rural poor to provide food for security are apparent. Weather, the timing and their households will be further challenged as climate amount of rain, daily average temperatures, change exacerbates degradation of natural resources and reduces agricultural productivity. For example, rural and the wind (among other factors) have South Asia produces 15 percent of the world’s wheat, but profound effects on agricultural production by 2050 production is projected to reduce by over half if and food security. Agricultural planners, climate change continues unabated.16 managers, and farmers have long used The relationship between food security and climate the historical record and calendars to help change is complicated by the role agriculture plays in determine which crops to plant, and when and contributing to climate change. Activities within food where to plant them. But the historical record systemsvi contribute between 19 and 29 percent of may no longer provide a road map. global greenhouse gas emissions; this figure rises to nearly 74 percent in low to middle-income countries.18, 19 Food security programs must recognize the subtle Seasonal shifts in precipitation are increasing and relations between agriculture, climate change, and food becoming less predictable, changes in average daily security. Otherwise, programs will fail to deliver on temperatures affect seed germination, and some regions sustainable production, a critical element of Sustainable are experiencing greater periods of dryness while others Development Goal 12, which addresses sustainable experience extremely wet weather. All of these changes consumption and production.20 Integrated approaches argue for a strong collaboration between climate-change naturally consider all three elements, a logical way scientists and agricultural practitioners, planners, and forward in addressing the complex challenges faced by managers to address food insecurity on global, regional, low- and middle-income countries. national, and local levels. Integrated programs—combining innovative agricultural Further, as the global population continues to increase, techniques with activities designed to effectively sustainable agricultural production that adapts and respond to the effects of climate change and improve thrives under the changing climate will be critical to food security—can have significant impact across building resilience, particularly in low- and middle- several dimensions. income countries.14 The World Bank estimates that approximately 70 percent of the world’s poor and vi. “Food systems encompass all the people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed, and brought to consumers. They also most food insecure populations live in rural areas and include the public officials, civil society organizations, researchers and development practitioners who design the policies, regulations, programmes, and projects that shape depend on their own crops as a primary source of food and agriculture.”17 3 CATALYZING INTEGRATION Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security Ecosystems Services21-23 • Climate-friendly approaches to agricultural production—such as leaving plant litter and other