Bhagirath Jogdand, intern at WFP in Rome
Earlier this year the global media was intensely focused on the financial crisis, airing programmes like ‘Road to Recovery’ and debates on the so-called ‘financial stimulus packages’. Why was the role of climate change added to the agenda of the recent G8 Summit in Italy in July? Wouldn’t it be more convenient and rewarding for the politicians to discuss such topics as the financial crisis, rather than issues such as the future of the world’s food security? But I believe that climate change is an issue that deserves the full attention and concern of the leaders at the highest level, including the G8. The G8 Summit produced two initiatives relevant to the activities of the World Food Programme (WFP): 1) the Food Security Initiative, which aims to mobilise $20 billion over the next three years, and 2) the Global Partnerships on Agriculture and Food Security initiative.
The impacts of climate change on food security are manifold. The mean global temperatures are projected to increase between one to four degrees Celsius by 2100. This will bring benefits to agriculture in temperate latitudes, with increases in crop yields and growing periods, but in drier regions, previously cultivated areas will become unsuitable for agriculture. This scenario predicts regional disparities in food production and availability, though many scientists are confident that, even in the worst case scenario, the global food production will be robust enough to provide food for the entire global population in the future, because of technological advancements in the area (Adejuwon, 2007: 12). However, with an increase in climate variability, the world will face increased frequency and severity of cyclones, floods, storms and droughts, causing fluctuations in crop yields and local food supplies. These inconsistencies will have serious effects on semi-arid areas, like Sub-Saharan Africa and certain parts of South Asia, which are already one of the poorest regions in the world with high levels of chronic under-nourishment. For example, according to estimates the Sub-Saharan region may have between 50 to 75 percent of the world’s starving population by 2080 (Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007: 5).
Concern over the future of food security in semi-arid areas was shared by the leaders in the G8 Summit, when they declared: “We underscore that climate change severely affects developing countries and is becoming a major threat to their ability to achieve internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs.” The summit’s declaration identifies the developing countries’ limited capability to adapt and cope with climate variability. Developing countries need to compensate food shortages through imports, which is impossible for the least developed countries or failed states. This means that the international community will have to respond to an increased need for humanitarian food aid as there will be more food emergencies.
Will the WFP be able to meet this increased demand for aid and will it be able to raise sufficient funds at a short notice? If not, the relevancy of the world’s largest food aid agency is at stake. The WFP needs to come up with innovative approaches to mitigate problems related to food emergencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Market mechanisms and free trade cannot rescue these countries, and, therefore, an adequate response is needed to build up sufficient stocks located across vulnerable, disadvantaged and distant rural regions. This can be done in the form of ‘food banks’ or ‘food reserves’, in which farmers can deposit surpluses after harvest when the prices are the lowest and then withdraw the deposits when in need. These “store houses” will provide better storage facilities that reduce losses caused by spoilage and increase food availability. The reserves can function as food exchanges, where the farmer can exchange their produces for other food commodities, like seeds. Food pooling can help reduce sudden food emergencies. Lastly, WFP can maintain the emergency aid reserves through donations from national and international humanitarian aid donors, in partnerships with other humanitarian agencies, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, governments and local communities.
The situation may look hopeless on the outside, but similarly, many considered micro-financing infeasible and improbable in the beginning. A pilot project could make this solution a reality. ■
Earlier this year the global media was intensely focused on the financial crisis, airing programmes like ‘Road to Recovery’ and debates on the so-called ‘financial stimulus packages’. Why was the role of climate change added to the agenda of the recent G8 Summit in Italy in July? Wouldn’t it be more convenient and rewarding for the politicians to discuss such topics as the financial crisis, rather than issues such as the future of the world’s food security? But I believe that climate change is an issue that deserves the full attention and concern of the leaders at the highest level, including the G8. The G8 Summit produced two initiatives relevant to the activities of the World Food Programme (WFP): 1) the Food Security Initiative, which aims to mobilise $20 billion over the next three years, and 2) the Global Partnerships on Agriculture and Food Security initiative.
The impacts of climate change on food security are manifold. The mean global temperatures are projected to increase between one to four degrees Celsius by 2100. This will bring benefits to agriculture in temperate latitudes, with increases in crop yields and growing periods, but in drier regions, previously cultivated areas will become unsuitable for agriculture. This scenario predicts regional disparities in food production and availability, though many scientists are confident that, even in the worst case scenario, the global food production will be robust enough to provide food for the entire global population in the future, because of technological advancements in the area (Adejuwon, 2007: 12). However, with an increase in climate variability, the world will face increased frequency and severity of cyclones, floods, storms and droughts, causing fluctuations in crop yields and local food supplies. These inconsistencies will have serious effects on semi-arid areas, like Sub-Saharan Africa and certain parts of South Asia, which are already one of the poorest regions in the world with high levels of chronic under-nourishment. For example, according to estimates the Sub-Saharan region may have between 50 to 75 percent of the world’s starving population by 2080 (Schmidhuber and Tubiello, 2007: 5).
Concern over the future of food security in semi-arid areas was shared by the leaders in the G8 Summit, when they declared: “We underscore that climate change severely affects developing countries and is becoming a major threat to their ability to achieve internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs.” The summit’s declaration identifies the developing countries’ limited capability to adapt and cope with climate variability. Developing countries need to compensate food shortages through imports, which is impossible for the least developed countries or failed states. This means that the international community will have to respond to an increased need for humanitarian food aid as there will be more food emergencies.
Will the WFP be able to meet this increased demand for aid and will it be able to raise sufficient funds at a short notice? If not, the relevancy of the world’s largest food aid agency is at stake. The WFP needs to come up with innovative approaches to mitigate problems related to food emergencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Market mechanisms and free trade cannot rescue these countries, and, therefore, an adequate response is needed to build up sufficient stocks located across vulnerable, disadvantaged and distant rural regions. This can be done in the form of ‘food banks’ or ‘food reserves’, in which farmers can deposit surpluses after harvest when the prices are the lowest and then withdraw the deposits when in need. These “store houses” will provide better storage facilities that reduce losses caused by spoilage and increase food availability. The reserves can function as food exchanges, where the farmer can exchange their produces for other food commodities, like seeds. Food pooling can help reduce sudden food emergencies. Lastly, WFP can maintain the emergency aid reserves through donations from national and international humanitarian aid donors, in partnerships with other humanitarian agencies, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, governments and local communities.
The situation may look hopeless on the outside, but similarly, many considered micro-financing infeasible and improbable in the beginning. A pilot project could make this solution a reality. ■
References
J. Adejuwon, LEAD paper “Environment and impacts of climate change,” 2007. http://www.lead-awa.org/archives.htm
J. Schmidhuber and F. N. Tubiello, “Global food security under climate change,” 2007. http://www.pnas.org/content/104/50/19703.full.pdf
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