Climate change is
likely to create new food insecurities by further pushing up the
already rising prices and bringing down the world agriculture GDP by 16
per cent by 2020, the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI) report said.
“Impact on developing countries will be much more severe than on
developed countries. Output in developing nations is projected to
decline by 20 per cent, while output in industrial countries is
expected to fall by 6 per cent,” it said in the report World Food
Situation: New Driving Forces and Required Actions.
Climate variability will not only affect the farm output but also the
food prices worldwide, it said adding that increase in temperature by
more than three degree Celsius may cause prices to go up to 40 per cent.
Stressing on crop yields, the report said, “With the increased risk of
droughts and floods due to rising temperatures, crop yield losses are
expected to be imminent. Cereal yields are projected to fall, with mean
losses of about 15 per cent by 2080 in more than 40 developing
countries”.
“Climate-change risks will have adverse impacts on food production,
compounding the challenge of meeting global food demand. Consequently,
food import dependency is projected to rise in many regions of the
developing world,” IFPRI said.
Even with the application of carbon fertilisation, a forested
ecosystem, the severity of climate change effects could be limited to
only 3 per cent. However, technological change is not expected to be
able to raise output losses and increase yields that would keep up with
growing food demand.
The report, however, suggested that it is critical to place
agricultural and food issues onto the national and international
climate change policy agendas for ensuring an efficient and pro-poor
response to the emerging risks.
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