HYDERABAD (Commodity Online): Will climate change endanger food security worldwide and make food inflation a reality of the future? News reports from around the globe presents an alarming picutre, here are a few:
Andhra Pradesh: Nalgonda district has turned ‘arid’ to semi-arid in the last 30 years. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is studying the impact of climate change in 100 selected districts and how it has contributed to dorught, frost, flooding, increse in temperature and availability of rain.
According to Icrisat director general William D Dar, the variability of climate has been increasing year after year, and water-scarcity is expected to increase in the next 15 years. "We need science and technology, private sector participation and political will, but small-holder farmers in rain-fed areas are key to tackling the effects of climate change on agriculture".
Dar said Icrisat had developed drought- and heat-tolerant products in at least five crops including groundnut, pigeon pea, chick pea and pearl millet. It was not just new products but also natural resource management that was needed.
ICAR is conducting a demonstration project on climate-resilient farming for 1,000 farmers from each of the selected 100 districts and plans to scale it up next year. This is part of a Rs 350-crore, two-year initiative on climate-resilient agriculture, according to AK Singh, deputy director general, ICAR.
OHIO, USA: JM Smucker Co, a leading food products company has been asked to clarify by two firms representing shareholders on how climate change will affect eh supply and price of Coffee beans, and, ultimately, how it will affect investors.Coffee accounts for 40 percent of net sales and 48.6% of profits.Coffee prices have risen sharply in recent years while it is one among the most sensitive crops vulnerable to climate change.
Peru: Emily Kirkland, an undergraduate at Brown University who studied the climate change patterns in Peru reported that it has become a reality in the Andes with poor farmers and herders facing new crop pests, prolonged droughts and sudden frosts. In their struggles to cope, they are making use of techniques and ideas that date back centuries. Thanks to El Niño, Peru’s climate has always been subject to sudden shifts. Ancient civilizations like the Incas had to find ways to handle erratic weather. This knowledge has been handed from one generation to another until the present day. It represents an extremely valuable tool for dealing with human-induced climate change.
Texas, USA: A report issued Wednesday by the Texas Agrilife Extension Service, an agency of the southwestern state, indicates that this year’s drought in Texas is among the worst on record and that agricultural production has fallen because of it. That is bad news for consumers around the world, reports the Voice of America (VoA).
More than 90 percent of the state is feeling severe or extreme effects of the drought. The costs have broken previous records, according to economist David Anderson, who spoke to VOA via Skype from his office at the Texas Agrilife Extension Service at Texas A&M University. Livestock has been most affected by drought that would affect beef supplies while Wheat supplies will also be impacted by the crisis. Texas does not produce significant quantities of corn, but a 30% drop in production could affected the global market.
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