Climate Change

Climate change poses serious threats to global food security. Variability in climate can make farming a very risky business, especially for the many millions of farmers who rely on rainfall to water their crops. Many experts agree that the impacts of climate change will likely be more severe in some of the poorest regions around the world. By 2020, as many as 250 million people in Africa will be exposed to water stress due to climate change, according to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). They also project that farmers who practice rainfed agriculture could see a 50 percent reduction in yield in the coming decade. Advanced farming techniques can help in two ways: by mitigating climate change impacts and by helping plants adapt to increased stresses of changing climate conditions. A "recent study":http://foodsecurity.stanford.edu/publications/greenhouse_gas_mitigation_by_agricultural_intensification/ by Stanford University found that advances in high-yield agriculture are helping to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. Explore this month’s spotlight to learn more.