Climate Change and Its Impact on the Yield of Major Food Crops: Evidence from Pakistan.

Sajjad Ali,Ying Liu,Aasir Ilyas,Abdullah Abdullah,Tariq Shah,Izhar Din,Muhammad Ishaq

doi:10.3390/foods6060039

Abstract

Pakistan is vulnerable to climate change, and extreme climatic conditions are threatening food security. This study examines the effects of climate change (e.g., maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, and the sunshine) on the major crops of Pakistan (e.g., wheat, rice, maize, and sugarcane). The methods of feasible generalized least square (FGLS) and heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation (HAC) consistent standard error were employed using time series data for the period 1989 to 2015. The results of the study reveal that maximum temperature adversely affects wheat production, while the effect of minimum temperature is positive and significant for all crops. Rainfall effect towards the yield of a selected crop is negative, except for wheat. To cope with and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, there is a need for the development of heat- and drought-resistant high-yielding varieties to ensure food security in the country.

Highlights

Change in climate is mainly attributed to the unabated increase in greenhouse gases, including fluorinated gases, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, whichbring changes in rain pattern, temperature, and negative effects on water and land resources, floods, and droughts
In light of the above deliberations, this study aims to examine the nexus between climate change and the yield of major crops including wheat, rice, maize, and sugarcane
This study aims to assess the impact of climate change variables, including temperature, rainfall, humidity, and sunshine on the yield of major food crops and cash crop grown in Pakistan

Summary

Introduction

Change in climate is mainly attributed to the unabated increase in greenhouse gases, including fluorinated gases, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, whichbring changes in rain pattern, temperature, and negative effects on water and land resources, floods, and droughts. The major impact of climate change is on agricultural production due to changes in rain pattern, temperature, floods, droughts, and negative effects on water and land resources [1,2]. In the developing states (such as Asia and Africa), the latest work has progressively considered the impacts of climate change on agricultural production [1,2]. Food security and water availability are highly vulnerable to the rapidly changing climate

Objectives

Results

Conclusion