Climate-Induced Food Crisis in Africa: Integrating Policy and Adaptation

David O Chiawo,Verrah A Otiende

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-45106-6_75

Abstract

AbstractClimate change threatens development and economic growth in Africa. It increases risks for individuals and governments with unprecedented negative impacts on agriculture. Specifically, climate change presents a major threat to food security in Africa for the long term due to the low adaptive capacity to deal with successive climate shocks. There is a need for greater awareness of the trends of food crisis patterns and adaptive initiatives. The objective of this chapter was to analyze the trends of the food crisis in Africa within the past 10 years and adaptive initiatives. Quantitative data analyzed for food security indicators were obtained from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Development Indicators (WDI) available at the Environment and Climate Change data portal. Policy and adaptation measures related to climate change were reviewed in 26 countries in Africa, with the view to highlight their integrative nature in enhancing food security. High prevalence of undernourishment was observed in six countries, all in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including Chad, Liberia, Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Countries with a high land acreage under cereal production recorded reduced undernourishment. Niger demonstrated effective adaptation for food security by registering the highest crop production index in extreme climate variability. However, Kenya appears to be the most predisposed by registering both high climate variability and below average crop production index. It is observed that diversification and technology adoption are key strategies applied across the countries for adaptation. However, the uptake of technology by smallholder farmers is still low across many countries in SSA.

Highlights

Climate change threatens development and economic growth in Africa
Climate change presents a major threat to food security in Africa for the coming decade due to low adaptive capacity to deal with successive climate shocks, despite the trend of the rapid pace of population growth
The positive population growth is attributed to technology transitions in health care; it is expected to generate increased demand for agricultural land and forest products (Brandt et al 2017), calling for a matching assemblage of technology and policies to enhance food security to limit the possible impact to the environment

Summary

Introduction

Climate change threatens development and economic growth in Africa. It will increase risks for individuals and governments with unprecedented negative impacts across all sectors of the economy. Climate change presents a major threat to food security in Africa for the coming decade due to low adaptive capacity to deal with successive climate shocks, despite the trend of the rapid pace of population growth. With increasing recognition of present and future impacts of climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC 2006) has identified the poorest people living in developing countries as the most vulnerable due to their dependence on natural resources and rain-fed agriculture for survival. Smallholder farming creates opportunities for an estimated 175 million people in Africa, of which about 70% are

88 Climate-Induced Food Crisis in Africa

Design

Findings

Conclusion