In our changing climate, food availability must be a top concern 

At the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this past week, the topic of mitigating and adapting to climate change loomed large on the agenda amid worries about the increasing impact that climate disruption is having on the world’s ability to feed all of its people. 

As the Associated Press reports, 2.7 million people in Zimbabwe are at risk of hunger because of drought that has persisted since last fall. Just to the north of Zimbabwe, Zambia is suffering from a similar shortage of rain that also threatens food supplies, forcing its president to declare the first national emergency in 40 years. With water levels so low that hydropower — the country’s primary source of electricity — could shut down, utility customers are being forced to forgo power eight hours a day for the next two months.  

Food shortages can have cascading effects that create instability within nations and lead to mass migrations that affect neighboring countries. A working paper from the IMF released last December found that 184 million people currently live outside their country of origin. The report said, “Climate events affect the habitability and income productivity of various countries, and – going forward – are also expected to compound the impact of the other drivers of human mobility and migration, such as poverty, demographics, or political instability.” 

Because agriculture is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions that warm our planet — 25 to 30 percent — a vicious cycle exists whereby farming, as currently practiced, contributes to the climate problem, which in turn contributes to food insecurity. 

Breaking this cycle will require farmers to employ more sustainable methods that provide resilience to our changing climate and also sequester more carbon than they release. For example, in Guntur, India, the crops of farmers who practice natural farming were spared damage from a storm that flooded and wiped out crops of other farmers nearby, because their soil can hold more water. 

With sustainable farming methods, more water isn’t the only thing the soil can hold. By switching to low-till or no-till farming and planting cover crops, farmers can sequester carbon in their soil and become part of the solution to climate change. 

Farmers, however, face a number of challenges in transitioning to sustainable, climate resilient agriculture. Although crop rotation and diversification is better for the soil and the climate, moving away from a concentration on profitable crops can pose a risk to income. Farmers accustomed to pesticides and fertilizers that increase crop yields may also be reluctant to give up these tools and sacrifice short-term gains for long-term sustainability. Transition periods can bring costs for new equipment and temporary loss of crop yields.  

All of these challenges point to the need for financial support to help farmers switch to more sustainable practices. The good news is that the World Bank — the biggest international funder of development projects — is well aware of the synergistic link between food, climate change and stability, and is already funding climate-smart agriculture.  

Among the projects the Bank supports: 

• The $125 million Agriculture Resilience, Value Chain Development and Innovation (ARDI) program will play a pivotal role in strengthening the transition of Jordan’s agri-food sector. 
• The $621 million Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa (Phase 3) FSRP Project in Kenya, Comoros, Malawi, Somalia aims to increase the resilience of food systems and the recipients’ preparedness for food insecurity. 
• A $200 million credit for the Punjab Resilient and Inclusive Agriculture Transformation Project (PRIAT) will help Pakistan enhance access to, and productivity of, agricultural water, and improve incomes of farmers supported by the project. 

However, more projects — and the resources to implement them — are needed to meet the challenges of transitioning to climate-smart agriculture on a global scale. More players, financial institutions and stakeholders must be brought together to muster resources and provide the technical support to tackle this herculean task. Future food finance needs to respond to and expand the non-financial value embedded in food production practices. This week, the Good Food Finance Network is releasing a “Blueprint for Data Systems Integration,” as part of a broader effort to establish a global co-investment platform for resilient, inclusive, sustainable food systems.   

Governments and multilateral institutions must expand support for climate-smart agriculture, which is needed to achieve sustainable expansion of food production, improve resiliency in the face of climate-related shocks, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that worsen the impacts of climate change. Food that is sustainable, climate-resilient, and affordable is needed not only for human nutrition and wellbeing, but to sustain economies and nation states. Now is the time to ensure we reduce risks and build resilience across food systems in all nations and regions. 

Joe Robertson is executive director of Citizens’ Climate International, which empowers citizens throughout the world to engage their governments on climate solutions.