The global demand for food is rising at the same time that climate change is affecting agricultural production, especially in developing nations, said a new report that calls for increased funding of agricultural research and extension programs to boost productivity on smallholder farms. Bringing more land into cultivation “is not a sustainable option,” said the report, Farmers on the Front Lines.
“Unless sufficient resources are devoted to adapting agricultural systems to climate change, billions of people who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods could be hit hard, and global progress made in recent years to reduce poverty and hunger will be reversed,” said Thomas Jayne, author of the report and a professor emeritus at Michigan State University. As much as 80 percent of the world’s poor, who work mostly in agriculture, live in areas that are increasingly affected by climate change, according to the report, which was commissioned by the Farm Journal Foundation.
Additional U.S. investment in agricultural sustainability in developing countries would reduce the chance of food crises in the future, promote government stability, and avert mass migration, said the report. It recommended action in six areas, including investing in agricultural research, education, and extension programs, especially for climate adaptation and increased productivity on existing farmlands; investing in weather and early warning networks; and encouraging public-private partnerships in agricultural research and development.