Happy world food day everyone! World Food Day was proclaimed in 1979 by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It marks the date of the founding of FAO in 1945. The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

There are many ways in which food security and climate change are interconnected. Climate change does not just raise the temperature by a few degrees. Instead it has many difficult to predict consequences, such as: droughts, erratic rainfall, flooding, extreme weather events, and glacier retreat. All of these things can have a devastating consequences on agriculture and world food security.

How temperature increases affect food security

"For the first time in history, more than one billion people are undernourished worldwide. This is about 100 million more than last year and it means that one in every six persons suffers from hunger every day." states Jacques Diouf, the FAO director general.

The theme of this years World Food Day is "achieving food security in times of crisis." FAO literature is currently defining this crisis primarily in terms of an economic and financial one. But it can be argued that the climate crisis has just as much, if not greater and further reaching, impact on food security as well.

Four ways climate change effects food security
Temperature increase. Higher temperatures lead to heat stress for plants, increasing sterility and lowering overall productivity. Higher temperatures also increase evaporation from plants and soils, increasing water requirements while lowering water availability. Changing patterns. In many places, growing seasons are changing, ecological niches are shifting, and rainfall is becoming more unpredictable and unreliable both in its timing and its volume. This is leading to greater uncertainty and heightened risks for farmers, and potentially eroding the value of traditional agricultural knowledge such as when to plant particular crops. Rising sea levels. Rising seas contaminate coastal freshwater aquifers with salt water. Several small island states are already having serious problems with water quality, which is affecting agricultural productivity. Higher seas also make communities more vulnerable to storm surges which can be 5-6 metres high. The storm surge from cyclone Nargis travelled 35 kilometres inland, killing 140,000 people and flooding around 14,400 km, an area one third the size of Switzerland. Water. The interactions between climate change, water scarcity and declines in agricultural productivity could lead to regional tensions and even open conflict between states already struggling with inadequate water supplies due to rising populations and over-pumping of groundwater.
Dr Brett Harris is Chief Economist for World Vision Australia. This is an edited version of an article which first appeared in Global Future, Edition 3, 2008, a publication of World Vision.

"For the first time in history, more than one billion people are undernourished worldwide. This is about 100 million more than last year and it means that one in every six persons suffers from hunger every day," Jacques Diouf states further. With the effects of climate change likely to be experienced soonest, and most intensely in areas of the world like Africa and Asia - the world's already hungry masses will only have more things to worry about. The poor are hit hardest by climate change and it's effects on food security due to their governments lacking the resources or leadership to prepare and deal with crises.

Some likely impacts of climate change (IPCC 2007)

In the Sahelian region of Africa, warmer and drier conditions have led to a reduced length of growing season with detrimental effects on crops. In southern Africa, longer dry seasons and more uncertain rainfall are prompting adaptation measures. The progressive acidification of oceans due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is expected to have negative impacts on marine shell-forming organisms (e.g. corals) and their dependent species. At lower latitudes, especially seasonally dry and tropical regions, crop productivity is projected to decrease for even small local temperature increases (1–2°C), which would increase the risk of hunger. Increases in the frequency of droughts and floods are projected to affect local crop production negatively, especially in subsistence sectors at low latitudes. Regional changes in the distribution and production of particular fish species are expected due to continued warming, with adverse effects projected for aquaculture and fisheries. Africa: By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to an increase of water stress due to climate change. Agricultural production, including access to food, in many African countries and regions is projected to be severely compromised by climate variability and change. The area suitable for agriculture, the length of growing seasons and yield potential, particularly along the margins of semi-arid and arid areas, are expected to decrease. This would further adversely affect food security and exacerbate malnutrition in the continent. In some countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50% by 2020. Asia: Glacier melt in the Himalayas is projected to increase flooding, and rock avalanches from destabilised slopes, and to affect water resources within the next two to three decades. This will be followed by decreased river flows as the glaciers recede. Freshwater availability in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia is projected to decrease due to climate change which could adversely affect more than a billion people by the 2050s. It is projected that crop yields could increase up to 20% in East and Southeast Asia while they could decrease up to 30% in Central and South Asia by the mid-21st century.

Climate change, and its relation to food security is a topic now being discussed more and more. From the 16th to the 18th of November, there will be World Summit on Food Security held in Rome. Although this conference focuses on the economic aspects of the world hunger problem, the issue of climate change, and how to mitigate its negative effects are also included in the list of challenges to be discussed. In addition, from 1 - 4 of February in Amman, Jordan there will be an International Conference on Food Security and Climate Change in Dry Areas. The objectives of this conference include identifying strategies for adapting to climate change and mitigating its most negative effects, while mobilizing financial and human resources through partnerships to tackle the issue.

If you are interested in hearing more about this issue, this talk from the Open Society Institute, is a great resource. This video, which runs for roughly an hour an a half features several experts in this field discussing the topic of "The Adaptation Imperative—Food Security and Climate Change."