Climate Change and Food Security

Climate change is posing a serious threat to global food security and subsequently to the fundamental human rights that ensure access to healthy, sufficient, and safe food. Extreme weather events threatened the four pillars of food security which are availability, stability, access, and utilization. These changes drastically disrupt the agricultural system by decreasing the crop yield, livestock production and affecting the fisheries, and the food supply infrastructure. Consequently, the decrease in production leads to higher food prices, making it unaffordable and inaccessible to the vulnerable population. Furthermore, climate changes also have drastic effects of diseases and pests on livestock and crops, making food availability more adverse. Extreme weather events like floods, drought, and storms adversely affect the key elements of food storage and transportation further compromising the food security and incomes of small-scale farmers. Additionally, climate change badly affects the nutritional quality of foods in the form of a reduction in essential nutrients in staple crops and increases the risks of contamination and spoilage. The disproportionate impact of climate change on food security is more adverse in vulnerable regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia because of socio-economic constraints and limited resources. Mitigation strategies and comprehensive adaptations are required to address these challenges. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) systems are required to increase crop productivity, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices and to enhance the resilience to adverse climate changes. To ensure global food security and strengthen the food systems the integration of climate change adaptation and mitigation into developmental planning is paramount also to fortifying the food systems. This chapter explores the impacts of climate change on food security and deliberate the effective strategies to mitigate these impacts.