Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too

As a crux of world economy, agriculture feeds and clothes the whole planet. Though human civilization commenced with hunting and gathering, chasing and foraging couldn’t feed every mouth. People then started cultivating to make their food easily accessible.

But overtime, traditional agriculture couldn’t meet rushing demand. Scarcity then gave rise to human innovations and the technological era commenced in agriculture. Tractors rushed through the field, fertilizers were sprayed prodigally, hybrids and GMOs occupied the agricultural ground. Agriculture became more oriented towards economy and productivity rather than health and nutrition. 

And now, the world is paying dearly.

The use of sophisticated technology has staked modern agriculture mostly on non renewable resources which has unfortunately posed a great threat to the availability of resources for future generation. This lack of resource is expected to exacerbate the problem of food insecurity to further extent.

Moreover, use of excessive mechanical implements has increased green house gas emissions, consequently heating atmosphere intensely day by day. Climate change is at its peak which has alternated climatic pattern globally. Edaphic factors are also affected intensely. As a result, climate sensitive sectors like agriculture, food and forestry are severely affected. The unprecedented changes in these sectors are vivid in every nook and cranny. 

Crop and livestock yield has decreased to a great extent. The lag between the demand and supply of agro products is widening daily. Consequently, more people are paving their way to hunger and malnutrition daily. 

So world leaders are seeking for a quick solution to this problem. It is an urgent need to mitigate and adapt with these changing circumstances. And climate resilient agriculture can be a conducive way to do so. Having realized that world is celebrating this October 16 as “world food day” with a theme “climate is changing food and agriculture must too” to promote the concept of climate resilient agriculture. The video above aims at doing so.

Learn more about 2016 World Food Day