Climate experts aim to build food security in the face of climate change

Science Daily: Climate and agricultural researchers, policy makers, donors, and development agencies, both governmental and non-governmental, from all over the world have just met in Nairobi for a one-day conference, 'Building Food Security in the Face of Climate Change'. The conference was an important part of a big international Mega Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The programme's secretariat is based at LIFE- Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen.

Climate change represents an immediate and unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions of people who depend on small-scale agriculture and natural resource management for their livelihoods. At the same time, agriculture and forestry also contributes to climate change, by intensifying greenhouse gas emissions and altering the land surface.

To facilitate new research on the interactions between climate change, agriculture, natural resource management and food security, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) have initiated a Mega Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). CCAFS will create unique possibilities in the search for solutions to climate change and food security problems.

"Many farmers in developing countries live in areas that are particularly affected by climate change. In order to secure better living conditions for the farmers, we need to find the right solutions to creating a stable food production that also takes into account the environment. The conference is an important part of that work," says Deputy Director for administration and communication in CCAFS, Torben Timmermann, who helped organise the conference in World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi….

A plow, shot by FlippyFlink, Wikimedia Commons