A new research undertaken by more than 200 experts has shown that a comprehensive approach to food, farming and resources could increase crop production by more than 500% in African countries.
The research, which is a four-year project, was produced by a partnership of organisations based in the countries studied and the UK.
Experts who undertook the research said that though there is no single technological fix to the threat posed by the barrage of natural disasters striking the region, significant improvements could be achieved with new approaches, based on modelling done by the network of researchers in Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia.
“The climate change crisis is accelerating,” they said. “We are seeing more floods, droughts, pests and diseases, especially in the southern Africa region and the climate crisis is threatening food stocks in sub-Saharan Africa”.
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Sithembile Mwamakamba, director of policy research and analysis at the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, a pan-African organisation, said “We are seeing this become more frequent and more severe”.
He noted that If urgent action were not taken to make agriculture in the region more resilient to climate impacts, food systems in Africa would definitely fail us and push our rural communities to the edge.
Speaking further, Mwamakamba said that climate-smart policies need to cut across sectors to be effective, recognising that the climate crisis can affect agriculture, health, nutrition and security.
The researchers produced a tool that quantified crop yields, land and water use as well as greenhouse gas emissions and nutrition to model the effects of the changing climate and how policies could have an impact.
They pointed out that there had been successful trials of agricultural methods such as terracing, all intended to improve soil health and water availability. They added that developing new crop varieties were crucial to cope with extreme temperatures and rainfall.
They warned that policies developed in isolation, such as the expansion of agricultural land to increase production could cause tensions over land and water usage.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
