Date Published: 05/05/10
Climate Change: Hunger looms in Nigeria, other African Nations
WITH rising sea level in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, coupled with
unusual weather condition, the future of food security is appearing very
bleak.
The poor are already being driven to the margin and the nine oil-producing
states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo,
and Rivers appear to be very helpless in the face of looming mass hunger
in the region.
Crop production in the oil region is being hit by Dutch disease, and the
subsistence farmers are unable to acquire appropriate technologies from
the research institutes because of their weak financial muscles.
It appears, there is no hope in sight yet for poor farmers. It is being
said that climate change can significantly reverse the progress towards
poverty reduction and food security in Africa. AkanimoReports says this
is the verdict of a paper presented to the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) regional Conference for Africa being held in Luanda,
Angola this week.
The main consequence of higher temperatures and more unpredictable weather
was a likely reduction in crop yields – 6.9 percent in the case of
maize, an important staple – and a heightened risk of food insecurity.
The paper, “Climate Change Implications for Food Security and Natural
Resources Management in Africa,” warned that business as usual was no
longer an option and urged African governments to “prioritize and
implement measures to develop agriculture and sustainable natural resource
management”.
One-third of the African population lives in drought-prone areas. Six of
the ten largest cities in Africa are located on the coast. These are both
areas susceptible to climate change.
Climate change will affect poorer African countries disproportionately.
The poorest people in those countries will suffer the greatest
consequences. The African subsistence farmer is among the most vulnerable.
Those least able to cope will be hit the hardest.
Adaptation to climate change through sustainable practices, including the
promotion and protection of traditional and local foods and agricultural
knowledge should be a priority, the paper said.
Since climate change would affect the poorest, development policies
targetting vulnerable groups, particularly women, were needed. The
work-load on women would increase as a result of impacts on water and land
resources.
There was also an urgent need to promote and build capacity for FAO’s
Sustainable Land Management (SLM) initiative in Africa. This uses know-how
to mitigate the impacts of climate change by integrating land, water,
biodiversity and environmental management.
There was also increasing potential, the paper noted, for African
countries to benefit from carbon and international market instruments such
as the Clean Development Mechanism. Strategies to reduce carbon emissions
through community afforestation and reforestation projects had the
potential to create synergies for increased smallholder food production.
The five-day meeting will, among other issues, consider the effects of
high food prices on African food security and the challenges and
opportunities for biofuels production in African countries.
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