Climate change and future of agri-food production
Lalit Kumar, Ngawang Chhogyel, Tharani Gopalakrishnan, Md Kamrul Hasan, S. Jayasinghe, Champika S. Kariyawasam, Benjamin Kipkemboi Kogo, Sujith S. Ratnayake
Abstract
Climate change is affecting many facets of our lives and livelihoods, and food production is one of them. While the world population continues to increase, agricultural land and food production are being impacted by climate change at an ever-increasing rate. This chapter looks at climate change and its impacts on agri-food systems and food production. It briefly looks at the science of climate change, some projections, including rainfall and temperature projections to the end of the 21st century, and then is followed by a discussion of impacts of several climate-change–related stressors on agri-food production. Some of the stressors discussed include extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, cyclones, and heat waves; sea-level rise, including inundation and salinity; invasive alien plant species; pests and pathogens; and neglected and underutilized crop species.