Climate change and agriculture
Climate change brings higher temperatures, unreliable and extreme rainfall, droughts and floods, and new pests and diseases. This lowers yields and threatens food security. Agriculture also contributes to climate change: livestock produce methane, fertilisers produce nitrous oxide, and clearing forest releases carbon dioxide. Climate-smart agriculture includes drought-tolerant and early-maturing varieties, water harvesting, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and insurance for farmers.
Choose the rise in temperature and the present yield.
Food security, biotechnology and organic farming
| Issue | Main ideas |
|---|---|
| Food security | All people at all times have access to enough safe and nutritious food; improved by higher yields, storage, markets, and fewer post-harvest losses |
| Biotechnology and GMOs | Genetic modification can give pest-resistant or drought-tolerant crops, but raises questions about safety, cost and the environment; Tanzania has strict rules |
| Organic farming | Farming without artificial fertilisers and pesticides; uses compost, rotation and natural pest control; good for soil and health but yields may be lower |
| Conservation agriculture | Minimum tillage, permanent soil cover and crop rotation |
| Irrigation and water management | Drip and sprinkler irrigation save water; water harvesting stores rain |
| Digital agriculture | Mobile phone prices, weather alerts, drones and sensors |
| Youth and gender in agriculture | Young people and women make up much of the labour but have limited land, credit and training; equal access can raise output |
| Agribusiness and value addition | Processing, packaging and branding add income |
Land degradation and sustainable practices
Overgrazing, deforestation, bad farming on slopes and bush burning cause land degradation: erosion, loss of fertility and desertification. Sustainable practices are contour ploughing and terraces, cover crops, agroforestry, controlled grazing, using manure, rotation and protecting water sources.
Key terms
- Climate-smart agriculture
- Farming that adapts to climate change and cuts emissions.
- GMO
- A genetically modified organism.
- Food security
- Access to enough safe food at all times.
- Land degradation
- The loss of the productive capacity of land.
Summary
- Climate change threatens yields; farmers adapt with climate-smart methods.
- Food security needs production, storage and markets.
- Organic farming, conservation agriculture and agroforestry protect the land.
- Sustainable practices keep land productive for the future.