Katherine Sierra: If there ever was a time for scientists to step up and innovate, it is now Photo: CGIAR

Leaders from the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) spoke out at the 13th UN Climate Change Conference in Bali to propose a policy to develop ‘climate-ready’ crops and gain the commitment of the international community to prevent the world’s poorest countries facing agricultural disaster.

Katherine Sierra, World Bank vice- president for sustainable development and CGIAR chair, voiced increased concern at the potentially devastating effects of climate change on third-world agriculture.  “We are increasingly alarmed that if we don't move quickly to give farmers in the developing world the tools they need to deal with climate change, we could see food production in places like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia collapse before the end of the century,” Ms Sierra said.

The anticipated weather changes – including extremes of drought, flooding and higher temperatures – are predicated to have a significant impact on agriculture.

Poorer countries, which are less well-equipped to deal with the changes, are predicted to be hardest hit. Research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that temperature and precipitation patterns could cause agricultural production to drop by as much as 50% in African countries, and up to 30% in Central and South Asia. Without help, wheat production could potentially disappear entirely from Africa by 2080, whilst maize production would fall steeply.

Ms Sierra highlighted the CGIAR’s aim to “rapidly intensify research efforts” to mitigate these effects. Projects include drought-tolerant maize, 20 million tons of which is lost annually to drought, and flood-tolerant rice, which can cost farmers yearly losses of up to $1,000 million.

A climate change agenda was also discussed, which will seek to discover cutting edge research to help poorer farmers maintain sustainable agriculture during global warming. Plans to work with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on a conference examining food security, climate change and the challenges of bio-energy, scheduled for early June in Rome, were also announced.

Ms Sierra emphasised the importance of substantial investment and research into climate change. "This is an auspicious moment in the history of agriculture research because farmers already are under considerable pressure to increase production just to meet the food demands of a growing population," she warned. “I urge donors and research centres around the world to join us in investing in solutions to climate change.”

"If there ever was a time for scientists to step up and innovate, it is now."
By Rebecca Debens

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