Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
IFPRI's report on climate change and food systemsPicture Credits : Reuters

According to the report presented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on climate change and food systems, India’s food production could drop by 16%, and the number of those at risk of hunger could be increased by 23% due to climate change.

As the report suggests, “climate change is a growing threat to our food systems, with impacts becoming increasingly evident. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events, among the other effects, are already reducing agricultural yields and disrupting food chains. By 2050, climate change is expected to put millions of people at risk of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.”

Furthermore, the number of Indians at risk from hunger in 2030 is expected to be 73.9 million. However, if the effects of climate change were to be factored in, this number would increase to 90.6 million. And under similar conditions, the aggregate food production index would drop from 1.6 to 1.5.

These projections are a part of a model used to evaluate the impact of climate change on aggregate food production, food consumption and the population at the risk of going hungry. Although, the dramatic implications of COVID-19 and other geopolitical crises have not been incorporated into these projections.

While the report shows concerns about the growing risk of hunger, the positive aspect is that climate change will not impact the average calorie consumption of Indians. It is likely to remain more or less the same even with climate change.

The report further elaborates that globally around 70 million people will be at risk from hunger because of the same reason, out of which 28 million people will be from regions like Eastern and Southern Africa.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *