Extreme weather causes crop production losses, but until now, scientists
"did not know exactly how much global production was lost to extreme
weather events and how they varied by different regions of the world,"
said Navin Ramankutty, a professor of global food security and sustainability
at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia,
and one of the study authors.
The researchers, whose work appears in a recent issue of the journal Nature,
also include Corey Lesk, of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Manhattan, and Pedram Rowhani, a
lecturer in geography and international development at the University of
Sussex.
Keeping food on the table
While shortages don't necessarily spell extinction for your morning bowl of
cornflakes, cereal could end up costing you a lot more. More important, because
cereal grains are a staple of the global diet, the situation could have a
catastrophic impact on farmers and the world's hungry.
"I think most Americans are relatively able to withstand food price
shocks," said Lesk, first author of the study. "But the most
vulnerable people, both in the United States and elsewhere, can be forced into
dangerous situations by these disasters. I think it's important for Americans
to keep these people in mind, especially because these disasters are likely to
become more common in the future."
Those crises could mean lost income for American commercial farmers, as well
as food shortages for poorer subsistence farmers, who rely on their crops to
feed themselves and their families, Lesk said.
Food insecurity still persists in the United States; an estimated 14 percent
of American households (17.4 million), were food "insecure" in 2014,
meaning they had difficulty at some point during the year providing enough food
for their families due to a lack of resources, according to a recent report
from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The findings from the new research may help guide agricultural priorities in
international disaster risk reduction, as well as adaptation efforts. "We
can avoid a worsening food-security situation if we invest in adapting our
crops to these extremes immediately, and especially if we step up and make
solid commitments to avoid further climate change," Lesk said.
Crop failure
The researchers found that production losses due to droughts were associated
with a reduction in both harvested area and yields, whereas extreme heat mainly
decreased yields.
Harvested area refers to the planted cropland area that is harvested in a
given year.
"It takes time, energy and money to harvest crops from a field, and if
crops are severely enough damaged, then farmers may choose not to harvest at
all," Lesk said. "You could call this a 'total crop failure,' and it
shows up in the data as a drop in harvested area. Yield is the mass of grain
harvest per unit area harvested — in other words, the productivity of the crops
on an area basis. If a crop fails completely and is not harvested, then it
doesn't end up in the yield calculations, so you have to consider both metrics
to get a full picture.".For more details visit our website allindiayellowpage.com.