Boosting Agriculture is Key to Reducing Effects of Climate Change
Posted by Unknown in Africa, Agriculture and Farming, Flood, Global Warming, Natural Disaster, Research and Technology, Scientist, South Africa on Sunday, 27 January 2013
Floods, drought, food insecurity hit Africa hardest
Kim Lewis | Washington D.C.
(Voice of America) Scientists say agriculture must be a key focus in confronting the effects of climate change.
Agricultural
experts at the climate conference in Durban, South Africa, say this
year's meeting offers a unique opportunity to address the role of
agriculture in reducing the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
“If
you look at the projections for climate change, the worst hit is going
to be Africa,” said Bruce Campbell, director of the Research Program on
Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security for the Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
“Even
if you look at what’s happening today in terms of the numbers of
disasters, numbers of floods, numbers of droughts, it’s already being
felt in Africa,” he said.
Campbell, who’s attending the conference, said climate change is wiping out crops and livestock.
But he said a variety of solutions are being discussed at this year’s meeting, as are many small-scale success stories.
“What
one wants to do is scale up on the successes. For example, there’s risk
insurance; it ensures farmers against calamities. There [are] improved
weather advisories so farmers have a better idea before the season
starts, and then they can make wise decisions about whether they invest
in fertilizer,” said Campbell.
There
are also techniques like “conservation agriculture” in southern Africa,
where already 250,000 Zambian farmers are benefitting from more soil
fertility, improving yield and at the same time putting carbon back into
the soil.
Agriculture
production contributes about one-third of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Half of these are direct emissions from agriculture itself.
“For example, fertilizer application results in nitrous oxide.
The other half is from the impact of agriculture on forests, where [they] are cleared for agriculture use,” said Campbell.
In
the case of fertilizer, the nitrous oxide released can be reduced by
using the smallest effective amount and carefully targeting its
application.
Campbell
added that by applying these techniques and technologies, agricultural
production can be improved and pollution reduced.
Click on audio to hear entire interview.
