Does the world’s food system need to transform itself to help the world adapt to climate change? Climate change is impacting farming practices worldwide. Farmlands are losing productivity in some areas as the climate is drier, summer is getting longer and hotter, water stress is becoming severe, and the existing farming practices cannot cope with this change.
On the other hand, it is expected that with warming, colder parts of the world where today farming is not being done will become suitable for agriculture. These climatic changes will turn producers and exporters of food into net importers. Other parts of the world will turn into surplus food producers.
Human ingenuity and technology are actively working to find solutions that make it possible to recycle and reuse water, a critical ingredient in farming. Israel has shown how a water-deficit region can convert into a water surplus. There are enough use cases available globally that show that agriculture is possible even in the most adverse climatic conditions. These solutions help us create optimal conditions for the growth of agricultural commodities.
Another change that will occur is the impact on existing global supply chains. The effect of COVID-19 on global supply chains is still lingering. The world is taking time to realign global supply chains. The world is also scrambling to readjust the production and supply chains of wheat and other agricultural commodities from the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
The world’s food systems will get impacted by climate change. Scientific solutions to handle this disruption are available. The only way human civilization will get mortally affected is when this scientific ingenuity is used to self-destruct. Investors, too, will have to adapt to the evolving investment and business climate as climate change impacts the globe. Agricultural scientists, climatologists, and sociologists will have to work together to reduce the impact on the world’s food systems.