Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
• Building of strong farmer-institution interface
for quick dissemination of knowledge and
faster technology absorption
• Promotion of farmers' participation in profes-
sional breeding programs
• Establishment of research and training center
for climate risk management in all the agrocli-
matic zones with facilities such as village
resource center with satellite connectivity and
a fully equipped meteorological station, etc.
experiments, the virtual planets they describe
will remain the best available laboratories for
studying future climate change.
Climate change adaptation and mitigation in
the agriculture sector will have to be pursued in
the context of meeting projected global food pro-
duction demands. Although there are practices
that hold great potential for meeting both needs,
there is as yet no international agreement, nor
national or global policy framework within which
to operate. Given this situation, early action holds
great potential for countries to take positive
action in the short run that can inform national
and international policy, fi nance, and science.
Potential confl icts with the international trading
system can be addressed with the continued mat-
uration of global climate policy. The ability to act
depends on improved measurement systems,
tools, and techniques for adaptation and mitiga-
tion. There is some cause for optimism, however,
based on the trajectory of work to develop the
approaches explained above (priorities for
action).
It is important to ask, “What will or should
agriculture be like in the next century?” Even if
the answer is unknown, the fl exibility gained in
attempting to imagine the agricultural future
should be a useful tool for adaptation to climate
change.
14.4
Conclusions
In general, the tropical regions appear to be more
vulnerable to climate change than the temperate
regions for several reasons (because of economic
and social constraints, greater economic and indi-
vidual dependence on agriculture, widespread pov-
erty, inadequate technologies, and lack of political
power). In the light of possible global warming,
plant breeders should probably place even more
emphasis on development of heat- and drought-
resistant crops. Both crop architecture and physiol-
ogy may be genetically altered to adapt to warmer
environmental conditions. At the national and
international levels, the needs of regions and peo-
ple vulnerable to the effects of climate change on
their food supply should be addressed.
It is important to make experimental models
for each of the climate change components.
Information obtained from climate change
studies can help us to predict which components
are most likely to become more problematic in
the future. Modeling can never be a perfect sci-
ence, but unless we fi gure out a way to build
planets identical to Earth on which to perform
References
FAO (2010) Biodiversity and sustainable diets: united
against hunger. FAO, Rome
HLPE (2012) Food security and climate change
.
A report
by the HLPE on Food Security and Nutrition of the
Committee on World Food Security, Rome
