Communities across the Global South are facing a hunger crisis — one that existed before COVID-19 hit and has since gotten worse. In Southern Africa, record-breaking droughts and floods destroyed crops on a large scale early this year. Meanwhile, massive outbreaks of desert locusts — which can eat as much food as 35,000 people per each square kilometer swarm —continue to threaten crops in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, India and other areas of Africa and Southwest Asia. Now, the economic fallout from COVID-19 could lead to 265 million people facing acute food insecurity in 2020, nearly double that of 2019.

The situation is a devastating reminder that the climate crisis is here, and the world’s most vulnerable communities face the worst impacts. Often, these people are farmers. More than two-thirds of people living in poverty rely on agriculture for at least part of their income, if not all of it. Women face disproportionate impacts: they comprise over 40% of the agricultural workforce, yet existing institutional biases often prevent them from having access to land rights and climate-smart agricultural solutions. If women had access to the same rights and resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30% on average, and help reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12–17%.
Additionally, climate change could depress global crop yields up to 30% by 2050, putting approximately 50 million more people at risk of undernourishment, according to a paper by the International Food Policy Research Institute produced for the Global Commission on Adaptation. The global food system is under threat, and what we do now will determine whether millions more people go hungry.

The Global Commission’s report, Adapt Now, calls on national governments, development agencies and the private sector to support smallholder farmers in adapting to climate change. Globally, around 500 million farms are two hectares (4.9 acres) or smaller. Smallholder farmers depend on these farms for sustenance and their livelihoods, especially in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. As climate change intensifies and food production decreases, these farmers, many of whom are food insecure and living in poverty, will face even greater challenges.

A range of immediate solutions is needed to address these challenges. One that would have significant long-term impact is boosting research and development (R&D) for new crops and agricultural practices that are resilient to climate impacts like heat, drought and new disease patterns, making it a key recommendation from the Commission.
Many research organizations, government agencies and farmers are already developing new climate-resilient technologies and practices.

Here are three of the most impactful R&D successes from the past few years that are helping smallholder farmers cope with climate change and bolster food security: read the full article following the link above