(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Norwegians who are not farmers themselves, have easy to shrug their shoulders when it comes to agriculture. Although there is a growing awareness of short-lived food and how the food we eat is produced – from soil to table – there is still little understanding of what challenges today's farmers face. Most of us are not concerned if we hear that the crops for Norwegian farmers are failing, or that African countries are being hit by drought. Except for a transient "butter crisis", we take it for granted that there is food in the store – no matter what the weather brings north or south on the globe.
Perhaps because we are so far away from agriculture on a daily basis, it becomes an abstract exercise to imagine what it means when the UN Climate Panel warns that climate change will create major challenges for food production. What does it really mean when the long-term weather forecast predicts a doubling of the number of droughts within 2090? And does it matter to our everyday lives that the diversity of nature is threatened and that floods and rising temperatures are likely to lead to a decline in food production and increased food prices?
Extreme weather and human destinies. For farmers in countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia and Malawi, the effects of climate change are to be felt and felt. The rain has long been unpredictable, and the periods of drought are coming more often than before. Right now, the weather phenomenon of El Niño is raging in sub-Saharan countries, and about 36 million people are hit by a devastating combination of prolonged extreme drought and heavy rains. El Niño passes regularly, but this time it hits particularly hard, partly because of the rising temperatures.
It is hard work to be an African peasant, and extreme weather, unstable rainy seasons and several periods of drought make everyday life even more difficult.
Agriculture is the most important sector for sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries, as many as 80 percent of the population are farmers. This means that most people grow the food the family needs to survive, and that agriculture is the most important source of income. Being a small African farmer is hard work, and extreme weather, unstable rainy seasons and several periods of drought make everyday life even more difficult. Right now, the combination of El Niño and rising temperatures has led many farmers to depend on food supplies. In Ethiopia, many have had to move from their homes in search of food and water to animals and humans. Many children have far too little to eat, and risk having negative late effects from experiencing hunger so early in life. Children also often have to help their families get food, which can go beyond schooling. In addition to personal fates, drought and food shortages often lead to political unrest and instability in countries and regions.
Affects us all. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have heard of famine and drought disasters in African countries, and it is easy to think that it does not concern us. But it matters to all of us that temperatures rise and food production declines in the poorer parts of the world. The current situation on the African continent is just a foretaste of the consequences of climate change in the future. Already today, more people have been displaced from their homes due to natural disasters and climate change than as a result of war and conflict. This situation will probably get even worse in the years to come, when people in vulnerable areas will increasingly lose their livelihoods. Fighting for natural resources can also lead to unrest that can affect already unstable parts of the world.
Farmers in Norway and the rest of the rich world are better equipped in the face of climate change than poor farmers. Western farmers have access to technology and climate-adapted agriculture in a completely different way than farmers in developing countries. Nevertheless, climate change will most likely create greater and greater challenges for food security in the rich part of the world as well. Rising food prices as a result of lower production will affect us all. Agriculture all over the world must adapt to the changes in the weather. Agriculture also accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the sector as a whole must therefore also be climate-smart.
We need the farmer. Both the poor farmers in developing countries and farmers in the rich part of the world are at the center of climate change. In the middle of the storm, they notice the extreme weather first. In our time we need the farmer even more than before. We are all dependent on farmers still producing food for a growing population – and that in a challenging time for the world's natural resource base. It's time to drop the shrug when agriculture comes up in the discussion. Agriculture and the farmer must be high on the agenda to secure food for you and me and future generations.
Partapuoli is the leader of the Development Fund.
kari.helene@utviklingsfondat.no
