10 July 2009
Welcoming the G8’s statement on food security, Tearfund pointed out that it is critical that these actions are coupled with mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and sustainable management of water, land and other natural resources.
Tearfund’s Director of Advocacy Paul Cook said, `We are at a critical point in the world’s discussions about climate change, and the impacts of global warming cut across many sectors, including food security.
'We need to remember that for many already poor regions of the world, the warming climate could make agricultural land impossible to farm.
'The knock-on effect is that climate change becomes a new root cause of poverty exacerbating situations like food insecurity, which were already dire to begin with.
'World leaders should particularly invest in and target countries and regions that are off track to meet Millennium Development Goal One, (the eradication of extreme hunger and poverty), repeatedly prone to food crises and will be even more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.'
It is well documented and scientifically verified that global warming will increase the severity of extreme weather patterns. This will undoubtedly trigger a major threat to food security and sustainable economic growth, says Tearfund.
The aid agency says a ‘food security initiative’ over the next three years is commendable, but not enough and a one-off fix is unacceptable.
'Rich nations should dig deep and commit to an additional $30bn a year for at least the next five years, to secure food security,' adds Paul Cook.
'This money must also ensure that agriculture, the most climate sensitive of livelihoods, and other jobs like herding are resilient to climatic and economic shocks in order to prevent food crises in the future.'