One unintended consequence of the war in Ukraine is the threat to global food security.
Russia and Ukraine are a breadbasket worldwide, supplying large amounts of grain to North African and Middle Eastern countries. Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat. It reportedly sourced as much as 80% of its wheatFrom the countries last year. According to the UN World Food Programme, half of the grain used to feed the poor comes from Ukraine..
According to a report by a, food insecurity and dependency upon imports is a sign of unsustainable systems that fuel global heating. New reportGlobal Alliance for the Future of Food, (GAFF). This week’s study shows that while food systems account for about one-third of greenhouse gases (GHG), they are not included in any national climate targets, or Nationally Determined Contributions.
The report outlines how monoculture-based food systems can contribute to climate change at multiple levels. These include biodiversity loss and deforestation, as well as imported food miles. They are neither resistant to extreme climates nor to wars.
Haseeb Bakhtary (senior consultant at Climate Focus in Berlin and lead author of the report) said that “food systems have become locally or globally prone to crises.”
He stated that localized, regenerative foods systems that are climate-resilient, highly productive, and less dependent on imports are the best solutions. The report also emphasized the importance of reducing food waste and promoting low-carbon diets.
Bakhtary suggests that a shift to “more nature-positive, eco-ecological food system” could help to achieve 20% of the global emission reductions required to reach 2050 net zero targets.
The GAFF study provides a roadmap for 14 countries to incorporate food system transformation in revised NDCs that will be submitted to Egypt’s COP27 in November.
These are four countries that have already undergone this transformation.
1. Bangladesh
Climate-driven flooding and tidal flooding frequently devastate Bangladeshi floodplains which support vital rice and fish farms systems.
Improved floodplain management is helping one country with the lowest levels of land to adapt to climate changes and protect the dual rice-fish production system. This system traditionally feeds a fast growing population where one in ten people experiences food insecurity.
Rice-fish farming uses the seasonal cycles of floodplain to support rice cultivation during the dry season and the raising nutritious fish for local consumption during monsoons that last about five months.
Bangladesh is currently implementing a community-based sustainable system of rice-fish production. WorldFishAn international non-profit dedicated to food security. Natural fertilizers such as fish droppings can reduce the effects of artificial fertilizers on soil and productivity. The floodplain is kept hydrated to prevent the release of greenhouse gases like methane, carbon dioxide, and other organic matter.
The shoring up of organic soil matter and moisture also improves the diversity of native fish species aided by enclosure fences with holes that allow small indigenous fish to move freely throughout the floodplain. This will increase both nutrition and reduce the dependence on high-emission imported foods.
Rice is a staple food of Bangladesh. But imports have been increasing.
2. Egypt
Egypt’s land mass is almost entirely comprised of desert. (96%) DesertThe country is suffering from an inexorable scarcity of fresh water and arable soil, a situation that has been exacerbated due to climate-induced extreme heat. The country also predicts that 12 to 15% of its most arable lands will be affected by saltwater intrusion and sea level rise.
An insatiable dependence on imported food, particularly grain, can be countered only by taking steps to green the desert. Acccording to the GAFF report, the SEKEM sustainable development initiative operating in the Egyptian desert since the 1970s is transforming arid desert landscapes through climate-positive and climate-resilient farming.
It employs tree planting, renewable energy SEKEM Claims its farms will run on 100% renewable energy by 2022 and improves soil fertility by planting legumes that fix nitrogen in the soil so as not to rely on pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Composting and companion planting are also part of an organic farming regime that aims to support food self-sufficiency at a time when the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization expects the productivity of Egyptian wheat and maize crops to fall by 15% and 19% respectively by 2050.
SEKEM’s “visioning of an entirely new paradigm” in food production is being continued Pilot project Wahat Greening DesertThe organization is currently transforming 10 kilometers (4 miles) of Egyptian desert into fertile agricultural land.
One of SEKEM’s desert farming projects is located in Egypt’s Bahariyya Oasis
3. Senegal
The West African country is one of the few to center agro-ecology and sustainable food production in its climate targets, or NDCs, since over 40% of national emissions come from agriculture. You can restore degraded soils with these measures. Major source of carbon dioxideSenegal’s food industry emission cuts will not only help meet climate goals but also address a food system that is, according to Haseeb Bakhtary, “fragile” and “vulnerable to climate impacts.”
It is located in the Western Sahel. Heating up at 1.5xSenegal is more vulnerable to food insecurity than the global average. In 2020, 17% of the population was considered “acutely hungry” and 7.5% were malnourished.
While Senegal has been a net exporter of fish in recent years, it imports around 70% of its staple food rice, wheat, corn, onions, palm oil, sugar, potatoes from beyond its borders. According to the report, this makes households more vulnerable to fluctuations on global markets.
It further notes that Senegal’s NDC is also trying to address this dependency by promoting healthy diets based on sustainable, locally grown food.
Senegal is known for its hot and dry climate
4. United States
The US is less affected by food insecurity than wastage. Between 30 and 50% of all food that is considered surplus means it is mostly thrown away.
Bakhtary estimates that if the US lost and wasted food were reduced by half by 2030, emissions reductions would be equivalent in removing 16 million cars from the road each year.
US food waste contributes to high food production sector climate effects agriculture is responsible almost 10% of GHG emission in a country which is the biggest historical GHG emitter.
The GAFF report states that mitigation measures should be targeted at monoculture farms that have low biodiversity, rely on pesticides, and use artificial fertilizer. However, a shift towards healthy, vegetarian diets could reduce the food system’s emissions by 32%.
An important effort to eliminate food loss and waste is underway. ReFED is a national non profit dedicated to ending food waste and food loss across the US. It works by changing consumer behaviour, optimizing harvests, and improving food product distribution. ReFED believes food wastage is a major problem that requires a comprehensive response from all stakeholders in the food value chain.
Edited by Tamsin Walker
