Climate change and food security: risks and responses

Favourable conditions for all production will move geographically
. Optimizing these 
conditions will thus require changes in crops, livestock, trees, and aquatic species breeding 
and management. To benefit from potential positive effects, such as longer growing seasons 
in some cold regions, would, in most cases, require significant changes in agricultural systems 
and practices, to adapt to new conditions and counteract potential negative changes, such as 
proliferation of pests, in order to effectively translate into production growth. 
Impacts on production translate into economic and social consequences, affecting 
food security 
Impact translates from climate to the environment, to the productive sphere, to economic and 
social dimensions, bringing a range of additional risks on availability of food, on access to food 
and utilization of food, as well as on the stability of these characteristics, for both farm and 
non-farm households. 
At the farm/household level
, climate change impacts may reduce income level and 
stability, through effects on productivity, production costs or prices. Such variations can drive 
sales of productive capital, such as cattle, which reduces long-term household productive 
capacity. Exposure to risks lowers incentives to invest in production systems, often with 
negative impacts on long-term productivity, returns and sustainability. Reductions and 
risks to agricultural income have also been shown to have effects on household capacity and 
willingness to spend on health and education. Evidence from recent analyses of the impacts of 
various types of weather anomalies on farm income indicates that the impacts are greatest for 
the poorest farmers.
At national level
, exposure to climate risks can trigger shocks on agricultural production 
and food availability, with risks of market disruptions, effects on supply and storage systems, 
as well as increases in agricultural commodity prices (food and feed), impacting accessibility 
and stability of food supplies for the entire population, particularly in countries with 
significant shares of the population spending a large part of their income on food. This triggers 
macro-economic effects for countries for which agriculture is an important part of GDP and/
or constitutes an important source of employment. Climatic risks can also hinder agricultural 
development by discouraging investments. 
At global level
, climatic shocks impacting areas of global importance for food supplies can 
have remote impacts through effects on: (i) supply flows and food price spikes, with increased 
market volatility; and (ii) impacts on bilateral contracts and/or import/export behaviour, 

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Summary