Climate change and food production

All of us know that food production depends on availability of water. Paddy and sugarcane require plenty of water for its cultivation. If availability of water is abundant the yield of these crops will be phenomenal. They are called ‘nanjai' crops in Tamil. There are other crops like maize, ragi, etc. These crops require less water. They are called ‘punjai' crops. Therefore it is quite obvious that any crop requires timely supply of water. However, water availability depends on climate. Of late, due to green house effect climates the world over are changing. These days the climate has become unpredictable. It has become erratic. Some time there is unprecedented down pour flooding the agricultural land and thus destroying the crops and other times there is drought. Such climatic condition affects food production to a great extent. Climate change is set to do far worse damage to global food production than even the gloomiest of previous forecasts, according to studies presented at the Royal Society in London, UK. Agriculture is highly sensitive to climate variability and weather extremes, such as droughts, floods and severe storms. The forces that shape our climate are also critical to farm productivity. Human activity has already changed atmospheric characteristics such as temperature, rainfall, levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ground level ozone. The scientific community expects such trends to continue. While food production may benefit from a warmer climate, the increased potential for droughts, floods and heat waves will pose challenges for farmers. Additionally, the enduring changes in climate, water supply and soil moisture could make it less feasible to continue crop production in certain regions. Most researchers believe that higher temperatures and droughts caused by climate change will depress crop yields in many places in the coming decades. The main drivers of agricultural responses to climate change are biophysical effects and socio-economic factors. Crop production is affected biophysically by meteorological variables, including rising temperatures, changing precipitation regimes, and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Biophysical effects of climate change on agricultural production will be positive in some agricultural systems and regions, and negative in others, and these effects will vary through time. Socio-economic factors influence responses to changes in crop productivity, with price changes and shifts in comparative advantage. The power of this lies, in coupling of biophysical (yield functions) and socio-economic methods, yielding answers that are otherwise impossible to elaborate when using the two approaches separately. The paper discusses in detail the current climate change, international concern for climate change, its strong effect offood production and the concern for food security.