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Farmers and pastoralists throughout Africa could soon be confronting a dual threat, thanks to this year’s potentially record-breaking El Niño phenomenon. The weather system has the potential to cause both severe drought and significant flooding throughout the continent, leading to reduced or damaged crops, income losses, and increased food insecurity for many of the region’s poorest populations.

Depuis la déclaration des objectifs du millénaire pour le développement des Nations unies en 2000, le monde a fait des progrès considérables pour réduire la faim. Cependant, on estime que 200 millions d'Africains continuent de souffrir de malnutrition chronique et que cinq millions de personnes meurent encore chaque année des conséquences de la faim.

Ce blog a été initialement publié sur le blog du CCAFS. Écrit par John Francis Okiror, stagiaire en communication, Institut international d'agriculture tropicale (IITA), Ouganda.

The latest CGIAR report on the impact of climate change on African agriculture argues that increased regional temperatures and a greater risk of pests and diseases will affect crop, livestock, and fisheries productivity throughout Africa. Without effective adaptation measures, regional production of maize and beans could decrease by up to 40% relative to the period 1970-2000, leaving areas like Eastern and Southern Africa with a need to rapidly adapt in order to improve and ensure food security.

Conversations about climate change often focus on future effects, but according to the latest Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, changes to the global climate have already had a significant impact on food production. Global agricultural productivity has declined over the past 30 years by 1-5 percent per decade, and this deterioration is expected to continue, even if we only experience low levels of warming (+2 ºC).