Development agencies have pledged USD200 milllion to help the global agricultural sector prepare for effects of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to agricultural research groups.
The money will support research on how to ensure food security for the world’s growing population amid climate change threats such as intense floods and droughts, Reuters reports.
The World Bank, India, China and Brazil are supporting the program, which is due to be launched in the Cancun climate summit slated for Nov. 29 to Dec. 10, Bloomberg says.
“The food security challenge facing us as humans is large,” Gerald Nelson, a senior research fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, said to Reuters Nov. 17.
Due to climate change, the global potential to produce food could shrink by 5 percent to 10 percent by 2050 following an average increase through 2020, said Andy Jarvis, an agriculture policy expert at the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture.
