www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/...uestions-answered
26 October 2021
Why do small-scale producers need to adapt to the impacts of climate change?
With climate change, the very terms on which agriculture operates are changing. Crop yields are falling, growing seasons are shifting, and less fresh water is available.
Extreme weather events like storms and drought devastate crops, kill livestock and destroy infrastructure. Climate change is expected to slash yields of staple crops by 50 – 90 per cent across southern Africa by 2050. Populations are growing, and desertification is causing arable land to shrink. In the Sahel, for example, millions of hectares of land are swallowed by the desert every year.
This is devastating for small-scale producers, as they don’t have the resources to compensate and adjust. The repercussions include hunger and poverty, civil unrest and conflict, and people migrating in search of better lives elsewhere.