2023年灾害对农业和粮食安全的影响-英-168页_20mb

Summary of "The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2023 - Avoiding and reducing losses through investment in resilience"

Core Content

This report, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of disasters on agriculture and food security over the past three decades. It highlights the growing threat posed by climate-related and non-climate-related disasters, emphasizing the need for increased investment in resilience to reduce losses and support sustainable agrifood systems.

Main Points and Key Findings

1. Global Impact of Disasters on Agriculture

• Magnitude of Losses: Over the last 30 years, an estimated USD 3.8 trillion worth of crops and livestock production has been lost due to disaster events.
• Annual Losses: This corresponds to an average of USD 123 billion in annual losses, or 5% of global agricultural GDP.
• Regional Disparities: Lower- and lower-middle-income countries have experienced the highest relative losses, ranging between 10% and 15% of their total agricultural GDP.
• Small Island Developing States (SIDS): These countries have also suffered significant losses, losing nearly 7% of their agricultural GDP due to disasters.

2. Multifaceted Impacts of Disasters

• Disasters affect various aspects of agriculture, including production, value chains, employment, and nutrition.
• They have cascading effects across agrifood systems, impacting not only the agricultural sector but also food security and livelihoods.

3. Key Disaster Types and Their Impacts

• The report covers a wide range of hazards, including floods, droughts, wildfires, storms, and pest outbreaks.
• Data on disaster impacts is partial and inconsistent, especially in fisheries, aquaculture, and forestry, which underscores the need for better data collection systems.

4. Climate Change as a Major Risk Driver

• Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters, which in turn are affecting agricultural production and food security.
• The report includes four case studies that demonstrate the impact of climate change on crop yields, showing a clear link between climate change and agricultural losses.

5. Pandemics and Armed Conflicts

• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and African swine fever on agriculture and food security has been significant, affecting supply chains, market access, and input availability.
• Armed conflicts have also caused substantial damage to agricultural infrastructure and disrupted food production and distribution.

6. Investment in Resilience

• Proactive interventions, such as anticipatory action and farm-level disaster risk reduction (DRR), can prevent and reduce losses.
• These interventions are supported by early warning systems and risk-informed practices that help build resilience in vulnerable communities.

7. Return on Investment in DRR

• The report provides benefit-cost ratios (BCR) for various DRR interventions, showing that investing in resilience can yield substantial returns.
• Examples include the use of ridge sowing of cotton in Pakistan and green super rice in the Philippines, both of which demonstrate cost-effective DRR practices.

8. Case Studies and Practical Solutions

• The desert locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa is used as a case study to show how combining preventative control and anticipatory action can reduce agricultural losses.
• The 2020-2021 desert locust emergency in Uganda highlights the effectiveness of mulching, contour trenches, and improved varieties in mitigating disaster impacts.

Key Messages

• Disasters are causing unprecedented damage to agriculture and food security globally.
• The frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters are increasing, leading to greater economic and social impacts.
• Better data collection and analysis are essential to support evidence-based policies and practices for disaster risk reduction.
• Investment in resilience is crucial to avoid and reduce losses in agriculture.
• Climate change, pandemics, and armed conflicts are major drivers of disaster risk in the agrifood sector.
• Proactive and timely interventions, including early warning systems and DRR practices, can significantly reduce the impact of disasters on agriculture.

Conclusion

This report is a critical contribution to understanding the global impact of disasters on agriculture and food security. It underscores the importance of integrating disaster risk reduction into agricultural policies and practices, and highlights the need for investment in resilience to ensure more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agrifood systems for the future.