The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has called for urgent action and innovative solutions to address global food insecurity
Deputy Director-General of the FAO, Beth Bechdol made this known on Tuesday at the United Nations Security Council High-Level Open Debate.
The event entitled “The Impact of Climate Change and Food Insecurity on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security”, the signature event of Guyana’s presidency, was chaired by President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana bringing together over 80 Member States. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres delivered his opening remarks stressing that climate disasters and conflict both inflame inequalities, imperil livelihoods, and force people from their homes.
The other briefers included Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell; and Jimena Leiva Roesch, the Director of Global Initiatives and Head of Peace, Climate, and Sustainable Development at the International Peace Institute.
In her address, Bechdol pointed out that increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and greater frequency of climate extremes were becoming more intense, compromising food security and stability.
“The climate crisis spares no one, but it does not affect everyone equally or in the same way,” she said. “We know that the populations at greatest risk are those that depend on agriculture and natural resources – they live in rural areas and they are farmers themselves.” The Deputy Director-General added that such populations were also prone to disputes arising from the scarcity of natural resources.
According to the 2023 Global Report on Food Crises, 258 million people in 58 countries are facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above), with over two-thirds or 174 million people falling under this category because of climate and conflict.
“Climate change will undo progress made in alleviating hunger, but as it intensifies it will create further disruptions and continue to be a driver of conflict”, she said, noting that according to some projections, 10 percent of the currently suitable area for major crops and livestock could be climatically unsuitable by mid-century under high emission scenarios.
To this end, Bechdol highlighted the need for equipping farmers and communities with tools to prepare for, and respond to, these crises and to recover quickly from them. “We are seeing the results of our efforts in building resilience of rural communities in places like Afghanistan”, she said, pointing to the decline of the population facing acute food insecurity in the country.
