Global action to address climate change—and its many impacts on food systems—has gathered momentum recently with developments like the first-ever UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) and the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow (COP26), both in 2021. To continue moving forward, a wide range of investments is required in climate-related research, development, policies, and programs related to food systems.
IFPRI’s 2022 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) aims to advance that goal, exploring opportunities for accelerated action in policy and investment decision-making for climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience. A July 21 GFPR launch event in New Delhi, organized by IFPRI’s South Asia Regional Office in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), examined prospects for climate investment and policy on the subcontinent and globally.
“India has the opportunity to make a difference at each stage of the food and agricultural policy value chain, said IFPRI South Asia Director Shahidur Rashid. From input use to production, distribution, and consumption, India can lead the way in developing and adopting climate-friendly policies. Additionally, India will be assuming the G20 presidency at the end of this year, and this places the country in a strategic position to foster dialogue towards a more sustainable and resilient food system.”
Channing Arndt, Director of IFPRI’s Environment and Production Technology Division, emphasized the importance of effective policies for critical food systems transformation to facilitate climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience to address intensifying climate impacts.
A panel discussion on “Perspectives on Climate Change and Food Systems in India,” moderated by P. K. Joshi, Secretary of India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), saw participation from development organizations, think tanks, and donors. “Adaption is very much important for our countries and our R&D systems, and interventions are needed to ensure financing for adaption efforts,” said Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
Ulac Demirag, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Country Director for India and Head of the South Asia Hub, noted that “the role of development partners and food systems actors is to put into practice the GFPR 2022 recommendations. IFAD is involved in piloting innovative approaches, partnering with governments to design solutions and implement projects, building capacity, and creating evidence.”
Even in a country like India, where food grain productivity and agriculture are strong and there’s often surplus produce and buffer stock, just a small fluctuation in temperature, if it persists, can gradually evolve into a shock. To tackle such a possibility, Ramesh Chand of NITI Aayog, the Indian government public policy think tank, suggested focusing on “3 Ps—product, practice and place” when dealing with climate change in agriculture. “We need to consider which is the most suitable product to be cultivated, whether the existing cultivation practices are sustainable, and if a place is suited for a particular cultivation, i.e., utilizing agro-climatic-regional planning,” Chand said.
Bornali Bhandari, Senior Fellow, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), emphasized the importance of green technology for farming equipment, faciliated through greater collaboration between academia and industry. “Innovations in solar-powered farm machinery are rising in India, and R&D efforts towards these can spill over to benefit countries in South Asia and Africa,” she said.
Purvi Mehta, Global Growth and Opportunities, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) observed, “It’s not just enough to talk about the solution, clear policy recommendations with the cost component, as in, a certain amount will be the cost that a country would incur to adapt to climate changes and what would be the return on investment. There is also a need to create incentives as to why a country should prioritize climate adaptation amongst all the other challenges it’s facing.”
For many years, the priority for India and many other countries has been primarily on raising food productivity, and this has also defined the research scene. “Our research agenda needs to be relooked at and reoriented; there has been an excessive emphasis on increasing agricultural productivity but not on resilience like drought or flood tolerance,” said Pratap Singh Birthal, Director and National Professor, ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NIAP).
Achieving the goals set for food systems will require inclusive approaches that consider all components of the food systems. Though the path towards sustainable food systems transformation is challenging, participants agreed, it is imperative to strengthen global efforts now more than ever.
Anisha Mohan is a Communications Associate with IFPRI-South Asia.
