Climate Change Likely to Cause Food Production Drop By 30% In Africa

Climate change is likely to adversely affect sub-Saharan Africa's food production if left unchecked - a new study conducted by Agricultural Council of Tanzania (ACT) warns. The research done by different scientists in Africa has shown that production of important crops especially maize will decrease by 30 percent over the next 20 years due to the effect of climate change. The most affected areas according to scientists are in the Southern and Eastern Africa.

Speaking during a workshop organized by ACT in Dar-es-Salaam, the Assistant Director of Environment in the Office of the Vice President Mr. Richard Muyungi noted that apart from floods, droughts and new diseases to crops and livestock the rain seasons have also changed and this will certainly affect small scale farmers who do not know specific periods for farming. "The effect of climate change is huge and will continue to affect different parts of the continent. To increase productivity, farmers will be forced to use genetically modified organisms (GMOs)", he said.  Muyungi advised the government to increase efforts in providing irrigation technology and inputs to small scale farmers to raise their productivity.

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