A model has been developed to study the sensitivity of African animal husbandry decisions to climate. A survey of over 5,000 livestock farmers in ten countries of Africa reveals that the selection of species, the net income per animal, and the number of animals on a farm are all highly dependent on climate. In general, all species will be adversely affected by warming and there will be fewer animals per farm as a result.

Beef cattle are especially vulnerable all over African continent. Climate change is expected to determine a decrease in beef cattle and an increase in sheep and goats. Consequently, it is anticipated that farmers will switch from beef cattle as temperature rises. The net profitability of livestock will be reduced and farmers will reduce their investments in livestock accordingly. In contrast, smallholder farmers who are able to switch to sheep and goats may not be as vulnerable to higher temperatures as large-scale farmers who cannot make this switch. In these circumstances, small holder farmers in Africa are better able to adapt to climate change than their larger, more modern counter parts.

Precipitation also plays an important role in climate change. Scenarios with less precipitation are predicted to be less harmful. Although pasture and ecosystems are more productive with more precipitation, lower precipitation may help reduce animal diseases that are quite significant for livestock in Africa. As long as there is sufficient moisture to support grasslands, a reduction in precipitation from high to moderate levels appears to be beneficial for livestock.

WFP Launches Carbon Footprint Calculator

World Food Programme (WFP) launched a carbon emissions calculator for all flights booked by the organization. This new electronic tool can record the total amount of carbon dioxide or "greenhouse gas" emissions from any flight, giving WFP a way to measure and track the effect it has on the environment.

The objective of carbon emissions calculator is to be able to both track and report on our travel patterns. By measuring and monitoring carbon footprint in travel, WFP can better understand where to concentrate attention to minimize their impact on the planet. The next steps are to reduce emissions and then find ways to compensate for emissions that cannot be avoided.

Building awareness is also an essential element of the new carbon emissions calculator. All hope this will make people more conscious when they decide to travel, if the travel isn't essential. The study points out that business-class passengers create approximately twice the climate footprint of economy class travelers. Therefore, based on the information the carbon footprint calculator produces, which is useful to decide how carbon emissions can reduce and where to reduce. 

 Impact of climate change on farm sector not addressed

A panel of experts participating in a national conference on ‘Ensuring Food Security in a Changing Climate' organized by Gene Campaign has observed that the Central government of India has so far not addressed the problem of climate change impact on agriculture and food sector. It is estimated that agriculture in the productive areas of South Asia will be amongst the worst affected, with predictions that almost 40 per cent of the production potential could be lost and the government is unprepared to meet the problem. Adapting agriculture to climate change is the key to reducing its impact on agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods and to minimize this impact, the government must extend specific budgetary support to the water, food and agriculture sectors, the conference concluded. A fisheries expert observed change in the rise in the sea surface temperatures, breeding ground and the spawning seasons due to which the stocks of are diminishing.

A Research warned that the food production variability would increase with time due to the frequent occurrence of floods and droughts and therefore there was urgent need to work on developing adaptation strategies. Suman Sahai of the Gene Campaign hinted that climate change would bring about turbulence in all agriculture production systems. Therefore, the greater the genetic variability in hand, the better would be the coping capacity of farmers.

The conference also suggests that biogas technology has to be adapted for mitigation of greenhouse gases from biomass and developing long-term land use plans for ensuring food security.

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