Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture: Evidence and Predictions

The impacts of climate change on agriculture are both positive and negative. The effects of climate change on agriculture and food security are also direct and indirect in nature. It impacted soil carbon losses, freshwater availability, crop yield, livestock production, fish migration, spawning, etc. directly. And, at the same time, it causes frequent floods, drought, salinity, heat stress, and an unprecedented tropical cyclone that threatens food security and biodiversity. Evidence of positive and negative effects of climate change on agriculture are clear cut. Moreover, the predicted climate change consequences are also going to adversely affect agriculture and food security in the near future. Specifically, the productivity of major field crops like rice, wheat, maize, soybean as well as millet and sorghum would be affected. The impacts on fruits and vegetables are widely varied and primarily depend on latitude and region of cultivation. The CO2 fertilization effect is positive for most of the C3 crops but up to a certain temperature rise. In the livestock sector, pastoral system productivity is going to be reduced along with lower animal growth rates and productivity, higher pests and disease incidence, and loss of biodiversity. This sector is also likely to be adversely affected differently in different regions by rising temperatures, water scarcity, and low-quality feed supply, and the spreading of unexpected diseases. The vulnerability of rangeland (both productivity and composition) and pastoral systems to climate change is reasonably high. Moreover, the pests and diseases outbreak with altered vectors for both crop and livestock are going to take different dimensions in future climate change scenarios.