Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-5 (section)

=== FAQ 5.4: What are effective adaptation strategies for improving food security in a warming world? ===

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''A variety of adaptation options exist to improve food security in a warming world. Examples of adaptation for crop production include crop management and livelihood diversification. For livestock-based systems, an example is matching number of animals with the production capacity of pastures. For fisheries, eliminating overfishing is an effective adaptation practice. For mixed cropping and nature-based systems, an appropriate adaptation is agroforestry.''

Adaptation strategies to enhance food security vary from farm-level interventions to national policies and international agreements. They cover the following dimensions of food security: availability, access, utilisation (food quality and safety) and stability.

For the production of crops, adaptation strategies include field and farm-level options such as crop management, livelihood diversification and social protection such as crop insurance. The most common field management options are changes in planting schedules, crop varieties, fertilizers and irrigation. For example, farmers can shift their planting schedules in response to the early or late onset of the rainy season. Moreover, there are new crop insurance schemes that are based on changes in weather patterns.

For livestock-based systems, adaptation options include matching the number of animals with the production capacity of pastures; adjusting water management based on seasonal and spatial patterns of forage production; managing animal diet; more effective use of fodder, rotational grazing; fire management to control woody thickening of grass; using more suitable livestock breeds or species; migratory pastoralist activities; and activities to monitor and manage the spread of pests, weeds and diseases.

For ocean and inland fisheries, adaptation options are primarily concentrated in the socioeconomic dimension and governance and management. In general, eliminating overfishing could help rebuild fish stocks, reduce ecosystem impacts, and increase fishing’s adaptive capacity. Aquaculture is often viewed as an adaptation option for fisheries declines. However, there are adaptation strategies specific to aquaculture, including proper species selections at the operational level, such as the cultivation of brackish species (shrimp, crabs) in inland ponds during dry seasons and rice–freshwater finfish in wetter seasons.

For so-called mixed farming systems that produce a combination of crops, livestock, fish and trees, these systems’ inherent diversity provides a solid platform for adaptation. A good example is agroforestry, the purposeful integration of trees or shrubs with crop or livestock systems, which increases resilience against climate risks.

Overall, nature-based systems or ecosystem-based strategies in food systems, such as agroecology, can be a useful adaptation method to increase wild and cultivated food sources. Agroecological practices include agroforestry, intercropping, increasing biodiversity, crop and pasture rotation, adding organic amendments, integration of livestock into mixed systems, cover crops and minimising toxic and synthetic inputs with adverse health and environmental impacts.

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