Exploring the Nexus Between Food Security and Climate Change: The Case of Indigenous Vegetable Production in West Africa
Date
2019-04-18
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
0000-0002-6356-0385
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Climate change and food security are complex global issues that require multi-disciplinary approaches to resolve. A nexus exists between both disciplines, but little prior research has successfully bridged the divide. Climate data is usually coarse, outdated and challenging to acquire and work with, especially for farmers of West Africa. For impoverished nations, alleviating food insecurity, the inability to have access to safe and nutritious food year-round is a necessity. Accessing food is a significant challenge, as there exist many disconnects between farmers, marketers and consumers. If this disconnect can be bridged, new strategies can be undertaken to alleviate further stresses caused by food insecurity. Combining the struggles of the Benin Republic and Nigeria, the MicroVeg project set to create innovative strategies to help the farmers, across the entire food chain. MicroVeg established 102 research sites, and with a desire to continue scaling-up the project, a new approach was needed. Geographic information system (GIS) offered the solution, as large-scale visualization could be achieved. Through visualization tools, scaling-up could be achieved based on successes in the field. This technique also allowed for gaps and shortcomings of the research design to be identified, at the regional level.
To achieve the goals of the GIS database, a comprehensive dataset needed to be acquired. Many organizations collect data that is pertinent to a food security study, but no publicly known database has compiled all the necessary data. The GIS database combined factors such as precipitation, temperature, elevation, soil, and hydrology for the research area. The database was designed for farmers; thus, climate data had to be extremely high resolution. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and subsequent global climate models are very coarse datasets; although comparatively high in resolution, a regional climate model may still be to coarse in resolution for the farmers.
Once the necessary data was obtained, analysis using GIS techniques could proceed. Through the visualization, combination, and calculations of data, the potential capacity of each crop within the research project could be observed. These results can be used as communication and research tools.
Though controversial, climate change is going to have some effect on the agricultural systems of the world. Moreover, if a region is already facing food insecurity before any effects of climate
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change, this can exacerbate the challenges to food security. Therefore, an assessment of how climate change effects may impact the region was undertaken. By adding climate estimates from IPCC to the visualization method, a model known as Scaling Agronomic Vegetable Innovations to Nurture Growth Sustainably, SAVINGS, was developed. Through the use of this model, researchers can develop a management strategy for the crops of interest. Additional benefits of the model are for farmers to understand the risk they may need to take to continue farming a specific crop, or by using a specific method.
SAVINGS was designed to be a dynamic model, with improvements being made as data becomes available. Associated with the SAVINGS model are a series of calculations and datasets, which have been combined into an online interactive database, known as WebGIS. By using these resources as communication and management tools the farmers of West Africa, not just the Benin Republic and Nigeria, have the potential to alleviate food insecurity within a lifespan.
Description
Keywords
Food Security, Climate Change, webGIS
Citation
Degree
Master of Environment and Sustainability (M.E.S.)
Department
School of Environment and Sustainability
Program
Environment and Sustainability