Recent Research on Climate Change and Food Security

The ability of food systems to respond to climate change is both exciting and underappreciated. This chapter examines potential producer and consumer responses to climate change, their ability to mitigate otherwise negative effects on food security, and the role of public and private organizations in investing in adaptation when individual responses are inadequate. This research, on the other hand, attempted to delve into the literature on climate change and adaptation policies by looking into the relationship between climate change and food security, adaptation, and agriculture in developing countries, specifically Malaysia. It is necessary to address some important issues concerning climate change and food security in this chapter in order to gain a better understanding of adaptation concepts and climate change as they relate to food security. Many studies have highlighted the negative net impact of climate change on agriculture. Most studies have shown that Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, with the majority of people reliant on climate-sensitive agricultural systems. According to a review of the literature on food security issues, food production alone would not be able to contribute to overall food security because food production is dependent on a variety of climatic conditions and factors. Many reports in particular define the negative effects based on forecasts for various time segments and suggest that the amount of rainfall is decreasing in trend and will continue to decrease in the future with some uncertainty regarding its amount. Although a mild rise in temperature (between 1 and 3 °C) may support food production in temperate regions, it may have a negative effect in tropical and seasonally dry areas. Furthermore, this study discovered a scarcity of studies on adaptive capacities in developing countries that represent the introduction of a certain level of adaptation alternative that can be used as a benchmark for measuring food security or food sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to discuss the different climate change adaptive capacities and concerns for food sustainability particularly in Malaysian context.