The Growing Crisis: How Climate Change Is Worsening Food Insecurity and Poverty in Developing Nations

Every human being depends on food daily for survival, and lack of access to food is a major element of poverty. Climate change impacts global food security in both underdeveloped and developed nations by impeding food production through severe weather conditions such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts. These extreme weather events result in livestock losses, decreased crop yield, and reduced food production, creating a cycle that deepens poverty and hunger.

For Maria*, a small-scale farmer in rural Ethiopia, this reality is lived daily. Once able to feed her family and sell surplus crops at the local market, she now struggles to produce enough food even for basic sustenance. The seasonal rains that once reliably watered her fields have become erratic—sometimes absent for extended periods, other times arriving with such intensity that they wash away the fragile topsoil and young seedlings.

As we examine the complex relationship between climate change, food insecurity, and poverty, it becomes clear that these are not distant threats but present realities for millions of people, particularly in developing economies. With global temperatures continuing to rise and weather patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable, understanding and addressing this crisis has never been more urgent.

Climate change risk to food security encompasses multiple dimensions: the failure of livestock and crops, interference in food distribution due to flooding and drought, and the variability in rainfall and global warming. These impacts are particularly severe for vulnerable populations and food-insecure households that already suffer from social discrimination, lower access to food, and lower income.

Extreme climate patterns, such as uneven rainfall, lead to shortages in food production and reduced harvest yields, especially in countries that depend primarily on rainfall for agriculture. Natural disasters like cyclones can destroy crops and damage farmland, exacerbating food insecurity. Livestock mortality due to severe heat conditions negatively affects protein sources and the livelihoods of pastoralists and small-scale farmers.

Beyond direct production impacts, changing climatic conditions cause volatility in food prices, making it increasingly difficult for vulnerable families to access adequate nutrition. The economic pressure can become so severe that it leads to farm displacement and migration, as farmers abandon their lands in search of more viable livelihoods elsewhere.

Attaining Zero Hunger by 2030—one of the ambitious targets of Sustainable Development Goal 2—faces significant challenges due to the escalating impacts of climate change. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2.3 billion people worldwide are malnourished, and 811 million are undernourished. The situation continues to worsen at an alarming rate.

The 2022 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reported disturbing figures: 32.3 million food-insecure people are classified in the 'emergency stage,' 112.3 million in the 'crisis stage,' and 210 million in the 'stressed stage.' Between 2019 and June 2022, the number of people facing acute food insecurity increased by 210 million, exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war that disrupted global supply chains and the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.

In 2021 alone, high food prices increased the number of food-insecure people in developing countries by 30 million. Eight out of every ten persons vulnerable to hunger and crop failures due to climate change live in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, where farming households are predominantly poor. For example, adverse drought resulting from El Niño climate patterns has pushed more households into food insecurity and poverty throughout these regions.

Climate change affects not only food prices but also food quality and nutritional content. Data from the FAO reports that in Sub-Saharan Africa, post-disaster production losses result in 82 days of calorie intake per capita per year, or an annual dietary energy supply loss of 204,000 calories. In the Caribbean and Latin America, livestock and crop production losses amount to 142 days of calories or an average yearly loss per capita of 355,000 calories.

The top ten crops cultivated globally have been severely impacted by climate change, leading to a considerable reduction (1 percent) in calorie intake, especially in Australia, Southern Africa, and Europe. While increased carbon dioxide and rising temperatures can be advantageous to crops up to a specific point, evapotranspiration from soils and plants can be exacerbated by rising temperatures, resulting in insufficient soil moisture needed for optimal crop yield.

In regions where water is already scarce, climate change will have a significant effect on food and livestock production through heat stress and reduced water supplies. Rising widespread diseases and pests due to changing weather events further impact food production and cause additional crop yield losses.

When global average temperatures rise above 2 degrees Celsius, adaptation becomes extremely difficult and expensive. In South Asia and the Sahel belt of Africa, regions already marked by high temperatures, there is a greater impact on crops, especially heat-sensitive varieties such as wheat. If adequate solutions and innovations are not implemented quickly, particularly in developing nations already battling food insecurity, by 2030, approximately 43 million more Africans may be pushed into poverty due to food insecurity.

The trend of climate-induced food insecurity may continue because of low technological innovation, poor infrastructure, weak policies, financial constraints, and persistent reliance of small-scale farmers and vulnerable households in developing economies on irregular rainfall. These factors make it difficult for developing economies to address climate change issues in vulnerable regions.

Moreover, climate-related disasters around the globe have risen dramatically in the last decade. Compared to the 1980s, when approximately 100 natural disasters were recorded yearly, by the 2010s, this number had more than tripled to 360 natural disasters annually.

• International Initiatives
  

  The 2021-2025 Climate Change Action Plan by the World Bank Group is designing frameworks to enhance climate-smart agriculture across the food value chain through technological innovations, agricultural policies, programs, and initiatives. These efforts aim to boost food production, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and improve crop resilience.

  The World Bank also assists developing countries and food-insecure nations in addressing food waste and loss and managing risks due to drought and flood. For instance, the World Bank is supporting a project in Niger Republic focused on helping 500,000 pastoralists and farmers in 44 villages and communities through expanded usage of forestry for conservation agriculture methods, more adaptable irrigation systems, and distribution of improved drought-resistant seeds.

  Since its inception, this project has assisted 336,518 pastoralists and farmers to manage their farmlands more effectively and has encouraged sustainable farming practices in approximately 79,938 hectares of farmlands in Niger Republic.

• Adaptation Strategies
  

  To resolve climate-induced food insecurity, governments, pastoralists, policymakers, and small-scale farmers must implement adaptation strategies by heeding disaster readiness measures and early warning signals. Investments in sustainable agricultural practices are necessary, along with collaboration with developed nations for resources to aid adaptation programs.

  Climate-smart agriculture techniques, such as conservation tillage, agroforestry, and improved water management, can help farmers maintain productivity even as climate conditions change. These practices not only enhance resilience but also contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing emissions and increasing carbon sequestration in soils and vegetation.

• Community-Based Approaches
  

  Local knowledge and community-based approaches are increasingly recognized as vital components of effective adaptation strategies. Indigenous farming techniques that have evolved over generations often contain inherent resilience to climate variability. Integrating these traditional practices with modern scientific innovations can create powerful solutions tailored to local conditions.

  Community seed banks, farmer field schools, and knowledge-sharing networks enable small-scale farmers to access a wider range of crop varieties and farming techniques, increasing their options for adaptation. Collective action also strengthens farmers' capacity to advocate for supportive policies and access resources needed for climate adaptation.

The intersection of climate change, food insecurity, and poverty presents one of the most significant challenges of our time. As global temperatures continue to rise and weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable, the impacts on food systems and vulnerable populations will only intensify without decisive action.

The path forward requires a multifaceted approach: robust climate action to reduce emissions and limit temperature rise; targeted investments in climate-smart agriculture and rural infrastructure; strengthened social protection systems to support the most vulnerable; and international cooperation to ensure resources and technologies reach those who need them most.

For the millions like Maria* who face the daily reality of climate impacts on their food security and livelihoods, these actions cannot come soon enough. The challenge is immense, but with coordinated efforts at local, national, and global levels, it is still possible to build a more resilient, food-secure future even in the face of a changing climate.