Countries in East, West, Middle, and Southern Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria, have been grappling with soaring food prices due to extreme climate and weather events such as floods, landslides, droughts, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The war in Ukraine is having a drastic negative impact.

Russia’s invasion has pushed global food prices to new heights. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Food Price Index, a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, increased 12.6 percent from February to March. The March index is the highest it has been since the measure was created in the 1990s.

Changes in ozone, greenhouse gases, and climate change affect agricultural producers greatly because agriculture and fisheries depend on specific climate conditions. Temperature changes can cause habitat ranges and crop planting dates to shift and droughts and floods due to climate change may hinder farming practices.

EPA

It is predicted that we need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in developed countries by at least 80% by 2050 in order to prevent a rise in temperature globally. Current methods of factory farming contribute to the climate change challenge, releasing vast volumes of greenhouse gases.

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) is a collaborative group of scientists, government agencies, NGO’s, private industries, and agricultural and environmental concerns that work together to bring the plight of pollinators to national attention and to be the most trusted resource for information and behaviors in support of pollinating animals and the plants with which they interact. NAPPC works for all species of pollinators across the whole of North America. NAPPC partners have formed specialist task forces to address all the issues that face pollinators, and one such group is the NAPPC Honey Bee Health Task Force. Polinator.org

Pollinators are vital to creating and maintaining the habitats and ecosystems that many animals rely on for food and shelter. Worldwide, over half the diet of fats and oils comes from crops pollinated by animals. They facilitate the reproduction of 90% of the world's flowering plants.

The Covid 19 pandemic demonstrated to us how fragile food systems are. Panic and shortages left shelves empty and basic items on backorder. On a positive note, a surge in interest in growing food locally has occurred. Local farming, community gardens, and programs to end food waste are critical in a changing world. Food insecurity will increase if climate change is not addressed.

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. Here’s why fresh, local produce is so important: