"Africa's climate is highly variable and is particularly vulnerable to climate change, as farming depends to a greater extent on geography and the quality of the rainy seasons. We are already witnessing increasing frequencies of natural hazards and disasters as well as extreme weather events," said Nkoana-Mashabana in her capacity as facilitator of the 17th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Durban in November.
The minister said increased droughts and temperatures on the continent were having a serious impact on agricultural production and food availability. "Drought negatively affects national economies and reduces the countries' ability to export crops and general foreign currency," she said.
Agriculture is set to contribute 30% of gross domestic product in Sub-Saharan Africa and may employ 70% of the labour force.
The conference - organised by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries - seeks to share experiences among African states in the arena of leadership perspectives and analyse the meaning of climate smart agriculture. Climate smart agriculture includes, among other things, making agricultural yields more resilient to climate change. Read the full report here.
Source: Business Live.
