The Department of International Development has announced it will give £37m in overseas aid to help some of the world’s poorest farmers adapt to climate change.
International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said there was an ‘urgent’ need for new crops that could survive floods, droughts and storms.
He added: “We need to develop crops that can survive a future blighted by the floods, droughts, rising temperatures and natural disasters that climate change may bring. Innovation during the Green Revolution led to huge increases in food production across the world.
"We now need similar scientific breakthroughs to make sure millions of the world’s poorest do not go hungry as a result of climate change.”
The department is offering £37 million in 2010/11 to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, which supports research into crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry and the environment, and develops new technologies and techniques. It’s recent work has included a new variety of flood-resistant ‘scuba’ rice (case study here). The department expects a nine-fold return on every pound invested in terms of additional food being produced in developing countries.
NFU comment
“We would endorse this work as an important part of the UK response alongside work looking at our domestic response to climate change.”
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