Essay on The Effects Of Climate Change On Agriculture

National Geographic’s article on Farming and Agriculture states that, “40 percent of the Earth 's land is now given over to agriculture” (Owen, 1). This means the amount of land susceptible to the detrimental effects of climate change is incredibly vast. The Farming and Agriculture article also notes that, “maps suggest that an area roughly the size of South America is used for crop production, while even more land; 7.9 to 8.9 billion acres (3.2 to 3.6 billion) is being used to raise livestock” (Owen, 1). EPA.gov states that the United States alone supply 25% of grain to the global market. The effects of climate change on agriculture again coincide with increase in CO2 levels. When temperature increases occur, it can affect a plant’s ability to grow and reduce or reverse its usual yield rate (EPA.gov). The idea of food security is at risk when it comes to climate change. A study done by scientists from Columbia University in New York City, performed an experiment based on a hypothesis that developing countries would have a higher level of impact from climate change. They chose to perform their tests on Sub-Saharan Africa terrain. With territory that already experienced a 10% decrease in the past 20 years, the results received were as many expected. Environmentally, they concluded that, “Under current climate, AEZ computes that two-thirds of the global land surface, some 8.9 billion hectares, suffer severe constraints for crop cultivation: 13.2% is too cold, 26.5% is too…