CHAPTER ELEVEN

Food Value Chains

Increasing Productivity, Sustainability, and Resilience to Climate Change

Alan de Brauw and Grazia Pacillo

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Climate change will require adaptation all along food value chains, from crop production to consumption, to prevent disruptions and food waste

Key nodes along food value chains, from crop production patterns to consumption, will have to adapt in response to climate change.
Higher temperatures and humidity resulting from climate change will lower on-farm productivity and increase food spoilage and contamination along food value chains, with implications for food prices and nutrition.
Consumer demand for sustainably produced products can create incentives for upstream change in value chains, but can also jeopardize livelihoods of poor farmers.
Climate change is a threat multiplier. Resource scarcity and food insecurity can trigger grievances and conflict, and further disrupt value chains, especially amid widespread inequality.

Three action-ready solutions can begin to address climate change impacts in food value chains:

Monitor the impacts of climate change, especially for vulnerable populations. Governments must monitor consumption, with particular attention to ensuring poverty does not increase and diets do not deteriorate.
Create an enabling environment for cold chain development. In the value chain midstream, cold chains can reduce food loss and waste. However, growth of private sector investment will depend on government provision of adequate infrastructure.
Support simple, low-cost options to reduce aflatoxins. At the local level, appropriate technologies to reduce aflatoxin contamination are available for all farmers and aggregators. Farmers will need government or NGO assistance to understand their options for reducing aflatoxin risks.

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