AFRICA: Finding the food crops of the future – What will we be able to grow in another 40 years?
JOHANNESBURG, 24 February 2010 (IRIN): Temperatures seem set to soar to perilously high levels because of climate change.
In another 40 years, would maize still be the staple food in Kenya, already hit by five failed rainy seasons? If not, what could people grow and eat? And if you could grow maize, how much water and fertilizer would it need?
If you live in the remote semi-arid Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda – beset by 14 droughts in 25 years – you might also want to know what your options are for continued food security.
For the first time, a customized regional climate model linked to crop growing and water models, run on a supercomputer at the US Michigan State University (MSU), will help provide crop bree-ders in three East African countries – Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania – with detailed answers on crop yields.
Many research institutions have been working on models to predict the impact of climate change on food production in Africa, but in a few months the MSU model will help scientists and breeders to zoom in at a regional level on the possible impact of climate change on a wide variety of crops in these countries.
The research could help produce climate-resilient varieties of food crops, said Jennifer Olson, lead researcher and associate professor at MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences.
– East Africa is already experiencing the impact of climate change – food crops are experiencing extreme water stress, she commented.
People living in Kenyas highlands, who have traditionally grown tea and coffee, have begun experimenting with maize and beans as the climate has grown warmer.
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