Climate change is seriously threatening the ability of regional Australia to produce food for export to countries facing food shortages.

 

According to the director of Charles Sturt University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society Prof Max Finlayson world-wide food shortages are viewed by many to be verging on disastrous.

 

“It is a situation which could be exacerbated by changing climatic conditions,” says Prof Finlayson who is presenting a paper on What are the climate change implications for food and water security: issues for regional Australia with A/Prof Peter Waterman, University of the Sunshine Coast. He is speaking at the Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia (SEGRA) 2008 conference in Albury on Monday, August 18.

 

Prof Finlayson said there were concerns over the impact of water shortages on the irrigation areas of the Murray-Darling Basin and the implications this has for Australia’s food security.

 

“For example, current climate change implications for food production in the Riverland region in Australia could potentially have a serious impact on Papua New Guinea,” he says.

 

“In 1997, over 100,000 people in Highland communities in PNG faced starvation due to food shortages brought about by an El Niño frost drought event that destroyed the sweet potato crop. Across PNG over 65% of the carbohydrate in people’s diets come from sweet potato. Catastrophe was averted because Australia was able to provide rice.”

 

Prof Finlayson says Australia is no longer able to provide such aid because the prolonged drought in south east Australia has seen the demise of the rice industry in the Riverlands.

 

“As Australia is a major agricultural exporter, changing agricultural production patterns in Australia will have implications for Australia’s and the world’s food security.”