Policy Briefs

Climate Change, Food, and Water Security in South Asia: A Crisis We Can’t Ignore

By Ms Gitasri Pani

🌡️ A Region Heating Up Fast

South Asia is heating at twice the global average, according to a 2024 report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

  • Temperature rise: Since pre-industrial times, South Asia’s average temperature has increased by 1.2–1.5°C, with urban centers like Delhi and Dhaka sometimes recording summer temperatures above 45°C.
  • Extreme events:
    • New Delhi, India (August 2024): Flash floods affected more than 50,000 households, disrupting power and transport for days.
    • Lahore, Pakistan (July 2024): Over 300 mm of rain fell in 48 hours, causing urban flooding that displaced over 150,000 people.
  • Himalayan melt: A UNDP study (2024) reported that glaciers feeding the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra rivers are retreating at a rate of 0.5–1 meter per year, threatening long-term freshwater supplies.

🍚 Food Security Under Threat

South Asia’s agricultural vulnerability is stark:

  • Employment: Agriculture employs over 60% of the workforce in South Asia (World Bank, 2024).
  • Yield losses: Studies show that without adaptation, staple crop yields could fall by:
    • 10–30% for rice and 15–35% for wheat by 2050 (FAO 2024 estimates).
  • Adaptation measures:
    • India released 109 climate-resilient crop varieties (drought-tolerant, flood-resistant rice, and heat-resilient wheat) through the National Innovation on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) program in 2024.
  • Food insecurity:
    • According to the Global Report on Food Crises (2024), 62.9 million people in South Asia faced acute food insecurity—an increase of 15% from 2023.
    • Bangladesh alone recorded 17 million people in IPC Phase 3+ (Crisis level or worse food insecurity).

🚱 Water Crisis: The Silent Emergency

Water scarcity is rapidly becoming South Asia’s greatest challenge:

  • Child exposure: UNICEF (2024) estimated 347 million children in South Asia are exposed to high or extremely high water scarcity risks.
  • Groundwater depletion:
    • India is the world’s largest groundwater extractor—25% of the global total—but over 60% of aquifers are at critical or over-exploited levels (Central Ground Water Board, 2024).
  • Glacial melt impacts:
    • Himalayan glaciers lost over 40% of their volume over the last century, and loss rates have doubled since 2000 (ICIMOD report, 2024).
  • Notable event: In Kashmir (March 2024), the historic Chashme Shahi spring dried up for the first time, alarming scientists and locals about impending water shortages.

🔁 Interconnected Challenges

The crises reinforce each other:

  • Droughts: A three-year drought cycle (2021–2024) in Rajasthan reduced wheat production by 22% and caused drinking water shortages affecting 8 million people.
  • Flooding: Monsoon floods in Bangladesh (June 2024) destroyed 200,000 hectares of crops, displacing 4.2 million people and contaminating water supplies with waterborne diseases spiking by 30% (WHO data).
  • Social impacts: Vulnerable groups—women, children, tribal communities—bear the heaviest burden, often facing loss of livelihoods, malnutrition, school dropouts, and gender-based violence during climate disasters.

🛠️ Pathways to Resilience

A concerted regional effort is crucial. Key strategies include:

StrategySpecific Initiatives and Data
Climate-Resilient AgricultureScale-up release of climate-smart seeds (target: 200 varieties by 2026); promote agroforestry to restore degraded land (FAO 2024 recommends 10 million ha restoration)
Water ManagementExpand rainwater harvesting (Rajasthan achieved 50% increase in rural water security post-2023 campaign); improve efficiency with drip irrigation—currently only 8% adoption, needs scaling
Early Warning SystemsSet up localized climate alert systems (India’s IMD aims full coverage by 2025); integrate AI for predictive modeling of floods and droughts
Policy and GovernanceStrengthen regional cooperation under SAARC and BIMSTEC frameworks; Bangladesh’s 2024 National Adaptation Plan can serve as a model
Community EngagementEmpower Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and youth clubs; Nepal’s 2024 ‘Community Climate Champions’ pilot trained 5,000 villagers in climate risk management

Conclusion:

South Asia stands at a critical crossroads where the escalating impacts of climate change on food and water security can no longer be ignored. The region’s soaring temperatures, rapid glacial melt, extreme weather events, and deepening resource scarcities are destabilizing livelihoods and threatening millions with hunger, displacement, and disease. Vulnerable groups—particularly women, children, and marginalized communities—are bearing the heaviest burdens, highlighting the urgent need for inclusive and equitable resilience-building. While individual countries have initiated promising adaptation measures—like climate-resilient crops, water harvesting, and early warning systems—these efforts must be rapidly scaled up and regionally coordinated. Climate resilience must become central to agricultural practices, water governance, policy frameworks, and community empowerment initiatives. Regional bodies like SAARC and BIMSTEC must prioritize cross-border collaboration, knowledge sharing, and joint action. The crisis is not a distant threat—it is unfolding now, and its ripple effects will only intensify. Building resilience today is not merely about surviving the present challenges; it is about securing a sustainable, dignified future for the next generations of South Asia. Urgent, bold, and collective action is the only way forward.

Designing Food Value Chains to Foster the Agenda 2030 — South Asian Context

By Ms Gitasri Pani

1. Introduction

South Asia, home to nearly 1.9 billion people, is facing a paradoxical situation—rich agricultural diversity and labour-intensive farming coexisting with persistent hunger, malnutrition, food loss, and environmental degradation. The region must transform its food systems to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

In this context, the education programme “Designing Food Value Chains to Foster the Agenda 2030”, supported by ZHAW, FiBL, and partner universities, including the University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore, offers a transformative model for empowering South Asian youth with the tools, knowledge, and mindset required to redesign sustainable food value chains.

2. Relevance to South Asia

Key Challenges in South Asia:

  • High levels of food insecurity despite being a major producer of rice, wheat, and pulses.
  • Smallholder dominance in agriculture, with limited access to markets and value addition.
  • Post-harvest losses ranging from 15–30% due to inefficient value chains.
  • Youth unemployment and lack of innovation in agri-business.
  • Gender disparities in land ownership and decision-making in agriculture.
  • Climate vulnerabilities, including droughts, floods, and soil degradation.

Why This Programme Matters:

  • Educational gaps in value chain design, sustainability science, and SDG linkages.
  • Limited South-South cooperation on sustainable food systems.
  • Need for localized solutions for nutrition, productivity, and resilience.

3. Programme Description and South Asian Adaptation

Programme Components:

  1. Free Online Course:
    • Open to all learners interested in food systems and sustainability.
    • South Asian students benefit from contextualized modules linking local food issues to global frameworks.
  2. Summer School (India 2018):
    • Focused on SDG 2 – Zero Hunger, hosted in Bangalore.
    • Tackled real challenges such as malnutrition, food loss, and rural-urban market linkages in India.
    • Involved site visits to agri-tech startups, organic farms, and FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations).
  3. Experiential Learning:
    • Students from South Asia worked in mixed international teams, enhancing cross-cultural collaboration.
    • Developed pilot projects focusing on:
      • Community nutrition gardens in Bangladesh.
      • Climate-smart food supply chains in Nepal.
      • Women-led millet-based enterprises in India.

4. Implementation Methodology: South Asian Context

  • Participatory Learning: Incorporating farmers, local NGOs, and agri-entrepreneurs as mentors.
  • Localized Case Studies: Contextual issues from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India are used as teaching cases.
  • Hands-on Training: South Asian participants conduct fieldwork, interviews, and chain mapping.
  • Gender Inclusion: Special attention to promoting women’s participation in food value chains.
  • Interdisciplinary Teams: Students from agriculture, economics, development studies, and environmental science collaborate.

5. Capacity Building and Technology Transfer in South Asia

  • Strengthening Agri-Innovation: Equipping youth with tools to address inefficiencies and adopt eco-friendly technologies.
  • Community Extension Models: Students work with local cooperatives and SHGs (Self-Help Groups) to disseminate knowledge.
  • Entrepreneurial Mindset: Promoting startups focused on agro-processing, traceability, and sustainable packaging.
  • Digital Agri-Tools: Encouraging mobile-based solutions for market access, weather data, and farmer training.

6. Governance and South Asian Partnerships

  • Lead partners include:
    • University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (India).
    • Collaboration potential with institutions in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
    • NGOs such as SEWA, BRAC, and Practical Action South Asia can amplify the outreach.
  • Regional advisory committees ensure the content remains relevant to South Asian realities.

7. Alignment with SDGs in the South Asian Region

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

  • Tackling undernutrition in rural areas of Bangladesh and tribal belts in India.
  • Enhancing income of smallholders via value addition in local markets.

Goal 4: Quality Education

  • Equipping young people with skills for sustainability and innovation in agri-food systems.
  • Promoting rural youth employment through hands-on training in food value chain enterprises.

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  • Reducing food loss in India’s fruit and vegetable supply chains.
  • Promoting consumer awareness on local and seasonal foods in urban South Asia.

Goal 15: Life on Land

  • Strengthening sustainable farming practices in Himalayan and Deccan plateau ecosystems.
  • Promoting agroecology and biodiversity conservation in cropping systems.

8. Long-Term Impact for South Asia

Key Benefits:

  • Empowered Youth: A new generation of sustainability leaders.
  • Resilient Agriculture: Food systems that withstand climate shocks.
  • Inclusive Growth: Marginalized communities benefit from value chain participation.
  • Knowledge Exchange: South Asian institutions link with European counterparts for curriculum development and research.

9. Recommendations

  1. Scale to More Countries: Expand participation to universities in Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
  2. Language Localization: Offer translated course materials in Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, and Tamil.
  3. Alumni Network: Create a South Asia Food Value Chain Fellows Network for collaboration and innovation.
  4. Public Policy Integration: Engage with state agriculture departments to embed training modules in government schemes like NRLM, PM-FME, and MIDH.
  5. Gender and Tribal Focus: Integrate empowerment models for indigenous communities and women farmers.

10. Conclusion

The “Designing Food Value Chains to Foster the Agenda 2030” education programme offers a powerful and practical approach to achieving food security, sustainability, and inclusive development in South Asia. It aligns technical knowledge with social equity, enabling young South Asian professionals to emerge as change agents in transforming agri-food systems. This initiative should be scaled, strengthened, and sustained to realize its full potential in the region.