Millets for Food Security in the Context of Climate Change: A Review

Rachit Saxena, Sai Kranthi Vanga, Jin Wang, Valérie Orsat and Vijaya Raghavan
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Rachit Saxena: Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, McGill University, 21 111 Lakeshore Rd, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
Sai Kranthi Vanga: Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, McGill University, 21 111 Lakeshore Rd, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
Jin Wang: Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, McGill University, 21 111 Lakeshore Rd, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
Valérie Orsat: Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, McGill University, 21 111 Lakeshore Rd, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
Vijaya Raghavan: Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, McGill University, 21 111 Lakeshore Rd, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-31

Abstract: A growing population means an ever-increasing demand for food. This global concern has led to antagonism over resources such as water and soil. Climate change can directly influence the quality and availability of these resources, thereby adversely affecting our food systems and crop productivity, especially of major cereals such as rice, wheat and maize. In this review, we have looked at the availability of resources such as water and soil based on several modeling scenarios in different regions of the world. Most of these models predict that there will be a reduction in production rates of various cereal crops. Furthermore, all the major cereal crops are known to have a higher contribution to global warming than alternative crops such as millets which should be considered in mitigating global food insecurity. In this study, we have used the data to predict which regions of the world are most adversely affected by climate change and how the cultivation of millets and other crops could aid in the reduction of stress on environmental resources.

Keywords: food security; soil conditions; water resources; agricultural productivity; millets; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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