Sri Lanka is increasingly concerned about the impacts of climate change on food production, food security, and livelihoods. This has been mostly discussed in terms of climate impacts on crop productivity (food availability), with little emphasis on other key aspects, namely food access and use. This chapter, based on existing literature, adopted a food system model to obtain a better perspective on food security issues in Sri Lanka. These issues include diminishing agricultural productivity, food loss and wastage along supply chains, low rural poor subsistence resilience, and the prevalence of high under-nutrition and infant malnutrition. This review indicates that ensuring food security requires actions beyond climate-resilient food production systems to take an integrated approach that can promote the climate stability of the entire food system, while addressing nutritional issues emerging f rom climate change impacts. There is, therefore, an urgent need for settlers to work towards a climate-smart agricultural framework that will tackle all aspects of food security. Besides the output of a few crop species, our study displays a lack of research into the consequences of climate change on Sri Lanka’s food system. More such studies are required to examine how climate change can affect other components of food system, including the productivity of a diverse range of food crops, livestock, and fisheries, and to focus attention on the avenues of an environmentally-induced nutritional insecurity.KeywordsClimateFood securityLivelihoodNutritionProductivity

Agriculture is one of the main climate-intense economic segments that is affected both positively and negatively by climate change. Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy. It contributes 21% to the GDP of the state. Nearly 67% of the population is linked directly or indirectly with agriculture. Agriculture is the livelihood of a large majority of agricultural communities, but it is categorized as a risky occupation. Variations in temperature or precipitation generate substantial variation in crops output and yields. It is worthwhile to mention that Pakistan contributes less than one percent of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, but it is one of the most exposed to climate change impacts. Furthermore, Pakistan has an insufficient technical and financial capacity to adjust to these adverse impacts. Due to its agrarian economy, climate change is becoming a serious issue. Pakistan has the world’s largest irrigation system and the major water source for it is snow and glacial melt. Climate change is not only threatening the irrigation system due to fast melting glaciers, but also increases the risk of floods, droughts, landslides, power shortages, and avalanches. It is a continually mounting concern with unlimited importance owing to its pronounced, comprehensive socio-economic effects. Variation in temperature and rainfall patterns is a very frightening issue in the crop sector, especially the arid zone. This chapter highlights the status, consequences/risks, adoption practices, and policy recommendations to address climate change in Pakistan. The chapter also covers the role of agriculture under climate change and Sustainable Development Goals.

Food waste has emerged as one of the prime issues and the major challenges threatening food security on the global level, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is exposed to harsh climatic conditions and has limited arable lands and scarce water resources to produce agricultural crops, therefore food requirements are met through heavy imports. Demands for food commodities are rising due to population increases and rising living standards. Saudi Arabia makes good quality food available to the society at the highly subsidized prices despite several limiting factors. Saudis still spend about 27–30% of their incomes on their food. They like to organize festivals and celebrate events by providing more food than required resulting in enormous wastes. In an estimate, about 78% of food purchased in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not being consumed and is thrown in the garbage to make place for the new set of groceries in the refrigrators. Food leftovers make the single-largest component of the landfills. The food is wasted through the entire food chain starting from the farmers’ fields, to the food industries, retailers, caterers and till it reaches to the consumers. The principal drivers of food waste include: lack of awareness; unplanned shopping for groceries; consumable leftovers; and losses in households, restaurants, parties, friends and families get togethers, religious celebrations and special occasions. The chapter examines these factors responsible for food waste, identifies the major food waster groups and discusses the over-all food waste scenario in the Kingdom. The purpose of the work is to determine the implications for extension education to reduce the food waste in the Kingdom through sound and appropriate capacity-building programs for the youth and women in particular and the society in general.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a forest deficit country due to high temperatures and lack of water resources, covering only 1.0% of the country’s landmass. The unfavorable climate not only causes low vegetation forests, but also makes it hard to re-establish forest vegetation once destroyed. Factors responsible for thin forest cover include low and variable rainfall, high temperatures; and low humidity. The lack of rivers and scarcity of underground water also have a great influence on forest stands of Saudi Arabia. In addition to these factors, anthropogenic activities like over-grazing, illegal felling, and heavy extraction of wood fuel by the locals highly damage the local forests, hampering the natural growth and making regeneration of the forests very slow. To bring back the forest cover, various afforestation and tree planting programs, though very expansive, have been initiated in the Kingdom. However, to keep the existing forest cover in place, the most viable option would be to encourage and ensure the participation of all the stakeholders comprising locals, NGOs, government, industries, academicians and Extension Educators in protecting and conserving the prevalent forest stands through an appropriate and acceptable forest management plan. Among the available strategies to enhance and ensure this participation, the role of forestry extension and education is of paramount importance. Forestry extension programs can help educating stakeholders involved in planning, developing policies and undertaking institutional measures aiming at improving the existing forests. This chapter aims to highlight the importance for the Kingdom of a plan that focuses on reforestation, restoration and afforestation, and establish the significance of local participation to slow, halt and reverse deforestation, illegal harvesting and forest degradation. The chapter also provides information on the challenges and constraints currently faced by forests, and discuss the possible roles of participatory management approach and forestry extension education in improving the situation and moving towards a sustainable future.