Issue Repeated harvest failures from drought and pathogens

Summary

Among its longer-term uncertainties, the report raises the possibility that multi-year droughts and plant pathogens could cause harvests to fail again and again. Repeated failures could deepen food insecurity, increase dependence on imports and widen socioeconomic inequalities within the UK. The report cites estimates that up to 40% of food crops worldwide are lost to pests each year, with plant diseases costing the global economy 220 billion dollars and invasive insects 70 billion. Environmental stresses such as drought leave plants more exposed to pests, and climate change makes this worse. Because pest-driven price rises hit low-income groups hardest, the inequality concern follows from the same chain.