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Climate change and Developing Country agriculture

Climate change will have a major impact on agricultural production, comparative advantages, and trade flows. A greater divergence between regions in terms of agricultural output is likely. For the most part, countries in the tropics and subtropical zones, mostly developing economies, are expected to lose in terms of agricultural production whereas countries in temperate zones, mostly developed economies, are expected to gain. Many of these developing countries are highly dependent on the production and exports of agricultural goods, climate change will therefore cause considerable losses of growth and export opportunities. In addition, most of the worst affected countries are characterized by current crippling infrastructure, feeble rural and agricultural markets and, weak integration to the global economy. The international community has agreed to give priority to mitigation and adaptation efforts geared towards addressing such distress. Moreover, securing adequate resources and identifying ways and means to redress a trend towards an eventual catastrophe is urgent and imperative. The current paper investigates ways in which the aff ected developing countries can secure alternative sources of export earnings. In doing this, the paper goes beyond the option of

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