More than 2 billion people are reliant on smallholder agriculture throughout the tropics, representing 83% of the world’s agricultural population, many of whom are also among the world’s poorest (Lowder et al. 2014). Climate change is currently affecting agriculture and food security and is putting millions of people at risk of hunger and poverty in different regions of the world (FAO 2016).

For example, assessments carried on the coffee sector in Mexico, Brazil and Nicaragua predict that impacts associated with climate change will be even more severe than those from the drop in coffee prices. For instance, Laderach et al. (2011) estimate a reduction in land suitable for coffee production in Nicaragua between 20 to 60% by 2050 as rising temperatures will force the abandonment of low-altitude cultivation areas. Expansion of coffee cultivation into higher altitudes will put additional pressure on the conservation of important protected areas and headwaters of major river systems.

The livestock sector will also suffer from a reduction in the productivity and quality of pastures and an increase in parasites and diseases which can both be attributed to climate change (FAO 2016).