2022 Year in Review (QUIZ)

(1) In February, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked a worldwide rise in food and fuel prices. How much higher were global food prices in March 2022 than prices at the same time the previous year?(Required)

(A) One-fifth

(B) One-fourth

(C) One-third

(D) The same

Answer: C.

The Ukraine crisis reduced global access to fuel and important crops like wheat, causing prices for goods like food to skyrocket. In March, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that food prices had reached the highest levels in the history of its food price index. In Africa, where households spend as much as 40% of their income on food, the impact was especially severe.

<In June, TechnoServe’s Africa regional directors offered an on-the-ground, expert perspective on the food security challenge. “This crisis now exacerbates what was already a very serious crisis,” said West Africa Regional Director Larry Umunna. Read and watch part I and part II of their conversation.

(2) At the end of February, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report detailing how climate change is disrupting life on earth across multiple levels, especially affecting the people and ecosystems least able to cope. Which of the following was a finding from the report?(Required)

(A) Climate change could make roughly 8% of the world’s farmland unsuitable for growing food.

(B) The world has 10 years to keep average temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees C.

(C) Fighting climate change should be prioritized above fighting poverty.

(D) Climate change will cause an additional 1 billion people to go hungry in the next 30 years.

Answer: A.

Rising temperatures, drought, and increased pests and diseases are already threatening the world’s crops, especially in many low-income countries. A projected loss of 8% of the world’s farmland would be catastrophic. In March, TechnoServe regenerative business experts Katarina Kahlmann and Floor Overbeeke discussed the meaning of this finding, as well as other key points from the IPCC report. “This report makes dire projections, but it’s not prophetic,” said Kahlmann. “We really have a chance to cut emissions and help vulnerable people across the world to adapt to climate change.

(3) In October 2022, severe flooding killed hundreds of people, displaced over a million, and destroyed nearly 300,000 acres of farmland in which country?(Required)

(A) It led to enormous flooding.

(B) It damaged India’s critical wheat crop.

(C) It was made at least 30 times more likely due to climate change.

(D) All of the above.

Answer: D.

Miserably hot conditions in India this spring not only threatened human health, but agricultural production across the country. Many farmers working with TechnoServe in India reported striking drops in the quality and quantity of their crops, with some wheat farmers reporting crop losses of 30%. In June, TechnoServe’s India team explained the impact of the heat wave on farmers, and how staff are working with them to mitigate the worst of the crisis.

(4) In a year of grim food security news, one country jumped 11 places on the Economist’s annual Global Food Security Index to become the most food-secure nation on its continent. Which country was this?(Required)

(A) Brazil

(B) South Africa

(C) India

(D) Kenya

Answer: B.

Despite supply disruptions due to the Ukraine conflict in 2022, South Africa made important gains in food availability, food quality and safety, and sustainability and adaptation. Find out more about South Africa’s economic development efforts and other issues affecting global food security in 2022.

(5) Before Hurricane Fiona hit the island in September 2022, Puerto Rico’s coffee farmers were on track to achieve which important milestone?(Required)

(A) First-time organic certification

(B) Introducing a new coffee varietal to the island

(C) Exporting coffee to Europe for the first time

(D) Producing as much coffee as before Hurricane Maria in 2017

Answer: D.

After losing 80% of their coffee trees in Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s coffee farmers replanted their farms and rebuilt their livelihoods with help from a partnership including TechnoServe, Nespresso, the Hispanic Federation, and Fundacion Colibri. Just before Hurricane Fiona hit in September, farmers were looking forward to a coffee crop that would equal pre-Maria levels for the first time. Though the latest hurricane was a heartbreaking setback, many farmers remain determined to rebuild once again.

(6) In October 2022, severe flooding killed hundreds of people, displaced over a million, and destroyed nearly 300,000 acres of farmland in which country?(Required)

(A) Nicaragua

(B) Peru

(C) Nigeria

(D) India

Answer: C.

Weeks of heavy rainfall, combined with infrastructure problems, caused catastrophic flooding in 27 of Nigeria’s 36 states in October. TechnoServe’s Nigeria Country Director Adesuwa Akinboro provided an on-the-ground perspective on how small-scale farmers and business owners in these areas were fighting to survive the crisis and protect their families and livelihoods.

(7) In November 2022, representatives around the world converged for COP27, the UN’s annual climate change conference. A major focus of this year’s meeting was the issue of climate finance for low-income countries, who often contribute the least to climate change but suffer the most from it. For instance, Africa’s current annual climate financing is only what percentage of the estimated total needed?(Required)

(A) India

(B) 23%

(C) 37%

(D) 52%

Answer: A.

Domestic and international climate funding in Africa only amounted to $30 billion in 2020–well short of the $277 billion required. That total funding–intended to support climate change adaptation and mitigation across 50-plus countries in Africa–is roughly equivalent to the annual GDP of Latvia.