Climate Change, Food System, and Food Security in Iran

There is a growing concern in countries around the world, including Iran, about the effects of extreme climate change, diversification, and events on food production, food security, and livelihoods. The link between climate change and food security in the Iranian food system is the subject of this article. This review, based on the available literature, used the food system approach to achieve a broader view on issues related to food security in Iran. To this end, this study investigated climatic challenges facing food security in Iran with a focus on two essential products in Iranians’ food basket, namely, wheat and rice: Decreased agricultural productivity, food losses along production and distribution chains, postharvest loss, low resilience of poor people in rural areas, and the prevalence of malnutrition among children. The results showed that in addition to measures, such as making food production systems resistant to climate change and the necessary changes in existing food systems to adapt to the consequences of climate change, achieving food security requires a long-term vision to transform the Iranian food system. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop a climate-smart agriculture system that encompasses all aspects of food system security. Except for investigating the productivity of some essential components of this food basket, the results showed that there are scant studies on the effects of climate change on the food system of Iran.