Combating food insecurity in a rapidly changing mountain climate environment: insights from Lesotho G. Mukwada 1,2,3 & S. J. Taylor 4 & D. Manatsa 1,5 & P. Mahasa 2 & G. Robinson 6 Received: 23 November 2019 /Accepted: 29 October 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020 Abstract This paper assesses the options that developing countries have in ensuring food security in an environment where key climate parameters are changing rapidly. Based on a case study of Lesotho, the paper utilizes the Global Climate Model ensemble to determine future precipitation and temperature projections using data from Climate Explorer. The results indicate that in Lesotho, maximum temperature is likely to continue to increase. Coupled with a significant increase in precipitation under both Representative Concen- tration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 (p = 0.0008) and RCP 8.5 (p = 0.0001) scenarios and a significant increase of evaporation under the two scenarios for RCP 4.5 (p = 0.0008) and RCP 8.5 (p = 0.0103), the country’s preparedness for hazards arising from climate change is rendered uncertain. Despite this reality, we suggest that uncertainty could be reduced by reinforcing existing innovative measures that could improve the productive capacity of subsistence farmers, so that they meet their own food requirements, while preventing further environmental deterioration. While some measures will be based on the intensification of government-led social support mechanisms, others will depend on the support rendered to “tried and tested” traditional practices such as machobane and fato-fato, which have a long tradition in the country. However, on their own, these measures are insufficient to cope with rapidly changing climatic conditions, unless they are coupled with national research development initiatives, improved early warning systems, and enhancement of environmental monitoring capabilities, the implementation of which requires careful land use planning. Keywords Climate change . Early warning systems . Fato-fato . Food security . Land use planning . Lesotho . Machobane . Social capital https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02922-z * G. Mukwada gmukwada@gmail.com S. J. Taylor rhtaylor@icon.co.za; http://mri.scnatweb.ch/mri–africa Extended author information available on the last page of the article Climatic Change (2020) 163:989–1006 /Published online: 20 November 2020