Brazil: Extreme weather caused losses of R$6.7 billion to agriculture this year

Date:08-30-2024

Extreme weather events such as the floods that devastated much of Rio Grande do Sul in May and the drought that has been punishing the Amazon before the usual dry season have already caused at least R$6.7 billion in losses for Brazilian agribusiness. 

Extreme weather is the main culprit for greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change in Brazil. 

According to a survey by the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM), whether it is structural damage or impact on activities, the bill is high, and the effects are expected to continue.

In addition to the lives lost, the climate tragedy in RS caused losses of R$5.4 billion to the state's agriculture and livestock. According to the CNM, in the North region, where the lack of rain reduces the volume of water in previously large rivers, the damage to agriculture and livestock totals almost R$1.3 billion. As the drought persists, the confederation says that the amount is expected to increase as new information is reported by the cities, Globo Rural highlighted.

In the Amazon, riverside communities say that the dry season arrived early this year. However, according to Ana Paula Cunha, a researcher at the National Center for Monitoring and Alerts for Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), it has not even gone away. 

According to the specialist, the drought has been going on for a year in several regions of the biome. And while large rural producers are able to mitigate the effects of the drought, many small producers do not have access to technical assistance and energy, she explained.

The CNM does not mention the Pantanal, but the lack of rain and fires in the biome are also taking their toll on agribusiness. Mato Grosso do Sul alone has already seen 1.2 million hectares consumed by fire this year, including productive areas of pasture and infrastructure. The drought is also affecting pastures, with less food for cattle. For this reason, the vice president of the State Cold Cuts, Meat and Derivatives Industry Union (SICADEMS), Sergio Capuci, is already considering the possibility of reducing the number of slaughters this year.

Soybeans, one of the main exports of Brazilian agricultural products, and one of the biggest destroyers of the country's biomes, are also affected by extreme weather events, as shown by Globo Rural. Some important regions that produce the grain faced serious problems due to the weather in the last harvest. In the case of seed production, the heat and lack of rain were the factors that most affected the quality and, depending on the location, even the supply of the input for the next harvest – that is, the current one.

In the meantime: Extreme events caused by climate change are also affecting European agribusinesses. This year’s unusually wet spring and chaotic summer conditions have farmers from Poland to the U.K. bracing for the impact on the flavor and size of their crops, while southern Europe is battling another severe drought. The EU’s apple production is set to fall by 10%, strawberry shortages are driving up prices in some regions, and Italy is struggling to harvest enough olives to produce olive oil, Bloomberg Línea reports. 

″We don’t yet know what the weather has done to the roots of fruit trees, and that could affect next year’s harvests,″ said Lambert von Horen, a senior analyst at Rabobank.

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