Extreme climatic events could affect agricultural production in South American countries this summer, according to a scientific report presented to the ministers of Southern Agricultural Council (CAS) in the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28).
In many areas of the region they could register floods and in others droughts, although some productive ecosystems could benefit from adequate water availability after long periods with scarce rains.
South America faces a summer with a high probability of extreme weather events, which will have an impact on the productive activity of its countries due to the persistence of the effects of the phenomenon known as The boythey warned at the meeting held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,
The work made known to ministers and senior officials of Agriculture of the Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, countries that make up the CAS, assures that “the impact of climate change has become a high priority issue for the region’s productive sector.”
The CAS, a ministerial forum for consultation and integration whose secretariat is carried out by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), held last week in Dubai, at the world’s main climate negotiation summit, its last meeting of the year.
The effects in this area of the continent
The document warns that for this summer, rain above normal is forecast, river flooding that could cause flooding and extremely strong storms in the area. Great Plata Basin, which includes the Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the south of Brazil. On the other hand, intense and severe droughts are expected in the north and northeast of Brazil; while in much of the Chilean territory the forecasts indicate that temperatures will be higher than usual.
Recently, extreme drought conditions affected the central and southern region of South America with severe economic and social impacts on both Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay like the south of Brazil and Argentina, that are beginning to reverse little by little in some areas; In the last three months conditions have improved, although pockets of drought persist.
Regarding the perspectives, the document prepared by scientists from the agricultural research institutes members of the Cooperative Program for the Agri-Food and Agro-Industrial Technological Development of the Southern Cone (Procisur) indicates a greater than 90% probability that El Niño will persist in the Southern Hemisphere summer.
In the Plata Basin There is a probability of flooding and flooding due to intense rains and the overflowing of rivers and streams, which could affect depressed areas, coastal or riverside sectors, low fields and vulnerable areas, including low areas for agricultural or livestock use. Although the supply of pastures and pastures will recover, beef and dairy cattle could suffer stress from the high temperatures. For its part, greater availability of water is expected in the Pampas region.
Meanwhile, productivity will be affected in the north and northeast of Brazil due to the lack of rain that will increase the risk of forest fires and reduce the flow of rivers, especially if the phenomenon of The boy intensifies. In it Great Chaco and the Brazilian Pantanal, The occurrence of normal or even higher rainfall is more likely, which will increase the availability of water in all agroecosystems and will have a positive impact on livestock feed.
In the highland area, less than normal rainfall is expected between December and March, which usually represents the largest proportion of the water supply of the area. At the meeting, the ministers and high authorities demanded that international financial mechanisms be streamlined to accelerate the adaptation of the agricultural sector to the effects of climate change, which affects production and livelihoods in rural areas.
Source: Ambito
