EY Consulting study:‘Climate change is the greatest danger to agriculture in Brazil, Argentina and Chile’

Date:01-18-2023

In the last ten years, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, members of the Southern Cone, recorded a 56% increase in agricultural production, compared to 29% of the global average. Thinking about the importance of this economic sector for the three South American countries,  EY has just launched a study called Top 10 Risks and Opportunities for Agro, which included the evaluation of executives from companies in the three countries.

In Brazil, with more than R$ 2 trillion generated, agriculture corresponds to 28% of GDP, accounting for 20.3% of jobs, as indicated by the  Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (CEPEA),  at the Universidade from Sao Paulo. Climate change appears as the main risk and can directly impact the productivity of the sector.

In addition to temperature variations themselves, the greater occurrence of 'extreme events' such as severe frosts, unseasonal temperature variations and heavy rainfall are also problems, as the increase in climate unpredictability impacts not only field productivity, but also also investments and financial movements that companies, banks and other entities make, such as the granting of rural credit.