Rising temperatures to affect bean production in Brazil

By 2050, Brazil needs to increase its national bean production by 44 percent to meet market demand. This means 1.5 million tons more per year, according to the research developed by the University of Sao Paulo and the  Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation Embrapa, a state-run company linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

As part of this difficult task, producers will have to face a rise in temperature of up to 2.8ºC in the next two decades, predicted by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Brazil’s Center-West region and the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia may be the most affected areas, and may even have to adapt their planting calendar.

According to Embrapa researcher Alexandre Bryan the concentration of carbon dioxide especially affects the reproductive phase of the crop, preventing the formation of pods and bean grains. For this reason, there is a fall tendency in productivity over the next few years. But producers can adapt to the new planting conditions by choosing more resistant beans.

Alexandre Bryan also points out that the fall in productivity and increase in demand is a matter that must go through public policies, both in relation to investment in research for the generation of more adapted plants, and in relation to family farming.

Data from Brazil’s statistic agency IBGE show that today the annual production of beans in the country corresponds to BRL 12 billion per year, reaching 2 million and eight hundred thousand tons.

Source: Agência Brasil

To read the original report, access: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/economia/noticia/2023-03/increased-temperature-will-affect-bean-production-brazil

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