Amidst climate collapse, Brazil’s agricultural and livestock GDP is expected to drop 1.7% in 2022, driven by soybeans

The Brazilian agriculture and cattle-raising sector ended 2022 with a retraction of 1.7% when compared to 2021. The information is from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which released on Thursday (2) the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report for the 4th quarter and for the whole of last year.

“Soy, the main product of Brazilian farming, with an estimated drop in production of 11.4%, was the one that most pulled down the result of Farming in the year, being impacted by adverse weather effects,” explained Rebeca Palis, coordinator of National Accounts at IBGE, in a note.

A study published in Nature magazine proved a clear correlation between deforestation and reduction in rainfall. The researchers found that as more and more forest is removed from tropical areas, the less local farmers will have rain for their crops and pastures. The article raises fears that the degradation of the Amazon is reaching a critical point, after which the rainforest will no longer be able to generate its own rain and the vegetation will dry up.