Brazilian Crops Shrivel (visner) As Amazon River Dries To Lowest Level In 47 Years
Drought in Brazil, the world’s biggest producer of coffee, sugar and orange, is harming crops and drying the Amazon River to its lowest in 47 years.
The Amazon’s 18-meter level on September 20 was the least since 1963, disrupting transportation of food, fuel and medicines in northern Brazil, the National Water Agency said in a statement.
Growers in Brazil’s Southeast expect the drought will pare (beskære) output of the nation’s key commodities.
Seven remote towns that rely on the waterway as their link to the outside world have been cut off as their tributaries all but dried up.
Meteorologists say lack of rainfall, which is typical for this time of year, should continue for a few more weeks until the start of the rainy season. They say that the unusually active Atlantic hurricane season has tapped moisture that would have otherwise provided rainfall for the Amazon region.
In related news it is reported, that ending deforestation in the Amazon would be in Brazil’s interest, and many Brazilians are demanding it, which is why it is now imaginable.
But it will not be at the expense of Brazilian farmers. Agriculture and livestock contribute about 30 percent of national output, and in absolute terms will grow steeply in the medium to long term.
But Brazil should not need to clear more rainforest to accommodate this growth. Brazilian cattle-ranching is staggeringly unproductive, with an average stocking rate of less than a head of cattle per hectare. By periodically turning the soil and scattering fertilizer, that rate could be doubled or even tripled.
Brazil could hugely ramp up its production on half the land it currently reserves for grazing. That would free up space for crops, which are far more profitable.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
