The Burning Truth: Climate Change’s Burning Impact on Global Crops

Cocoa prices surged one hundred and thirty-six percent between July 2022 and February 2024, crossed ten thousand dollars for the first time in March last year, ultimately reaching as much as one hundred and sixty-three percent.

In a similar situation, the price of coffee has been reaching unprecedented heights, with Arabian beans hitting 3.84 per pound, driving up the average cost of a restaurant coffee to 3.24 pounds, while the cost of the crop has risen 30 percent since December.

The price of mango also shows changes, with some regions in the world experiencing as much as 40 percent increases, China for example seeing a 12.3 percent wholesale rise last November from the same period in 2023, while Peru prepares for steep price increases, since mango production fell by 50 percent compared to previous seasons.

Crops around the world increasingly experience hikes in prices, with soybeans, potatoes, maize, rice, and others involved, affected by altered distribution patterns, variations in crop yields, changes in quality, and other environmental issues.

Cacao grows well in a temperature range of up to 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit), but due to climate change and other factors, two-thirds of the cacao-growing regions saw at least an additional six weeks' number of days a year hotter than the normal range for the crop, with one-third experiencing at least eight further weeks of hotter conditions.

Mango grows well within a temperature of 24 to 27 degrees Celsius, but due to climate change, farmers of the crop see an increase of 78.4 percent in temperature of their farms, a 99 percent decrease in rainfall, and a decline in the number of rainy days.

Rice grows well at a temperature range between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius, but due to climate change and other factors, late rice yields in China suffer compared to early rice yields, declining by 8.8 percent to 16.13 percent, while nations such as India and Nigeria also experience a similar situation.

In other words, climate change may be one of the factors behind the situation in relation to crops such as coffee, mango, soybeans, and the others, with experts predicting turbulence from this scenario going forwards.

Due to the climate change-induced heat, forecasts are dire for cocoa-growing areas in West Africa, which produce over 70 percent of the world's total, as nations such as Ivory Coast and Ghana are predicted to lose up to 50 percent of their suitable cocoa cultivation areas by 2050.

As a result of the ever-growing heat waves, predictions are bleak for coffee-growing countries of the world, as Mexico could by 2050 lose up to 29 percent of its Arabica coffee-growing land, Guatemala could see a 19 percent wipe-out, Brazil could experience a loss of 25 percent, Indonesia could witness a 21-37 percent loss, while Ethiopia could see a 50 percent loss.

The same situation could affect places that grow rice, as predictions from experts state that nations in South Asia, southeast Asia, and parts of China could lose growing areas by 2050, suggesting that 15 to 40 percent of current rain-fed rice locations are at risk.

With the situation not changing in relation to tackling climate change, nations stand the chance of losing massive growing areas of a large number of crops going forwards, which could prove disastrous at a time the world population will be showing a steady growth.

To mitigate effects of climate change, farmers need to carry out different agricultural activities, such as agroforestry and crop diversification, while reducing the emission of greenhouse gases from their operations, with nations working towards phasing out the use of fossil fuel.

What to Eat

Vegan food from Peru, Credit, Hutravelperu