World Faces Agricultural, Ecosystem Disruptions

This week, global climate change and weather crises continue worrying the world, given their growing repercussions. Meanwhile, activities to improve sustainability in the food system and supply continue. Finally, Mexico seeks to further boost agricultural trade.

Interested in more? Here are the week's major headlines in Agribusiness & Food!

Facing Global Climate Change, Weather Crises

The repercussions of climate change are becoming increasingly visible, given the extreme natural events worldwide. From droughts to floods, extreme weather events are becoming more common and are affecting countries across the world. Mexico, for example, faces severe weather events, including one of its worst droughts in history. Pakistan, which bears the brunt of two major weather systems, has experienced the heaviest monsoon rains in a decade, causing flood surges of more than a meter in parts of the country. One-third of Pakistan is now underwater, even though the country contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In both cases, climate change and weather will continue to be the most potent sources of natural climate variability.

How to Co-Create a Sustainable Food System

Stephanie Conejo, CEO, ANNIT shared the main points required to co-create a sustainable food system. “The main factor that has not received relevant importance is the loss of biodiversity within our soil, which leaves us with undernourished land and, therefore, provides fewer nutrients to our plants and weakens their ability to fight pests. This has led us to use an endless number of pesticides, antibiotics, and growth accelerators that result in grains and meat of low nutritional quality and an increase in diseases among consumers,” writes Conejo. 

Organized Crime Threatens Food Supply

Mexico's Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN) said that organized crime is controlling food prices and supplies in Zacatecas, Tlaxcala, Puebla, State of Mexico, Guerrero and Michoacan. "In recent months, there have been various acts of violence and theft to control the distribution of basic food products. These events, happening in different states, hurt the population in general," said José Antonio Abugaber, President, CONCAMIN. Something similar happened in Celaya in 2019, when after growing violence and increasing attempts of extortion, dozens of tortilla vendors closed their businesses.

Mexico Supports International Trade Through Agricultural Services

During the First International Conference on Trade in Agricultural Services, titled "Trade in Agricultural Services: A New Model for Economic and Trade Cooperation" and held in Beijing, China, Mexico took a stand to generate inclusive, equitable and fair international trade in agricultural services, arguing that this would benefit small-scale producers and contribute to global food security. The global market for agricultural products has had to confront many challenges, including geopolitical risk, volatile trade policies and growing labor shortages. "Trade in agricultural services will become a new growth point for companies to invest in related projects, as well as helping secure the global food supply in the future," said Victor Villalobos, Mexico's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.