The rain catastrophe in Rio Grande do Sul is already having consequences for the price of food in the state and has sparked debate about the impact that the climate crisis has on the value of food. Reports from the population living in the affected regions report cases of abusive charges in supermarkets. Nationally, the production chain is already making statements that the price of rice may increase.
Rio Grande do Sul is the largest producer of cereal in the country. The region cultivates, harvests and sells more than all other Brazilian states combined. With the rains, a considerable part of the plantations was lost.
Still, it is not possible to measure the damage, according to the Rio Grandense do Arroz Institute (Irga). When the rains began last week, the state had already harvested more than 80% of the crop. However, there were still 150 thousand hectares with active plantations and warehouses were also affected.
The National Supply Company (Conab) follows the same line. “The heavy rains that hit Rio Grande do Sul will have an impact on the state’s agricultural production, but it is still hasty to make any quantitative forecast and its influences in relation to supply and prices”, informed the company in a note to Brazil in fact.
Julia Catão Dias, specialist at the Sustainable Consumption Program at the Institute for Consumer Protection (Idec), states that the upward trend is usually the most common path for food prices in disaster situations. She warns, however, that this scenario requires a more detailed reflection on the role of production chain practices.
“It is important for consumers to know that, yes, climate disasters will impact the price of food – which is why action is urgent – but we have to pay attention to how this fuss is used by certain forces, which are precisely these forces responsible for producing this entire situation.”
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She highlights the role that the agribusiness production model plays in the catastrophes caused by global warming and points out that the most affected part is family farming, responsible for the majority of the food that reaches the tables of Brazilian families.
“Often, the alarm that the price of food will rise quickly is captured by the productive agribusiness sector to demand more exemptions, for more financing and to say that agribusiness needs help. But in reality, whoever needs help – even to enable the construction of solutions for this moment of climate emergency that we are experiencing – it is family farming.”
The climate tragedy that affects the population of Rio Grande do Sul is a dramatic and radical example of the relationship between food insecurity and environmental devastation. But the impact of global warming on food prices is already a global reality.
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“When we talk about climate disasters, we are talking about this imbalance caused on the planet by hegemonic modes of production and consumption, by the capitalist model. The choice for these modes of production and consumption is causing a series of socio-environmental destruction”, says Julia Catão Dias.
In recent years, the United Nations (UN) has issued successive warnings regarding the topic. The most recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate (IPCC) point to losses in several food production systems. On the other hand, large commodity plantation areas are less affected.
The perception is also present at the World Economic Forum. In the 2024 Global Risks report, the entity points out that global warming affects marine and terrestrial systems with direct consequences for food security.
Editing: Thalita Pires
