Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
Brazil's soybean production was revised down to 179 million tonnes (from 180M) due to excessive rainfall in northern and central producing states; Brazil's competitive discount makes it unlikely China will purchase an additional 8 million tonnes of soybeans from the US (Darragh & Bhanu, Kpler, 2026).
The annual gap in South America is 73 billion USD, equivalent to 6.2% of the necessary spending (OECD, 2024).
97 million hectares of rangeland expanded between 2001 and 2013, surpassing the expansion of cropland (44 million hectares) (UNCCD, 2024).
1-4 million hectares of forests were lost annually between 2000 and 2010 due to intense conversion of dry and moist forests (UNCCD, 2024).
40% of South America's land area has been deforested, and the process continues (UNCCD, 2024).
2.29 million km² of South America are savannas, between 8% and 10% of its global extension (UNCCD, 2024).
33% of South America's land area is covered by grasslands (UNCCD, 2024).
16% of world food production and 70% of food for domestic herbivores comes from grasslands, mainly in Africa and South America (UNCCD, 2024).
0.79 is the GINI coefficient for land in LAC, 0.85 for South America, and 0.75 for Central America (Oxfam, 2016).
At 9.6% in 2022, the gender gap in the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in South America reflected significant inequalities in access to food between men and women (FAO et al., 2023).
