Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
0.65 or less is the aridity index of many drylands where grasslands are located, characterized by water scarcity (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).
10% of the world's meat production comes from pastoralism, which is practiced in more than 100 countries and supports 200 million households (UNCCD, 2024).
12% of the world's grasslands, equivalent to 9.5 million km², are protected (UNCCD, 2024).
30% of the global carbon pool is in grasslands (UNCCD, 2024).
33% of South America's land area is covered by grasslands (UNCCD, 2024).
2.29 million km² of South America are savannas, between 8% and 10% of its global extension (UNCCD, 2024).
43 million cattle and 14 million sheep in intensive systems depend on pasture for their feed (UNCCD, 2024).
35% of the Brazilian territory is covered by the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes in the northwest of the country (UNCCD, 2024).
570 million livestock units exist, and more than 80% graze on pasture (UNCCD, 2024).
