Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
25% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the agricultural sector, creating pressure to adopt sustainable practices and regulations that govern production and international trade according to sustainability standards (Velásquez, A., 2025).
1% of GDP exceeds Brazil's investment in science and technology, being the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean that reaches this threshold, according to CAF's Agricultural Prosperity Strategy based on UNESCO data (Velásquez, A., 2025).
51% of global investment in research and development corresponds to North America and Europe, while Asia represents 39%, leaving only the remaining 10% for other regions including Latin America, according to UNESCO data (2021) (Velásquez, A., 2025).
8,000 years old are the earliest evidences of avocado use in Mesoamerica, with archaeological evidence of its food and ritual importance in pre-Incan cultures from approximately 1500 B.C. in South America (Velásquez, A., 2025).
30% could reduce agricultural productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2050 due to climate change and associated sustainability challenges, according to projections cited in CAF's sectoral strategy that seeks to support adaptation and innovation (Velásquez, A., 2025).
3,500 years old are the first documented potato crops in South America, a tuber that in the 17th century saved Europe from famine, becoming one of the main contributions of the New World to global food security (Velásquez, A., 2025).
Approximately 9,000 years has the domestication process of Teosinte from Mexico and Central America until becoming the corn we know today, thanks to the systematic selection work by Mesoamerican indigenous peoples (Velásquez, A., 2025).
100% of large-scale U.S. agricultural producers use satellite information, much of it generated by NASA, to feed their automated precision agriculture systems for irrigation, fertilization, and other activities (Velásquez, A., 2025).
Approximately 12,000 years have passed since, after the last ice age, major human migrations began to develop domestication techniques and artificial selection to adapt wild plants and animals to productive agricultural conditions (Velásquez, A., 2025).
