Banana Exports at Risk as Climate Change Threatens Key Growing Regions
A new study warns that rising temperatures caused by climate change could make banana farming uneconomical in many parts of Latin America and the Caribbean by 2080. The research published in Nature Food by the University of Exeter, highlights how climate shifts will shrink the best areas for banana cultivation while exposing more farm workers to extreme heat.
Bananas valued at $11 billion annually, are a crucial export crop for many economies. However the study projects that 60% of current banana-producing regions will struggle to sustain production in the coming decades without urgent intervention. Socioeconomic factors such as labor availability and infrastructure also present major barriers to adapting banana farming to climate change. Since banana production is concentrated in dense...