A report by Christian Aid has called for more support for avocado farmers even as it revealed climate change is having a “terrible impact” on the fruit.
The popular superfood, which is high in fibre and healthy fats, relies on a lot of water to grow, making it especially vulnerable in a hotter, drier, more drought-prone world.
The new report, Getting Smashed: The climate danger facing avocados, highlights that globally, areas deemed highly suitable for growing avocados are expected to decline by between 14% and 41% by 2050, depending on how quickly global emissions are reduced. The worse the climate scenario, the more rapidly prime avocado growing regions will shrink.
The best growing regions in countries like Burundi, Chile, Peru, Spain, South Africa and Mexico are seeing productivity shrink due to the more volatile conditions.
The paper, published earlier today, said these areas are expected to decline by between 14 per cent and 41 per cent by 2050, depending on how fast global emissions are reduced.
The world’s biggest producer Mexico could see its potential growing area reduced by 31 per cent by 2050 even if the global average temperature rise is limited to under 2C, and as much as 43 per cent if it increases towards 5C, it said.
Jolis Bigirimana, an avocado farmer and president of Farmer’s Pride Burundi, said: “In Burundi, climate change is a huge problem, especially for avocado growers.
“We are experiencing hot temperatures, heavy rain and erosion, which is having a terrible impact on farmers’ productivity and their income.
“It now costs us a lot of money to water our crops.”
Just one avocado needs 320 litres of water on average, according to Honor Eldrige, sustainable food expert and author of the Avocado Debate.
“Producing an avocado is therefore becoming increasingly expensive and these costs will likely be passed on to the consumer, raising the price we pay for our guacamole,” she warned.