Activists are calling for more support for avocado farmers as a report revealed climate change is having a “terrible impact” on the fruit.
The paper, published on Monday, said these areas are expected to decline by between 14% and 41% by 2050, depending on how fast global emissions are reduced. 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.
Dr Chloe Sutcliffe, research fellow in sustainable horticulture at the Royal Horticultural Society, added that the UK currently obtains most of its avocados from Peru and Chile, where water scarcity is already high and expansion of avocado production has compromised access to water for some smallholder farmers.
Christian Aid is urging governments to commit to urgent emissions reductions, accelerate the energy transition and commit to providing more climate aid to developing nations at Cop29 this year in Azerbaijan. “That is why it’s vital they receive a lot more financial support to adapt to this changing climate.”