26. Projected changes in maize crops, Venezuela  Agriculture is
a key sector in the region’s economy and it employs an important
proportion of the economically active population. Climate change
could adversely affect Latin American agricultural regions,
especially tropical Latin America, by reducing the amount of
land available for cultivation due to increased risk of
desertification, and by decreasing yields, especially on rain
fed lands due to changes in climatic patterns. The dry land in
the northern part of Venezuela is a major maize-producing area.
The change in precipitation and wind patterns could bring much
drier climate and rain fed agricultural crops like maize could
experience a major shift in productivity. In Mexico, any shift
toward warmer, drier conditions could bring nutritional and
economic disaster because agriculture already is stressed by low
and variable rainfall.  < Previous  |   Next >