The Americas | When the tortillas run out

Crazy policies and climate change are hurting Latin American agriculture

Farms will adapt or move. So will farmworkers

SAN JERONIMO DEL SUD, ARGENTINA - MARCH 12: Corn fields of farmer José Braidotti, 35, remain dry as a consequence of the heat and severe droughts that affect half of the country on March 12, 2023 in San Jerónimo Sud, Argentina. Argentina and the International Monetary Fund reached staff-level agreement to review the  targets of reserves for 2023 due to the catastrophic droughts that affect the country. Agriculture export revenues generate a major part of the much-needed reserves of dollars as part of a 44 billion dollars repayment plan with IMF. According to experts, this  drought, linked to a third straight La Niña climate pattern, is the worst in sixty years and affects 55% of the country. Argentina is the world's top exporter of soy oil and meal, the third for corn and a major supplier of beef and wheat.   (Photo by Sebastian Lopez Brach/Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images
|La Esperanza, Honduras and Rosario, Argentina

When billions of black bugs invaded Buenos Aires in March, locals were mystified. Social media buzzed with queries. They turned out to be thrips, leaf-munching insects escaping from the drought-denuded Argentine countryside for better-watered urban gardens. They pose no threat to people. But the extreme weather that prompted their exodus does.

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This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “When the tortillas run out”

From the April 8th 2023 edition

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