Science & technology | Magic money trees

Deforestation is costing Brazilian farmers millions

Without trees to circulate moisture, the land is getting hotter and drier

Legal Amazon preservation area borders the field for soybean planting.
Photograph: Danilo Verpa/Folhapress

DECADES OF INCREASING maize and soyabean production have turned Brazil into an agricultural powerhouse. They have also led to the destruction of vast swathes of the Amazon rainforest. That has long put farmers and environmentalists at loggerheads. But a study released in October by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) shows the extent to which deforestation is hurting farmers too.

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