This region is one of the country's poorest. In normal years agriculture is a major source of employment. Such dramatic drops reduce employment opportunities on large commercial estates and destroy the livelihoods of subsistence farmers. Sometimes, when shortfalls in production cause food prices to rise, the only way for much of the rural population to avoid destitution is to migrate to the cities in search of low-paid jobs or to seek relief from the government. Such programmes entail a huge cost to the economy and, while they enable people to survive, they cannot fully compensate for lost production or prevent increased hunger and malnutrition.
Floods create problems throughout Brazil but cause particular devastation in the major cities.
However, exceptional floods can result in great hardship, displacing people from their homes and causing severe damage to the cattle ranching business. Unusually high or low temperatures cause extensive damage to crops . Coffee, which is Brazil's principal export product, is particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Growers have traditionally been protected from the worst effects of such shortfalls by government intervention but, with the economy undermined by the debt crisis, support has been withdrawn. Citrus, another important cash crop, is also at great risk from frost.