(Bloomberg) -- Consumers are unwilling to pay a premium for food that is produced under higher environmental standards, posing a challenge for producers, according to the top executive at the world’s largest meat company.

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“We can’t assume that the consumer will pay that bill,” JBS SA Chief Executive Officer Gilberto Tomazoni said during the Global Business Forum for the G-20 group. “We need to increase productivity to lower the cost of food and make it more accessible.”

Food producers have been under mounting pressure to reduce their contribution to climate change by reducing deforestation and lowering the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Agriculture accounts for more than one-fifth of global carbon emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The food industry will need as much as $350 billion a year until 2030 to fund the adoption of more sustainable practices, and a system needs to be created to make sure farmers are paid for their “environmental services,” Tomazoni said.

--With assistance from Gerson Freitas Jr..

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