{"id":50039089,"date":"2021-01-12T17:48:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T17:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=39089"},"modified":"2023-06-13T18:44:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T15:44:36","slug":"39089-argentinas-land-laws-stifle-sustainable-agriculture-soy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/food\/39089-argentinas-land-laws-stifle-sustainable-agriculture-soy\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina\u2019s land laws stifle sustainable agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fewer and fewer farmers grow soy, grains and cereals in Argentina. Though overall exports are at historic highs, over the past three decades Argentina’s land laws have allowed land to become increasingly concentrated in fewer hands and dedicated to the production of a smaller range of crops, census data shows. Experts say this agribusiness model based on short-term profit disincentivises sustainable practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The combination of intensive agrochemical<\/a> use, genetically modified seeds<\/a> and direct sowing without a plough has reduced Argentina\u2019s agricultural diversity. The country has moved from mixed crop cultivation and livestock farms to two main monocultures for export: soy and maize. <\/span><\/p>\n

This shift, which has sped up in recent years, is attributable to Argentina\u2019s <\/span>1948 land tenure law<\/span><\/a>, modified during the military dictatorship in 1980, which permits short leases of two years, encouraging quick returns and discouraging long-term environmental planning. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to preliminary data from the <\/span>2018 Agricultural Census<\/span><\/a>, 20% of farmers nationwide work rented land. The figure rises sharply in the provinces of C\u00f3rdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, Argentina\u2019s agricultural heartland. This is up from 10% in 2002. <\/span><\/p>\n

Current legislation allows tenants to work land without any consideration for soil conservation, crop rotation, or limits on the application of agrochemicals. Nor does it incorporate the environmental protection criteria that appears in the Constitution, reformed in 1994.<\/p>\n

Increasing crop concentration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Last year<\/span><\/a> Argentina produced 120 million tonnes of grains, maize and cereals on 31 million hectares: 51.5 million tonnes of maize on 7.26 million hectares; 50.7 million tonnes of soy on 17.2 million hectares; and 6.8 million tonnes of wheat on 6.8 million hectares. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most grains are exported. In the first half of 2020, the agriculture sector\u2019s exports were worth US$20 billion, equivalent to US$7 of every US$10 of the value of all goods that Argentina exports. The Pampas region accounted for 94% of foreign sales, according to <\/span>a report<\/span><\/a> by the agricultural foundation FADA. <\/span><\/p>\n

China<\/span><\/a> buys most of Argentina\u2019s soybeans, some 7 million tonnes worth around $US2.2 billion. Vietnam is the main importer of maize and Brazil buys most of Argentina\u2019s wheat. <\/span><\/p>\n

Provisional data from the latest agricultural census provides a clearer picture of who sells. There are 236,000 farms working 161 million hectares in the agriculture and forestry sectors.<\/span><\/p>\n

The census also reveals another phenomenon. The number of farms is decreasing but they are growing in size. While in the 2002 census there were 333,000 farms, in 2018 there were 250,000. Just 1% of companies (<\/span>2,500<\/span><\/a>) control 40% of the country’s productive land.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last 30 years, 170,000 productive units have been lost in the Argentine countryside. <\/span><\/p>\n

Argentina’s land laws: Agricultural capitalism<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to the census, 69% of Argentina\u2019s farms are managed by their owners, while 19% of fields are rented. In the main agricultural provinces, this changes drastically.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the northern C\u00f3rdoba province, only 23% of farms were leased in 2002 but this figure jumped to 44% in 2018. In Buenos Aires Province, which along with Santa Fe comprises Argentina\u2019s so-called agricultural core, approximately one-third of farms are leased, some 8.8 million hectares of the total 23.7 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

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