New FAO, ECLAC and IICA report provides in-depth study of agriculture and rural development in the region

Santiago, Chile and Punta del Este, November 8, 2012 FAO, ECLAC and IICA presented a new joint publication, Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas, which provides an in-depth study of the macroeconomic context of Latin America and the Caribbean, the state of its agriculture, livestock, forests, fishing, and rural development, and includes a special section that analyzes land ownership in the region.

Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, pointed out that “the current context is favourable for restoring the role of the State in the provision of public goods for agriculture, for promoting greater participation of the actors within the sector in the processes of policy preparation and in facilitating greater public-private collaboration, especially with a view to increasing investment in research, development and innovation (R+D+I).”

“The potential for agriculture in the Americas has been limited, to a great extent, by growing productivity gaps, which makes it necessary to revisit investment in R+D+I, as well as generate technology development strategies directed at small agriculture”, said Víctor M. Villalobos, Director General of IICA.

With respect to land tenure, the report points out that the region continues to undergo structural change, which includes processes of land fragmentation and concentration.

“A key element for advancing towards total hunger eradication in the region is to provide smallholders with greater access to land resources. Given the powerful economic and agricultural growth in the region, it is unacceptable that 49 million persons are still going hungry”, pointed out Raúl Benítez, Regional Representative of FAO.

Inequality of land ownership

According to the report, the region has millions of small rural farms that coexist with medium-sized and large farms, generating a very heterogeneous agrarian structure. This structure produces inequality in the distribution of assets, thereby perpetuating and accentuating productivity gaps.

The former landholding structure has given way to large capitalist companies involved in international trade, while small properties are undergoing a process of fragmentation caused by sale and inheritance. In some countries, tensions between rural farmers, with or without lands, and large land owners, continue to pose serious challenges.

Another problem to be tackled is the lack of legality with respect to ownership: in the majority of the countries, a large number of farms are without property titles – a phenomenon that is particularly frequent in the countries of the Caribbean and in the agricultural border areas of Central and South America - which halts investment, generates social conflicts and interferes with plans to institute adequate land management schemes.

Concentration of land ownership is another new phenomenon in the region, and although at this time it is observed in only a few countries, it can result in displacement of the population and generate a new type of large landholding and problems of territorial sovereignty.

Important deceleration of the GDP growth rate

The document indicates that uncertainty with respect to renewed growth in the advanced economies has drawn attention to the need to establish additional policy measures to maintain growth in the region. In Latin America and the Caribbean, there was a significant downturn in the growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, which was extended into the projections for 2012, in comparison to the upsurge that was recorded in 2010.

Nonetheless, the economies of the region are exhibiting macroeconomic conditions that, although different from one country to the next, would enable them to make it possible for them to adopt counter-cyclical fiscal policies and strengthen their social protection networks in order to serve the most vulnerable populations.

Subsectoral vision

Sluggish growth worldwide and high climatic variability are the main challenges for regional agriculture in the short term. It is expected that in 2013, in light of a possible moderation in price volatility, the effects of climate change and of international demand for agricultural crop production will be even more important.

Meat and milk production has grown by two digits over the last 10 years within the region, far exceeding growth rates in the United States and Europe. The report points to the importance of strengthening family livestock production systems to diminish the impact of increased food prices and contribute to the fight against chronic child malnutrition in the rural areas and vulnerable communities. The conflict between the growth in the industry and its environmental impact will require a more focused, but balanced approach, in order to improve productivity along with sustainable livestock development policies.

Commercial fishing and aquiculture in the region continue to show high concentration indexes: Peru, Chile and Mexico account for 72% of the wild capture fisheries and, when added to that of Argentina and Brazil, amounts to 86%. According to the three agencies, the States should continue to explore measures that improve sectoral management and increase employment, contribution to food security and general well-being within the region. The document also indicates that small farmers continue to face challenges that they cannot resolve by themselves, and require long-term support policies.

With respect to the forest sector, the document highlights a reduction in the rate of deforestation, which has been about at 20% over the last five years when compared with the previous period. However, it is still approximately three times higher than the annual rate of forest cover loss worldwide. The document also shows that there is an increase in the surface area of forests reserved primarily for uses other than timber, and that there is also a greater understanding of the importance of the forests as providers of goods and environmental services for local and global benefit.

Growth in female and non-agricultural employment

According to the report, over the last two decades, unemployment in the agricultural sector fell in the rural areas, whilst there was an increase in the employment of women (especially in non-agricultural activities) as well as an increase in salaried employment, versus a reduction in self-employment.

For more information, contact: 
patricia.leon@iica.int