Agricultural Technologies

Abstract

The size and diversity of Latin America make it impossible to identify a characteristic “Latin American agricultural technology.” There are few types of agricultural technologies that are not used somewhere in the region. The exceptions are almost entirely traditional technologies that were developed within specific cultural contexts in other regions of the world or that are clearly inappropriate in the geographic circumstances of soil and climate found in Latin America. Many Latin American public research institutes, universities, corporate research facilities, and individual farmers are capable of locating and adopting technologies from anywhere in the world and adapting them to local conditions, although the institutions and farmers of some nations and regions in Latin America are far better equipped to do so than others. Liberalized trade, Internet resources, international organizations, and the expanding influence of transnational corporations have in general greatly facilitated diffusion of technological innovations. Agricultural technology as discussed here consists of all applications of human knowledge, methods, and tools, as well as plant and animal varieties used for production of agricultural goods. Chemicals, mechanical tools, and biological organisms must be employed in particular ways, and it is both the tools and the ways they are used that make up the technologies of production. It is also important to note that many technologies that are not particularly agricultural in nature have had enormous influence on the development of agriculture. Improvements in transportation, refrigeration, communication, and information processing often overshadow the influence of more specifically “agricultural” technologies. These will be considered here only as they established the context for specifically agricultural technologies. The purpose here is to provide an overview of the history of agricultural technologies in Latin America and an elucidation of current major perspectives and controversies about the best future paths for agricultural research and development.