Latin American Agriculture Research Articles

Considerations about interference RNA for the control offungal diseases in Mexican and Latin American agriculture

The control of phytopathogens is keyfor food security. In the last decade, the use ofinterference RNA (iRNA) has been proposed as atechnological tool for controlling diseases and pestsin agriculture. Although different approaches havebeen described, such as the use of “Host-InduceGene Silencing” (HIGS) and “Virus-Induce GeneSilencing” (VIGS), more recently a non-transgenicand environmentally friendly approach hasemerged, called “Spray -Induce Gene Silencing (SIGS), which uses double-stranded “naked” RNA(dsRNA). This review discusses recent reportson the use of dsRNA, especially SIGS, to controlphytopathogenic fungi; emphasizing factors suchas efficacy, safety in terms of human health andits stability in the environment. It also focuses onimportant phytosanitary problems in Mexico andLatin America that can be addressed with SIGS.This review concludes that SIGS technology hasreal potential to be used to control phytopathogenicfungi on plants in the field and on postharvestfruits. At the end, the critical tasks and the linesof research that must be carried out to promote theSIGS to make it a reality are considered.

Latin American Agricultural Workers' Job Demands and Resources and the Association With Health Behaviors at Work and Overall Health.

In the present study, we describe the job demands and job resources (JD-R) experienced by agricultural workers in three Latin American countries and their relationship to proactive health behaviors at work and overall health. Following previous research on the JD-R model, we hypothesized that job demands (H1) would be negatively related to agricultural workers' self-reported overall health. On the other hand, we hypothesized that job resources (H2) would be positively related to agricultural workers' overall health. Furthermore, we hypothesized (H3) that workers' engagement in jobsite health promotion practices via their proactive health behaviors at work would partially mediate the relationship between workers' job resources and job demands and overall health. We also had a research question (R1) about whether there were differences by type of job held. The sample of workers who participated in this study (N = 1,861) worked in Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua for one large agribusiness that produces sugar cane. They worked in two distinct areas: company administration and agricultural operations. We administered employee health and safety culture surveys using survey methods tailored to meet the needs of both types of workers. Stratified path analysis models were used to test study hypotheses. In general, we found support for hypotheses 1 and 2. For example, operations workers reported more physically demanding jobs and administrative workers reported more work-related stress. Regardless, the existence of high job demands was associated with poorer overall health amongst both types of workers. We found that workers in more health-supportive work environments perform more proactive health behaviors at work, regardless of their role within the organization. However, hypothesis 3 was not supported as proactive health behaviors at work was not associated with overall health. We discuss future research needs in terms of evaluating these hypotheses amongst workers employed by small- and medium-sized agribusinesses as well as those in the informal economy in Latin America. We also discuss important implications for agribusinesses seeking to develop health promotion programs that meet the needs of all workers.

Carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and biological control of agricultural pests in Latin America

AbstractThe well-diversified Latin American agriculture plays an essential role in the economy of that region, through the export of food and agricultural commodities. The region is expected to continue playing a significant role in world agricultural production and trade. Carabid beetles are efficient consumers of arthropod pests and weed seeds on agricultural land, which makes them a target for studies by entomologists aiming to determine whether predatory carabids are capable of suppressing pest populations. However, carabids have been mostly studied in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Here, evidence for carabids as biocontrol agents of agricultural pests in Latin America is examined, aiming to improve understanding of this predator group in Latin American agroecosystems. The records found were organized into the following subject areas: conservation tactics, biocontrol agents, agricultural practices, and population survey. The literature review identified several gaps in knowledge of these topics, which made it possible to indicate potential research projects related to noncrop habitats, population studies, and consumption of weed seeds. Laboratory investigations of carabids’ predatory capacity indicated that they have the potential to control pests. However, field studies have failed to demonstrate that carabids significantly decreased pest densities. Although polyculture is a traditional practice of smallholder farmers in Latin America, the literature involving carabids and this sustainable agriculture practice is sparse. Looking forward, the utilization of polyculture and the existing no-till system in large fields provide opportunities for future research on ground beetles in Latin America.

The Dynamics of Latin American Agricultural Production Growth, 1950–2008

AbstractThis article is the first of its kind to offer a quantitative estimation of the evolution of Latin American agricultural production and productivity between 1950 and 2008. It also uncovers the extent to which the increases in production were due to increases in factors of production or to efficiency gains. Our findings reveal that efficiency gains made a rather modest contribution to the substantial increase in production, although their role became increasingly large over time and were highly significant between 1994 and 2008. Capital was the most important productive factor in explaining increases in output.

Balanço de nitrogênio, fósforo e potássio na agricultura da América Latina e o Caribe

The objective of this study was to evaluate nutrient consumption and exports in agricultural systems of Latin America and the Caribbean (ALC) in order to estimate the balance of the main macronutrients (N, P and K) used by crops. The nutrient balance was estimated by considering the amount of nutrients entering the agricultural systems via fertilization and biological N2 f ixation (BNF) and the amount of nutrients leaving the systems through crop harvest removal in each country. Based on off icial statistics for the year 2016, the ALC region presented a positive balance of nitrogen. However, some countries (Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay) had a negative balance of N. Biological N2 f ixation is the main source of N in Latin American agriculture, accounting for more than 62% (11.29 Mt N) of the total N (18.10 Mt N) entering the agricultural systems. Broadly speaking, the supply of P via fertilizer in Latin America counterbalanced the removal through crop harvest, with the exception of Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala and México, which have crop production dependent on soil P mining. Potassium was one of the nutrients whose application does not meet the demand of the region’s crops, presenting negative balances in almost all countries except Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. Nevertheless, it should be noted that many agricultural soils from this region have naturally high K availability. Greater care in the use of inputs, including fertilizers, occurs with cropping soybean, corn, coffee, sugarcane and oranges, while the rest are dependent on natural soil fertility, which may compromise food safety.

What is the Spillover Effect of the U.S. Equity and Money Market on the Key Latin American Agricultural Exports?

This paper employs a multivariate constant conditional correlation (CCC) GARCH model and the VAR-AGARCH model to examine whether the U.S. equity and money market have a volatility spillover effect on the returns of the most important agricultural export products of Latin America over the turbulent 2005–2016 period. These results indicate the strengthening of crossmarket linkages between U.S. equity and money market and agricultural raw material commodities (notably sugar and soy) during the period of an upward trend and financial turmoil.

Beanstalks and Trust in Chinese and Brazilian Food Systems

The growth of Chinese cities to an expected 860 million people has generated unprecedented demand for Latin American agriculture products, but the intensification of industrial farming has provoked shortages of safe and healthy food in both regions. For Brazil, the deficiencies result from the loss of rural livelihoods to export-oriented soy and cattle farming, resulting rural-urban migration, and the consequent destruction of peri-urban family farms as cities grow. For China, agricultural industrialization has involved greater reliance on chemical inputs and contamination with pollutants, provoking widespread public distrust in the safety of food. Through case studies from Beijing and Rio de Janeiro, the article examines efforts to address these concerns through localized urban food programs that build trust between producers, consumers, and governments. I call the protagonists behind these initiatives beanstalks, arguing that they represent a new variety of globally networked intermediary. Like the fabled beanstalk climbed by Jack, they link local realities to a wider universe of promise and peril.

Transgenic Crops in Latin America: Expropriation, Negative Value and the State

This paper introduces a symposium on transgenic crops and neoliberalism in Latin America. We address the question: What is the relationship between the neoliberal food regime and transgenic crops in Latin American agriculture? Our goals are, first, to provide the main conceptual definitions and analytical parameters to contextualize the case studies that follow; and, second, using the findings of our contributors as our empirical stepping stone, to briefly elaborate the concepts of expropriation, accumulation by dispossession and negative value as the primary consequences of the neoliberal food regime. We also offer a brief description of each of the papers in the symposium that follows, linking them to our theoretical proposal. We hope this symposium will help in further exploration of the connection between GM crops and the larger dynamics of capitalist development worldwide.

El trabajo infantil rural en México y Argentina. El caso de dos complejos agroindustriales

El artículo describe las características y el tipo de trabajo que realizan niños y niñas en las actividades de la floricultura y la tabacalera. Busca dar cuenta de dos realidades socioeconómicas atravesadas por un mismo proceso global: el uso de la mano de obra asalariada dentro de los “nuevos” esquemas de producción que imponen los complejos agroindustriales (CAI). En la agricultura latinoamericana son las actividades estacionales altamente demandantes de mano de obra asalariada donde la presencia de mujeres y niños adquiere protagonismo. En muchos casos son usados como complemento de la mano de obra familiar, pero en otros, niños y niñas buscan el empleo para incrementar los ingresos económicos del hogar. La metodología utilizada es de corte cualitativo.

Latin American Agriculture in a World of Trade Agreements

AbstractLatin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries are members of 29 distinct free trade agreements with other Latin American partners, and 44 such agreements exist between an LAC country and other countries. Among the LAC countries linked by an Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a large percentage of trade is already duty free though many trade barriers in agriculture persist. There is a significant difference in the trade patterns among the LAC countries. The Southern Cone countries, for example, have extensive agricultural exports to Asia and to the European Union (EU), and have few FTAs with regional countries. By contrast, countries in Central America and the Andean region have extensive trade agreements with each other, and have fewer exports outside the region. Meanwhile, other regions are negotiating ambitious mega‐agreements, particularly the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans‐Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T‐TIP). These could have significant impacts on the region, including trade diversion and preference erosion in major import markets. Several possible avenues exist for Latin American countries to accomplish the following: counter the impact of a TPP and T‐TIP on agricultural exports; strengthen existing bilateral trade agreements within the region; link existing multi‐country agreements such as Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) and the Pacific Alliance to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); consolidate the current trade agreements with the EU; or “sign on” to the TPP. This last option would be more attractive if China were to become a TPP participant. If China is not interested in joining the TPP, then for some countries a direct FTA with China could be contemplated.

Nuevos acuerdos regionales de comercio en Latinoamérica y disposición a negociar: El caso de la agricultura

<span>This article analyses past trade trends and agricultural protectionism in Latin American agriculture, by examining observed changes in Latin American agriculture and trade policies over the last 20 years that have led to what the authors call the«New Open Regionalism». It also discussed the conflicting interests and various trading positions taken up by Latin American countries in multilateral trade talks, as a result of the strong heterogeneity between net agricultural exporters and importers. The authors show that the repeated failure of the Doha round of trade talks opens the door for bilateral or sub-regional free trade agreements, concluding with the prediction that regional integration in Latin America will come about as a result of agreements between various sub-regional trade blocs. The weakness of internal demand makes the development of the region’s agri-food sector highly dependent on exports, the growth of which is one of the main economic drivers in these countries, particularly net exporters. In addressing the issue of the distribution of profits from trade liberalization, the authors propose a variety of schemes that have already proved their effectiveness in countries such as Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua and Honduras.</span>

Food for the few: neoliberal globalism and biotechnology in Latin America

Introduction 1. Neoliberal Globalism and the Biotechnology Revolution: Economic and Historical Context / Gerardo Otero 2. Latin American Agriculture, Food, and Biotechnology: Temperate Dietary Pattern Adoption and Unsustainability / Gerardo Otero and Gabriela Pechlaner 3. Exporting Crop Biotechnology: The Myth of Molecular Miracles / Kathy McAfee 4. Biosafety Regulation and Global Governance: The Problem of Absentee Expertise in Latin America / Kees Jansen and Esther Roquas 5. Unnatural Growth: The Political Economy of Biotechnology in Mexico / Manuel Poitras 6. Importing Corn, Exporting Labor: The Neoliberal Corn Regime, GMOs, and the Erosion of Mexican Biodiversity / Elizabeth Fitting 7. Political Economy of Agricultural Biotechnology in North America: The Case of rBST in La Laguna, Mexico / Gerardo Otero, Manuel Poitras, and Gabriela Pechlaner 8. Genetically Modified Soybeans and the Crisis of Argentina's Agriculture Model / Miguel Teubal 9. Brazilian Biotechnology Governance: Consensus and Conflict over Genetically Modified Crops / Wendy E. Jepson, Christian Brannstrom, and Renato Stancato de Souza 10. Brazilian Farmers at a Crossroads: Biotech Industrialization of Agriculture or New Alternatives for Family Farmers? / Shuji Hisano and Simone Altoe 11. Social Movements and Techno-Democracy: Reclaiming the Genetic Commons / Manuel Poitras 12. Conclusion: Food for the Few? / Gerardo Otero and Gabriela Pechlaner About the Contributors

Placing Latin America: Contemporary Themes in Human Geography (review)

Reviewed by: Placing Latin America: Contemporary Themes in Human Geography Benjamin F. Timms (bio) Placing Latin America: Contemporary Themes in Human GeographyEdward L. Jackiewicz and Fernando J. Bosco (editors) Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2008 S tudying Latin America can seem like a fatalistic endeavor, with the heavy burden of structural legacies weighing down on progress and change. In Placing Latin America, Edward Jackiewicz and Fernando Bosco have assembled a volume that not only addresses the stifling effects of these legacies but also, and more importantly, highlights the role of human agency in exploiting the spaces made available to local actors as they stimulate change. As the editors rightfully claim, the underlying themes throughout the work are the seemingly contradictory, and yet related, concepts of continuity and change. The 14 chapters bring together an impressive collection of submissions from established Latin American geographers and fresh faces as well. Conceived as a thematic textbook, it diverges from the traditional pattern of focusing on general themes with interspersed case studies. Instead, the submissions present more specific topics with general themes developed in the process. While this style takes a little adjusting to, it does provide an exciting way to cover the human geography of Latin America in the classroom. For example, Kent Mathewson’s contribution focuses on psychoactive drug production, processing, and trafficking as both a way of exploring this specific issue and covering the historical legacy of Latin American agriculture as a source of luxury crops for the global North. While the same can be done with bananas, I doubt it would be as effective in capturing the attention and imagination of students. The beginning half of the textbook deals more with continuity than change. In the first chapter, Edward Jackiewicz and Linda Quiquivix provide [End Page 161] a clear and concise historical and geographical coverage of Latin America’s political economy. From colonial mercantilism to post-independence liberalism, followed by state-sponsored import-substitution and the contemporary shift to neoliberalism, it exhibits the cyclical nature of political economy. While some may concede to the triumph of neoliberalism, they suggest that it, too, will be replaced in due time. And, according to Thomas Klak in the following chapter, this change had better come sooner rather than later. Arguing that neoliberalism has resulted in coerced trade and increased dependency through the application of unequal economic and political power, Klak believes it has hindered sustainable development by supplanting local and national needs with global interests. The few niches left open for Latin American countries (particularly Caribbean and Central American ones) create intraregional competition in the “race to the bottom” of common parlance. The result is service and remittance economies, with the primary export being labor. John Davenport and Edward Jackiewicz highlight one such example of a resultant service economy in their chapter called “Spaces of Tourism.” While summarizing several typologies of tourism, they argue that tourism needs to be better managed in order to increase benefits for local stakeholders, rather than the present situation in which much of the profits leak off shore. In relation, Thomas Klak and Ross Flynn elaborate on ecotourism as a possible avenue for sustainable development, using the case study of Dominica’s relative success. Lacking the typical mass tourism characteristics of picture-perfect sandy beaches and direct air service to major markets, and experiencing less sun and more rain due to its physical geography, Dominica has been left to focus on small-scale ecotourism to stimulate sustainable development on the island. Several chapters deal with urban issues, balancing continuity with change. Larry Ford goes beyond his classic model of urban form with the observation that Latin American cities, once on the avant-garde of architectural design and urban planning, have fallen behind advances in other world regions. Instead of moving forward, urban areas in Latin America are left preserving an imported architectural history and dealing with the problems of unplanned squatter settlements. Adrian Aguilar and Antonio Vieyra’s chapter includes the continuity of rural-to-urban migration and urban primacy, but begins to focus on change as neoliberal policies have led to urban deconcentration due to altered labor markets. These arguments are advanced by Altha Cravey’s chapter...

La formación por alternancia y el desarrollo rural en América Latina. El caso de Colombia

Rural development is not understood in the same way in such different contexts as the European and the Latin American. Some Institutions speak about a New Rurality in Latin America based on concepts like human development, social capital and equitable economic growth. Latin American agriculture is becoming more and more multifunctional and the rural development tends towards a territorial approach which strengths social effects. But in any rural area, sustainable development processes are favoured, in the first place, with the permanence of people in this environment. And, in second place, when those who perform changes have the appropriate education and training. This paper attempts to describe a unique educational system based on alternating training periods in the socio-professional environment and in the school. It also proposes an impact evaluation model of this training applying it to a Latin American rural area. It allows us to verify very successful results for the quality of life, the employment, the sustainability of agriculture and territorial equilibrium. More specifically, the case of Colombia is studied to analyse the way in which young students attending studies under alternating cycle, are capable of influencing the generation of local development processes because they become leaders of their own communities and build the fabric of society.

Food for the Few: The Biotechnology Revolution in Latin America

ABSTRACT This article introduces the main issues raised in biotechnology in Latin American agriculture in the era of neoliberal globalism. We begin by discussing the theoretical concerns regarding biotechnology's “revolutionary” potential, and identifi where empirical work could respond to these concerns. A historical overview of modern agriculture in the United States provides a means to highlight a number of problems that have arisen as a result of this technological paradigm and its transfer to the developing world. These theoretical and historical concerns are then empirically assessed with the help of we studies drawn from the forthcoming book Food for the Few. Most of these cases provide support that the technology is becoming revolutionary in its detrimental social and environmental impacts.

Implications of the shift in United States farm policy

This article sets out to describe the main features of the new farm legislation in the United States, assess the extent to which it conforms to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and provide a preliminary assessment of its impact on Latin America. The article first looks at the new United States Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, identifying the different mechanisms used to support the country’s farm producers. It then analyses that Act, referred to hereinafter as the 2002 Farm Act, in the light of the rules established and the commitments made in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (gatt). This is followed by an analysis of the possible impact of the new law on Latin American agriculture. Lastly, reference is made to recent developments in multilateral trade negotiations and the way they relate to the 2002 Farm Act.

Explaining Agricultural Expansion, Resource Booms and Growth in Latin America

The following paper examines the main factors determining long-run agricultural land expansion in Latin America compared to other tropical regions. Given the importance of natural resource-based sectors for most economies in Latin America, the impact of price-induced "resource booms" on economic growth in the region is explored. In addition, the paper examines whether there is an inherent "boom and bust" pattern of economic development associated with agricultural land expansion in Latin America, and the extent to which economic policies in the region exacerbate this problem. The paper concludes by examining the role of targeted policies in alleviating the structural obstacles to Latin American agricultural and economic development.

Herbicide Resistant Crops: Implications for Latin American Agriculture

Herbicide Resistant Crops: Implications for Latin American Agriculture

Who Owns the Land? Gender and Land‐Titling Programmes in Latin America

The main focus of state intervention in Latin American agriculture in the 1990s was on land‐titling programs, designed to promote security of tenure and enliven land markets. A review of seven of these projects suggests that they were often designed without sufficient attention to civil codes and marital regimes that protect women's property rights. They often ignored that a household's endowment of land may consist of three forms of property: the wife's, the husband's and jointly owned property. By assuming that the family farm is owned by the male household head, these projects trampled upon women's ownership rights. Nonetheless, the share of female beneficiaries of land‐titling projects has been much higher than the share of women adjudicated land under the agrarian reforms of previous decades. This is partly because the primary way that women acquire land is through inheritance, and inheritance appears to be more gender equitable than other manners of acquiring land. It is also due to the impact of the more gender‐equitable agrarian legislation of the current period, itself a product of the impact of women's movements on the state.

The Impact of the New Economic Model on Latin America’s Agriculture

This paper examines the changes in policy instruments and public institutions under the New Economic Model (NEM) that have affected Latin American agriculture, with particular attention to Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. In general, production has increased, while acreage and rural employment have declined in many countries, in the context of a shift from traditional to nontraditional products. There has been a sharp reduction in the number of small farmers, often accompanied by a greater inequality. While the rural sector needs efficient public institutions, the retreat of the state has left important gaps not (yet) filled by the private sector, with negative consequences in particular for small producers.