Rural developments in Latin America, 1930-2015 Michiel Baud CEDLA
Export-orientation, 1870-1930 Expansion agrarian frontier Agrarian monocultures Replacement of traditional large landowners New forms of labour control
Growth Latin American export agriculture, 1880-1913 (1000 metric tons) 1881/5 1896/1900 1913 Coffee Brazil 296 530 727 Colombia 7 33 61 Cotton Brazil 30 46 103 Mexico 20 22 45 Sugar Cuba 474 655 2677 Peru 24 120 223 Argentina 15 17 274 Cacao Ecuador 18 39 Brazil 16 30
Population, 1930-1990 (millions) Total LA population 1930: 107 1950: 166 1970: 286 1990: 448 2010: 580 Agrarian population 1930: 21 million 1980: 39 million 2010: 120 million Sources: 1930/80: ILO; 2010: FAO Latin America: 22 million km2
Resource-rich region 25% of the potential arable land 40% of tropical forest 23% of livestock 30% of freshwater reserves Political resistance against malthusian policies
1930-80: slow agrarian growth Expansion of inefficient - agriculture Enclave production (epitomised by the banana plantations in Central America) Large-scale commercial farming Hacienda-type agriculture Small-scale farming (market oriented) Subsistence farming Debate around open-closed communities (also haciendas!) => economic and social issues
Historical land expansion and recent land demand Region Cultivated land area (millions of ha) Annual change (%) 1961 1997 2007 1961-1997 1997-2007 Sub-Saharan Africa 134.6 192.2 218.5 1.60 2.63 Latin America 102.6 160.9 168.0 1.62 0.71 East Asia & Pacific 183.9 235.7 262.8 1.44 2.72 South Asia 197.9 212.9 213.5 0.41 0.06 Oceania 34.0 42.8 46.7 0.25 0.38 Middle-East & North Africa 77.9 91.3 89.0 0.37-0.23 Eastern Europe& C Asia 291.5 263.6 241.7-0.77-2.19 Western Europe 99.4 86.8 83.5-0.35-0.32 North America 235.3 232.5 225.3-0.08-0.72 World total 1357.1 1518.6 1549.0 4.49 3.04 Source: Adapted from Deininger (2011), from: Land grabbing in Latin America (2011)
Traditional products Temperate zones: wheat, cattle, maize Intermediate zones: coffee, cacao, henequen, wool Tropical zones: Tobacco, sugar
Agricultural production, 1930-75 Some crops expand (cotton, maize, sugar), others stagnate (coffee, rice, wheat) Urbanization and migration Foodcrop production expands but does not keep up with urban growth
Rural poverty Source: López and Valdés, Rural Poverty in Latin America, 2000 (p. 40)
Rural poverty and inequality Access to land Access to services (credit, schooling, medical care, water, electricity) Commercial opportunities Political and social liberties => indigenous populations among the extreme poor => Rural mobilization (f.i. Ecuador, Mexico) to influence absent state
Rural labour force Latin America strongly urbanized => 1980: 66 % (Africa 30%; South Asia 24%) Agriculture: 1950: 53 % 1980: 32 % 2010: 21 %
Source: FAO statistical Yearbook 2014; Latin America and the Caribbean
1970-2000: contradictory processes Agrarian reform Structural adjustment and green revolution Conservation and protected areas
Agrarian Reform Mexico 1930s Bolivia 1953 Ecuador 1964, 1973 Chile 1967 Peru 1969 => More modernizing than redistributive! Partly strengthens small- and middle scale agriculture, but limited labour absorption and incomplete
Green Revolution Starts in Mexico => important role of State Only fully implemented in Mexico, Cono sur and tropical coastal areas Concentration of land => replacing small- and community farming (seasonal) semi-proletarianization
Protected areas 1985-2008: threefold expansion of protected areas => approx. 3500 sites and 3 million km2 Latin America: 15% of worldwide protected area
Change in protected and harvest area, 1985-2007 Source: Zimmerer, 2011
1980-2015: non-traditional crops Central America => Commercial vegetable farming for US market (tomatoes, broccoli!), rice, cotton Andean region => new commercial products: flowers, fruit Amazon => colonization agriculture; emergence of coca! South America: Soja, grapes/wine, fruit
New crops: Food feed - fuel complex Flex crops => different uses. Food (crisis) not central In empty areas Incorporation of smallholders and little resistance
The rise of flex crops in South America and Central America Area harvested (in ha), 1961-2009 South America Soya sugarcane Oil Palm 1961 259,534 2,124,775 38,700 1965 491,639 2,582,414 56,500 1970 1,443,590 2,485,528 57,081 1975 6,467,817 2,904,841 50,643 1980 11,467,985 3,623,922 83,088 1985 14,306,828 4,975,021 123,794 1990 17,725,284 5,290,929 210,906 1995 18,912,325 5,692,331 275,364 2000 24,156,087 5,995,162 341,709 2005 40,234,628 7,025,810 404,372 2009 42,792,479 9,878,744 448,313 Central America Soya sugarcane Oil Palm 1961 9,943 500,207 22,910 1965 27,446 643,413 26,080 1970 111,844 761,258 21,986 1975 345,230 787,752 24,708 1980 155,287 882,750 35,447 1985 488,311 796,627 41,913 1990 309,996 875,047 57,197 1995 163,048 946,158 76,266 2000 85,992 1,071,684 109,430 2005 115,315 1,219,806 179,701 2009 83,444 1,231,025 239,204 Source: FAOSTAT; in Borras et al. Land grabbing in Latin America and the Caribbean (2011)
1961 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE: PERFIL REGIONAL AMBIENTAL / LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE TIERRA Y SUELOS / LAND AND SOIL Superficie total / Total surface area 2 041 (000 000) ha (2011) Terrestre / Land area 2 013 (000 000) ha (2011) Aguas continentales / Inland waters 28 (000 000) ha (2011) Proporción de superficie terrestre cubierta por bosques / Proportion of land area covered by forest 47.2 % (2010) Superficie agrícola / Agricultural area 740 (000 000) ha (2011) Tierras arables / Arable land 168 (000 000) ha (2011) Cultivos permanentes / Permanent crops 20 (000 000) ha (2011) Praderas y pastos permanentes / Permanent meadows and pastures Intensidad de uso de fertilizantes (en toneladas por 1.000 hectáreas agrícolas) / Fertilizer use intensity (tons per 1,000 ha of agricultural area) 552 (000 000) ha (2011) 28 Tn (2011) Superficie cosechada por tipo de cultivo (ha) Harvest area by type of crop (ha) 140 000 120 000 100 000 80 000 60 000 40 000 20 000 0 Algodón con semillas / Seed cotton Semilla de girasol / Sunflower seed Yuca (mandioca) / Cassava Sorgo / Sorghum Café / Coffee Arroz / Rice Frijoles secos / Dried beans Trigo / Wheat Caña de azúcar / Sugarcane Maíz / Maize Soja / Soybean
1990 2008: Changes in Brazilian land use Increase: Sugar cane area 90,5 % soja 85,2 % maíz 26,8 % => together 32 million ha Decrease: Rice -27,5 % Wheat -11,5 % batata (-24,2 %), beans -19,2 %, yuca -5,1 % => Together 7 million ha
Results Expulsion of small-scale peasant production, but also new chances (incorporation) Shrinking rural labour market Environmental degradation
Changes, 1980-2000 Expansion of agroindustry => (temporary) important for LA industrialization: food drink, timber State capacity for managing agrarian change fluctuates (Conasupo, Sinamos) NGO-influence increases
Changes in political context Structural adjustments Decreasing role of state Post-neoliberal policies
Changes in social context Indigenous struggle (territories) => new struggle for land Fair trade niche => important for reproduction small-scale peasant sector Migration => remittances
Maldonado, R., Hayem, M. (2014) "Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2013: Still Below Pre-Crisis Levels." Multilateral Investment Fund, Inter-American Development Bank. Washington, D.C., p. 3.
Maldonado, R., Hayem, M. (2014) "Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2013: Still Below Pre-Crisis Levels." Multilateral Investment Fund, Inter-American Development Bank. Washington, D.C., p. 5.
Recent developments New export-oriented agriculture => element of reprimarización (also mining) land grabbing biopiracy and transnational dependencies (Monsanto) Protected areas
Todays challenges Rural poverty New agrarian reform Maintaining food sovereignty Adapting to rural-urban connections Rural studies has become closely connected to environmental debates => debate on: productive environmentalism