Soybean production in Paraguay: Agribusiness, economic change and agrarian transformations

Abstract

Contemporary corporate‐led agricultural commodity production has seen profound transformations in rural spaces. This article focuses on soybean production in Paraguay, analysing corporate activity in the productive, commercial and economic dynamics of the soybean market and identifies the impacts of this monoculture on small farmers. Drawing on mixed methods, the research points to high levels of concentration of this market in the hands of a few transnational companies, which control the value chain via contractual relations with farmers. Through a complex set of relations, soybean production has seen smallholder farmers fall into debt and become unable to maintain their activity and migrate to new regions, leasing their land and, in the worst cases, lose both their land and status as farmers.

Can Family Farmers Thrive in Commodity Markets? Quantitative Evidence on the Heterogeneity in Long Agribusiness Supply Chains

“…Family farmers' participation in these channels was greatly encouraged through public policies. In recent years (2017 and 2018), 40% of the funding resources allocated to the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (PRONAF) were allocated to financing soybean crops [1]. Another great public power incentive for the insertion of family farmers in long channels was the Biodiesel Social Seal, which encouraged many farmers to start planting soybeans [24].…”

“…Encouraging the insertion of Paraguayan family farmers into the soybean chain led to the differentiation of this social category into two groups: (1) few technified farmers capable of leasing more and more areas; and (2) many indebted farmers who lost their land to pay debts incurred to enable soybean production [1].…”

“…Family farmers' participation in commodity supply chains has considerably increased in South American countries in recent years, due to the increase in worldwide demand for agricultural produce and the increase in the prices of such products in global markets [1]. This process has contributed to the emergence of a group of highly technified family farmers integrated into the markets.…”

“…This process has contributed to the emergence of a group of highly technified family farmers integrated into the markets. However, it has promoted other developments in the agrarian market's dynamic, such as the weakening of the rural communities involved due to a greater dependence by farmers on external resources, with a related reduction in their autonomy [1].…”

Soy Expansion, Environment, and Human Development: An Analysis across Brazilian Municipalities

“…The expansion of agricultural commodities production in developing and emerging countries has had a strong impact on their socio-economic and environmental systems [1][2][3]. In Latin America, the commodity boom over the last decades has produced radical changes in the organization of agri-food supply chains, the establishment of global trade partnerships, and the living conditions of rural communities [4][5][6][7][8]. Soy production has become the main farming activity in terms of both planted surface and economic value.…”