MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Soy rapidly becoming an only crop threatening biodiversity

The explosive development of soybean farming in the last decade means 8% of the world's agriculture land is dedicated to the crop and ranks only behind three basic cereals: rice, wheat and corn. Soy and derivate exports represent 10% of all global agriculture trade reveals the latest report from FAO.

The countries involved in the boom are mainly from Mercosur, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay representing 45% of the world's soy crop and 60% of global exports. The impact of the boom means that soy crops now represent 42% of farm production for Argentina; 27% for Bolivia; 24%, Brazil; 41% Paraguay and 10% in Uruguay.

In the five countries soybeans have become the top crop regarding planted area and in four of them they represent the main source of agriculture production with the exception of Uruguay where rice is still ahead of soy.

The expansion of soy has meant a significant contribution to the five economies as far as GDP, export income, tax revenue and infrastructure investment. Besides it has meant a technological leap with important innovations in seed selection, direct sowing and new herbicides, all of which has helped reduce costs and improve yields.

The soy boom has had other impacts in farm enterprises, organization and trading with highly flexible companies, modern techniques and mechanization, but with a tendency to medium and big scale production.

This means small farmers either lease or sell their land, or associate in cooperatives that can take advantage of scale. Furthermore soy production expansion has influenced farm employment as well as farm income and distribution.

Soybeans have also forced other crops out of the agriculture business including pastures for cattle ranching. As soy encroaches pasture land, cattle moves to fringe areas and triggers deforestation.

Further more as soy rapidly becomes an only crop it could generate problems such as the loss of biodiversity; increase susceptibility to disease and the loss of specific soil nutrients because of lack of an adequate rotation and fertilization.

Taking into account all these facts, and other data, and soybean expansion prospects in the coming years, FAO together with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are involved in a in depth paper on the issue concentrating on long term effects for food security and sustainable rural development.

A typical case is that of Uruguay with land dedicated to soybeans jumping from 12.000 to 260.000 hectares in just four years, overtaking rice as the crop with most farmland.