Paraguay’s National Peasant Federation (FNC) announced yesterday that it would start to mobilise against the government’s recent decision to use genetically modified (GM) seeds for corn and cotton crops.

The measure was approved by presidential decree, after new president, Federico Franco, met with businessmen from the rural sector. Franco recently assumed power after democratically elected president Fernando Lugo was removed from power by parliament, in what many have called a ‘legislative coup’.

Their decision has been supported by other rural organisations, who have stated that the use of GM seeds will bring negative consequences for rural workers and their families, as well as the environment. As part of the mobilisation, the organisations are demanding that the multinationals and local businesses present their studies on food safety and the environmental impact of the grains.

President Franco has said that the import of the seeds would increase peasant families’ production of cotton.

The latest decision comes after the July decision to register a type of GM cotton produced by multinational Monsanto. The plant needs glyphosate to develop, a herbicide that has been banned in various places around the world for its high levels of toxins.

Brazil is projected to replace the U.S this year as the world’s top soybean grower. Joined by Argentina and Paraguay, these South American countries are projected to provide over half the global soybean supply next year. The price of soy, which is used for animal feed and fuel, is also expected to remain high because of a lower supply due to droughts in South America last year, and in the U.S. this year.

Droughts are currently destroying soy crops throughout the U.S, while South American farmers are predicting strong crops and abundant rains because of El Niño. This weather phenomenon warms waters in the equatorial Pacific and usually leads to heavy rainfall in the Southern Cone.

Due to such predictions, farmers in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina are all expected to shift away from corn production and produce record amounts of soy. After a very successful winter corn crop, Brazilian farmers are prepared to dedicate this season to soy production. Argentine farmers are expected to plant about 20 million hectares, 1 million more than in the previous season, and Paraguayan production is predicted to reach a high mark of 8.1 million tons, according to Market Watch.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., experts have categorized the present drought as the worst since 1956 and expect very low corn and soybean production, as the global prices for both commodities increase due to tight supply, according to Reuters. Although some climatologists have suggested that El Niño won’t produce as much rain as expected in the soybean-producing South American countries, the current drought in the U.S. and the rising prices are making way for large-scale, record quantities of soy production in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.

Speaking on his radio and television programme “Aló Presidente” yesterday, Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, threatened the three biggest banks in the country’s private sector with nationalisation if they fail to finance the country’s agricultural production, “as they should”.

Chávez addressed Banesco, el Provinicial and Mercantil, stating that he had “no problem” with nationalisation”. Chávez specifically addressed Juan Carlos Escotet, president of Banesco: “If you cannot [respond to the demands of the agricultural sector], tell me how much the bank costs, and we will nationalise at once.” He also addressed vice-president and minister of land and agriculture, Elías Jaua, to organise a meeting with the bankers in order to discuss the issue.

Chávez insisted that he would rather work in conjunction and cooperation with the banks, but that if they failed to comply, measures were in place. He insisted that the banks must uphold the law and Constitution of the country, which received applause from his audience.

Private banks, according to Venezuelan authorities, often evade legislation in the agricultural sector, by only granting funds to the bigger producers in the agro-industrial department, therefore often missing out small producers.

The president added that this policy is the same for the construction of housing. Credits are transferred to a central government fund, and then the money is distributed where it is needed.

Chávez’s government has already nationalised the Bank of Venezuela, which was bought from Santander. The president stated that they could do it again with any institution.

Argentine government officials arranged for $2.3bn in loans to aid drought-stricken farmers using funds provided by banks on 26^th January.

The funding announcement comes on the tails of another $500m in loan money that Agriculture Minister Norberto Yauhar granted as part of the Agricultural Emergency fund.

A drought has struck several countries in South America including Argentina, and Argentina Agrarian Federation president Eduardo Buzzi said the loans include $1.5bn coming from the Banco Nación and $800m from the Banco Provincia de Buenos Aires.

“This will be insufficient because the losses are much greater,” Buzzi said, according to La Información.

In its 26^th January survey, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange stated that although recent rains will help farmers, they won’t entirely stem the agricultural impacts of drought in the country.

The non-profit civil association released numbers stating that the country’s soybean production is expected to be around 46.2 million tonnes during the 2011/12 farming year. While last weekend’s rain did help push the number up, the estimate is still below last year’s harvest of 49.2 million tonnes.

“Both seasons experienced extreme conditions during December, with the difference that the 2010/11 campaign managed to catch up at the end of January under better conditions, with more frequent rains, more even distribution and more millimetres of water,” the report said.

Argentina is one of the world’s leading producers of soybean.

The country’s corn – another product that Argentina excels at exporting – is also at risk. The report noted that the rains during the last seven days gave relief to most productive areas of our country, but other were left dry.

“Just the southwest of Córdoba, the northeast San Luis and the western part of Santiago del Estero have had low rainfall to none, complicating the summer crop conditions,” the report noted.

Nísio Gomes, a Guaraní chief shot dead by gunmen (Photo courtesy of Survival)

Just days after losing their chief and spiritual leader in a deadly attack, members of the Kaiowa Guaraní tribe entrenched themselves in a makeshift camp on their ancestral territory now used for cattle ranching, vowing to uphold the last words of their lost leader.

“Take care of this land,” the 59-year-old chief Nísio Gomes reportedly said, before being shot multiple times by hooded gunmen and dragged away to a truck.

The Kaiowa, from the Mato Grosso do Sul state in south-eastern Brazil, is just one Latin American tribe that has had its land stripped away on the agricultural frontier. The challenge of protecting native groups is growing as food production escalates across the region.

In Argentina last month, security guards allegedly killed Cristian Ferreyra, 23, a leader in the Lule Vilela indigenous community in the province of Santiago del Estero. The tribe is fighting to keep ancestral land under threat from deforestation for soya farming.

Though not all murders are linked to land disputes, tension arises as farmers and ranchers seek to extend holdings for agricultural production, often contracting private security companies to intimidate indigenous communities that are defending their constitutional right to ancestral land, experts say.

Pushed off their land and frustrated with government inaction, tribes return to occupy what was once exclusively theirs, creating strife within the community and with encroaching businesses.

Evictions from their lands for biofuels and cattle ranching has forced the Guaraní to live on the roadside. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Shenker / Survival International)

Scenes of Conflict

The Kaiowa had been living in spare roadside homes as they waited for Brazil’s Indigenous Affairs Agency, FUNAI, to complete a survey demarcating the land to be returned to the Guaraní by April, 2010, according to Sarah Shenker, a campaigner at Survival International, an NGO dedicated to worldwide tribal rights.

After FUNAI failed to finish the survey, several Kaiowa returned to their land in early November, where they were met with threats from ranchers now on the territory.

According to eyewitnesses, on 18th November, some 40 armed men burst into the Kaiowa camp, surrounded Gomez, and shot him in front of his community. Two adolescents and a boy were also reported missing after the raid. FUNAI and federal police are investigating the incident.

The Guaraní, with a population of roughly 46,000 in Brazil, are under constant threat in the Mato Grosso do Sul state. A traditionally nomadic tribe, they are forced to live in relative confinement, experience a high suicide rate, and are malnourished, according to Schenker.

Brazil’s minister of human rights, Maria do Rosário, called Mato Grosso do Sul “one of the worst scenes of conflict between indigenous people and ranchers in the country”, and pledged material support for the communities.

Meanwhile, provincial authorities in Argentina have taken five men into custody, including the soya businessman José Ciccioli, in connection with the death of Cristian Ferreyra. Ciccioli allegedly hired three other men to carry out the crime.

The territory in Santiago del Estero is being deforested as soya farming balloons across the province: In 1995, soya cultivation in the province was a mere 94,000 hectares. Today the number is over 1.1m, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Indigenous land is rich in natural resources, for agriculture but also for mining,” says Mariela Flores, a consultant with Argentina’s Secretariat for Human Rights and a representative of the Diaguita community in Tucumán.

Protest march against the death of Cristian Ferreyra organized by MOCASE, Movimiento Evita, Partido Obrero, Frente Darío Santillán and Quebracho

Land Pressures

Just as some communities are beginning to gain political recognition and reclaim territory, new agricultural production and land prices are soaring, making conflicts more intense, she says.

But the recent attacks are not new or isolated incidents. Hundreds of ongoing clashes and the prospect of ramped up agricultural production to meet booming global food demand likely means continued pressure on indigenous groups in Latin America.

Worldwide cultivable land is expected to expand by 5% – or 70m hectares – by 2050. Production will decline in developed countries and expand greatly in developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization.

In addition, new technology has had an undeniable effect on the outward expansion of farmland. The conversion of Brazil’s Cerrado region – a once unproductive savannah slightly bigger than Mexico – and the use of transgenic crops and precision agronomy have allowed planting in areas not previously thought possible.

And while the new contours of the global economy put pressures on land, political powers often do little to relieve them.

The recognition of indigenous territory requires an agreement between the communal, provincial, and national authorities, says Flores, “which is complicated, because provincial governments tend to be feudal, favouring business interests and providing little representation for native communities.”

The constitutions of both Brazil and Argentina, as well as international statutes from the United Nations and the International Labour Organization, affirm the right of indigenous tribes to their native soil.

QOM camping on 9 de Julio and Av de Mayo protesting their treatment (Photo: Jessie Akin)

However, many tribes, such as the Qom de La Primavera, from the northern Argentine province of Formosa, continue to wait for action from the federal government. Last year, the Qom drew attention by camping at 9 de Julio and Avenida de Mayo – one of the busiest intersections in Buenos Aires – in protest at land usurpations and police repression in their province.

They eventually reached an agreement for access to health care and potable water. But threats against the tribe continue. The son and grandson of Felix Díaz, the Qom’s leader, were shot at last month while walking through their territory. No one was injured.

Cane Cutters

In Mato Grosso do Sul, sugarcane plantations are spreading to meet demand for ethanol-based fuels. The state’s governor, André Puccinelli, claimed in 2008 that “Mato Grosso do Sul will be the biggest producer of ethanol in seven years’ time”.

In 2008, there were 50 new ethanol projects seeking funding in the state, which would occupy roughly 800,000 hectares in coming years, according a report by Survival International.

Guaraní man harvesting cane (Photo courtesy of João Ripper / Survival International)

Many Guaraní end up doing the gruelling work of sugarcane cutters, with a work-life expectancy of just 15 years, according to the report.

“The completion of the survey and land recognition is paramount,” says Egon Heck in a telephone interview from Mato Grosso do Sul. Heck is a coordinator for the Indigenous Pastoral Council (CIMI) in Brazil, a group tied to the Catholic Church in defence of indigenous rights.

The government has been postponing the survey “for decades”, and has received strong opposition from agribusiness groups, he claims, leading to the desperate situation that tribes like the Kaiowa find themselves in.

Similarly, Argentina’s land survey, signed into law in 2006 and to be completed by 2010, was postponed until 2013.

“The killing of Nisio Gomes had surprising repercussions,” says Heck, noting that international media is starting to pay attention. “So hopefully we can raise awareness of the circumstances facing indigenous tribes, and those responsible for violence won’t be met with impunity.”

This year, the consumption of beef in Argentina has hit its lowest point in more than 50 years. On average, Argentines consume 22% less meat per person than two years ago.

The statistics were released today by the Ministry of Agriculture’s livestock sector, who blame inflation for the drop in consumption. A cut of meat that used to cost $14.43 in 2009 now costs $32.12, the average price for a 1kg of beef has risen by 122%.

While the report states that customers still prefer the higher quality cuts of beef, it is the price that is deterring them.

Experts state this change is due to a large number of exports and inflation in the domestic market. They also state if this situation does not change and the market cannot adjust, the situation will not reverse itself. The report predicts it could take six years to recover from this downturn.

Today President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner presented the Agri-Food and Agribusiness Strategic Plan (PEA). It aims to increase grain production to 157 million tons by 2020 and exportable meat to over one million tons over the next decade. PEA sets livestock prices between 16 and 40% above the average rate of the past decade.

The PEA was introduced in May last year, with the aim of deepening the value recognition of the country’s natural resources.

Around 45 national universities, chambers of commerce, provincial, municipal, rural and social organizations, international organizations and over 400 agro-technical schools across the country participated in the development of program. The study focuses on 24 production complexes, taking the production characteristics of each region into account.

The Federal Agricultural Council, the Federal Council of the Production System, Federal Advisory Council on Science and Technology and the Federal Council for Economic and Social Development were continuously involved in the process.

The 125^th annual Exposition on Livestock and Agriculture began today at La Rural in Palermo. The event, which goes until 26^th July, is an opportunity for breeders from across the country to showcase their livestock. This year the event coincides with winter vacations, and organizers hope to top last year’s one million visitors.

“The situation of the sector looks bright, and the cattle breeding ranches present here today are selling semen and breeding animals at extraordinary prices,” the National Secretary of Agriculture Lorenzo Basso proclaimed at the inauguration, adding, “the Palermo exposition will serve as a way to discuss, analyze, and evaluate.”

The newly re-elected mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, who also attended the inauguration, asked the government to “put to the side the insults, attacks, and the confrontation.” He added, “walking together we can regain the position that Argentina held and that it should never lose.”

The president of the Rural Society, Hugo Biolcati, signaled that there’s more work to be done: “We want another model. One based on growth, on a real federalism, with incentives towards inversion and job growth to eradicate poverty once and for all” in Argentina.

The president of Bolivia, Evo Moralas, enacted this Sunday the Law of the Productive, Communal, and Agricultural Revolution. It will be implemented next 2nd August.

The law was enacted in the presence of government authorities and delegations affiliated with the Unique Confederation of Rural Laborers of Bolivia (CSUTCB).

The provisions highlight the creation of an agricultural insurance and a conferment of credit without interest for production.

The implementation of the law will demand an investment of almost $500m each year.

Evo Morales said that the law will make working for food service with sovereignty a possibility.

The secretary of the presidency of Bolivia, Carlos Romero, indicated that the law recognizes the rural community as subjects of credit and agents in the agricultural production process.

The new law establishes to install agricultural institutes to train technicians and to promote the development of biotechnology.

In recent days, the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu (CONAMAQ) denounced the law for “playing games with the multinationals that dedicate themselves to genetically modified plants and nonorganic fertilizers”.

However, the secretary Carlos Romero refuted these charges and affirmed that article 15 of the law prohibits the production of transgenic food and requires labels to be placed on all of the products obtained through these methods.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC.

The Chilean Senate gave preliminary approval to the Breeders’ Seed Law. The law must be passed by the House of Representatives to take effect. Senators proposed the Constitutional Court that failed to consult indigenous peoples.

The rule gives transnational seed companies patent rights on virtually all plant species for a minimum of 20 years.

With thirteen votes in favor, five against and six abstentions, the Senate of Chile adopted the International Convention for the Protection of Breeders UPOV 91.

This agreement protects the breeder, extending the safeguards of the companies which sell hybrid and transgenic seeds.

The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is an organization facilitated by transnational seed companies like Monsanto from the Untied States.

The adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of Breeders UPOV 91 is considered a precursor to sanctioning the Breeders Act.

A breeder is a natural or legal person who, by natural means or genetic manipulation, has created or discovered and developed a new plant variety.

The Breeders Act seeks to establish intellectual property of transgenic crops through the application of a patent. This means the privatization of the seed.

Farmers wishing to use the patented seeds must pay the patent. This poses a direct threat to small and medium-scale agriculture.

The Treaty on Genetic Plant Resources recognizes the improvement and exchange of seeds as a human right of farmers and indigenous communities. This is claimed by the Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations (CLOC).

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC.