Soy plantations in South America: the link between corporations and the biodiversity and food crises

I. SOY Paraguay and the Souther Cone

SOY MONOCULTURES IN PARAGUAY AND THE SOUTHER CONE Soya surface in the Southern Cone (GRAIN): Paraguay 2.700.000 has. (6,6 %) Argentina 18.500.000 has. (6,6 %) Brasil 23.358.000 has. (2,7 %) Uruguay 847.700 has. (4,8 %) Bolivia 835.000 has. (0,11 %) Obs. In Argentina and Paraguay soya exceeds half the total agricultural area.

Evolution of the soybean crop area Año Paraguay Argentina Bolivia Uruguay 1995/96 960.000 6.002.155 463.243 8.500 10.663,2 2000/01 1.350.000 10.664.330 615.292 12.000 13.969,8 2001/02 1.445.000 11.639.240 637.124 28.948 16.386,2 2002/03 1.550.000 12.606.850 684.213 78.940 18.474,8 2003/04 1.936.600 14.526.606 803.990 247.096 21.375,8 2004/05 2.000.000 14.394.949 941.068 277.961 23.301,1 2005/06 2.426.000 15.393.474 950.118 309.100 22.749,4 2006/07 2.430.000 16.141.337 958.279 366.535 20.686,8 2007/08 2.644.856 16.603.525 835.039 461.900 21.313,1 2008/09 2.524.649 18.032.805 577.800 21.743,1 2009/10 2.680.182 18.500.000 847.700 23.358,8 Brasil

SOY MONOCULTURES IN THE SOUTHER CONE 46.000.000 has. - Alemania 35.710.400 - Italia 30.133.800

WORLD RANKING SOYBEAN PRODUCERS AND EXPORTERS RANKING PRODUCTORES MUNDIALES DE SOJA PAIS 2008/9 USA 80.54 BRASIL 57.00 ARGENTINA 43.80 CHINA 16.80 INDIA 10 PARAGUAY 4 OTROS 12 RANKING EXPORTADORES MUNDIALES DE SOJA PAIS 2008/9 BRASIL 24.90 USA 31.30 ARGENTINA 12,7 PARAGUAY 2,4 OTROS 3,55 Cifras en Millones de Toneladas - Fuente: USDA Feb 2009 Zafra 2008/9

Area, production and exports

II. SOY Social and environment impacts

II. SOY Social and environment impacts SOYA crops, to be expanded, must displace: Peasant and indigenous communities Forest and Biodiversity Livestock (and requires it to invade other territories) Peasant farms and vegetable gardens Rural work and causes loss of food sovereignty and territorial

Agribusiness vs. Food Sovereignty

Deforestation in Paraguay P. J. Caballero Concepción S. del Guaira Asunción Cnel. Oviedo Encarnación C. del Este

Deforestation in Paraguay 2002 P. J. Caballero Concepción S. del Guaira Asunción Cnel. Oviedo Encarnación C. del Este

Virtual water export

SOY Deforestation TERRITORIES IN RISK Brazil - 70-100 million has. (Amazon, Chaco, Atlantic Forest) Argentina - 25 million has. (Humid Pampa, Yungas and Chaco) Paraguay - 3.5 million has. (Pantanal, Atlantic Forest and Chaco) Bolivia. 1.2 million has. (Tropical forest and Chaco)

II. SOY Poisoning of the people and territory

Vivienda campesina abandonada y rodeada de sojales. Departamento de Itapua

Escuela abandonada, rodeada de sojales en Itapúa, Paraguay.

Poisoning of the people and territory PARAGUAY. 35.000.000 de litros de agrotóxicos por año. ARGENTINA. En el 2009 año utilizó 200.000.000 de lts. de agrotóxicos. En 1996 utilizaba 14 millones. (GRAIN)

Poisoning of the people and territory Agrochemicals have highly detrimental effects on human health and the environment, are capable of causing diseases such as cancer, leukemia, dermatitis, respiratory problems, poor training, learning problems, stomach problems, blindness, even DEATH

Poisoning of the people and territory

En Paraguay la fumigación de los grandes cultivos no respeta nada: gente y territorios son contaminados en cada siembra.

Silvino Talavera, Death by poisoning, 7 January 2003 to cause the spraying of pesticides.

The criminalization of peasant struggle

Campesinos expulsados de sus tierras hurgando en el vertedero de basura del Área Metropolitana de Asunción

Poisoning of the people and territory About 70,000 farmers each year migrate to urban areas in Paraguay, because of the high density of soybean. The indigenous people, ancient inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest, have been expelled en masse by soy monocultures.

III. SOY What for and for Who

Ranking of soybean trading companies (2008) Empresa Bunge Alimentos Ventas (US$ millones) Empleos Exportaciones (US$ millones) 10.112,4 5.389 6.227,1 Cargill 6.207,8 Dreyfus 2.464,8 1.986 1.645,5 ADM 2.353,7 NI* NI* Coamo 2.007,9 4.423 413,3 Amaggi 1.557,1 3.594 NI* Imcopa 1.197,3 462 NI* Caramuru 949,3 1.930 401,8 Granol 747,7 1.398 255,4 Agrária 671,8 968 119,2 Total (US$) 5.631 4.093,7 28.269,8 Fuente: FASE (Brasil, 2009)

Relationship between trade flows and taxes

Jobs by Transnational Corporations in Paraguay

Scheme of the chain of soy agribusiness (GRR, 2008)

V. SOY CAMPAIGNS AGAINST SOYA

Manifestación con pescadores de rechazo a la iniciativa Soja Responsable. Asunción/ Setiembre 2006

Pablo Valenzuela ecomunica@sobrevivencia.org.py