Trade offs between food production and sustainability in Argentina

MONJEAU, ADRIAN

Bogotá

Encuentro; 5th FABLE Consortium International Meeting; 2019

Universidad Javeriana

In Argentina, food production is destined to meet the objectives of eradicating hunger (SDG 2), promoting health and well-being (SDG 3) and increasing exports to other countries (SDG 17.11), but the area occupied by agriculture causes deforestation, extinction, loss of soil, displacement of people, water pollution and emits a third of greenhouse gases, undermining the achievements of SDGs 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13 and 15. Argentina has plenty of biocapacity (103%) to lavish healthy food on its entire population, but it is tied to a very simplified system of exporting raw materials to practically two markets (Europe and China). To meet sustainability goals, it is necessary to move away from this paradigm, diversify agro-ecological production, family farming, ensure green employment, food security, and export high-quality, high-value-added products. The path of soy is unsustainable at the current volume (BAU) of production, the area of ​​soy must be reduced, giving rise to other crops, diversifying the international market, for example towards Africa, where there are 50 countries willing to receive food from Argentina.