Agricultural Diversity Across Latin American Climates

The Diversity of Latin American Agriculture

Agriculture in the Tropics

Tropical crops like sugar cane, coffee, and plantains require high temperatures and high humidity. However, there are significant challenges:

• Climate change and high humidity favor the growth of pests.
• Flooding and droughts lead to soil erosion.

Large farmers possess sufficient machinery and capital to carry out their work very efficiently. In contrast, small farmers obtain their food from the cultivation of corn, beans, and mandioca (cassava).

Shifting Cultivation

Practiced by the aboriginal peoples of these areas, shifting cultivation involves clearing a forest area to create a rice-growing area; later, this plot is abandoned.

Agriculture in the Central Andes

Farming in the Andes is defined by altitude and climate:

• Low-Zone: A warm and humid climate where rice, vegetables, fruit, sugar cane, and cassava are grown, and cattle are raised.
• High-Areas: A climate suitable for quinoa and the breeding of animals such as vicuna and llamas.

These crops are grown on the side where the sun shines and the wind is constantly wet. To avoid landslides, cultivation terraces are created on the hillsides.

Irrigated Agriculture

This irrigation system is used in arid and semi-arid climates where crops are watered by rather cumbersome and expensive systems. Countries such as Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Peru have succeeded in expanding their agricultural borders. While large canals are used to transport water, this method can lead to poor drainage, resulting in the modification of the system and the implementation of drip irrigation, which is even more expensive.

The Great Plains in Temperate Zones

The great plains of temperate climates, such as the Pampa, are organized according to natural conditions: a temperate climate with adequate rainfall, fertile soils, and flat relief. These areas are characterized by oilseeds, cereals, and forage crops.

Commercial farms use modern technology and achieve high productivity with small labor requirements. Cattle are found in central areas, moving toward the warmer ends. In the Pampean region, livestock has been largely replaced by soybeans thanks to the incorporation of new technologies in manure and fertilizer. This shift has been carried out in different countries like the USA, Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay.

Impact of Modern Agriculture

• Positives: Highly profitable; generates foreign exchange income for producers.
• Negatives: Soil depletion; concentration of large extensions of land in the hands of few producers; unemployment.