World’s Soil Resources

12.5 | Case studies
12.5.1 | Argentina
Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world, with an area of 2 780 400 km 2 . Seventy percent of
its territory has an arid, semiarid or dry sub-humid climate, and the remaining 30 percent has a humid or
sub humid climate. Regions under humid and sub humid temperate and subtropical climates (e.g. Pampean,
Chaco and Mesopotamia) concentrate on the production of cereals, oilseeds, industrial crops, forages, forest
plantations, domestic livestock and dairy products (SIIA, 2015).
Agriculture in Argentina began in earnest at the end of 19th century with the arrival of European immigrants
and government colonization policies (Barski and Gelman, 2001; Viglizzo and Jobbagy, 2010). Agriculture
and livestock grazing expanded until the mid-20th century by bringing new lands into production, largely
employing low intensity production practices (Viglizzo and Jobbagy, 2010). This resulted in moderate to severe
land degradation, not only in agricultural areas but also in dryland areas (SAGyP-CFA, 1995). In the second half
of the 20th century agriculture intensified, especially in the Pampean region, with the use of more productive
cereal varieties, hybrids and genetically modified crops, fertilizers and no till farming (Paruelo, Guerschman
and Verón, 2005; Satorre, 2005; Viglizzo and Jobbagy, 2010).
In recentyears, the agricultural frontier has expanded to the north-east, the north-west and the west
(Figure 12.6), moving into areas with drier climates and/or less fertile soils (Paruelo, Guerschman and Verón,
2005; Viglizzo and Jobbagy, 2010). As a result, the cultivated area increased from about 15 to 32 million ha from
1988 to 2010, and bulk grain production shot up from about 20 to nearly 100 million tonnes in the same period
(SIIA, 2015). At the same time, the ratio of crops produced changed. In 1990, the mix was: 37 percent wheat, 30
percent soybean and 13 percent maize. Twenty fouryears later (in 2014), production was 61 percent soybean, 19
percent maize and only 11 percent wheat (SIIA, 2015). This shift was driven by export demand for oil and biofuel
soybean (Gobierno Argentino, 2014). Although a success in terms of fuel saving and adoption by farmers, this
move towards a soybean monoculture appears to have driven many smaller farmers out of business (Pengue,
2005).
Status of the World’s Soil Resources | Main Report Regional Assessment of Soil Changes
382
in Latin America and the Caribbean