ARGENTINA
Location
Argentina is located in the southern part of South America, and
is bordered by Chile to the west; Bolivia and Paraguay to the north
and Brazil, Uruguay and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The country
has a total area of 2,780,400 sq km and national climate is mostly
temperate, with variations between regions. The country has an
Antarctic climate in the south and a more tropical jungle climate
in its northern parts.
Agricultural sector
Argentina's main crops include soybeans, indigenous cattle meat,
wheat, maize, whole fresh cow milk, grapes, indigenous chicken
meat, sunflower seed, sugar cane and apples.
Brief overview of organic farming
There are 2,777,959 hectares of organic land in Argentina and
approximately 1578 organic farms operating in the country. The vast
majority of these farms (90%) are small to medium sized. Organic
land makes up 2.2% of the country's arable land. Argentina has the
highest area of organic farming land in South America, and the
second highest in the world (FILB 2009), and yet the country's mean
level of production is relatively low. In addition, there is much
disparity between the land quality and farming land area of each
organic farm. Most of Argentina's organic farmers work in dryer
areas and possess more organic land, but only 5 % of the farms. In
the warmer and more humid areas, farmers possess less land and yet
hold over 90% of Argentina's organic farms. Argentina's organic
crops include sugar cane, raw wool, fruits, vegetables and
beans.
Brief overview of key organic products
Major organic exports include cereals and oilseeds: corn, wheat,
soy and sunflower. Fruits and vegetables also make up a part of
Argentina's major organic exports: pears, apples, oranges, lemons,
garlic onions and beans. Exports of aromatic and medicinal plants
are increasing. Argentina's also exports processed organic products
such as olive oil, sugar, concentrated juices, honey and wine. Meat
and organic wool continue to be exported. The national organic
product market includes various different products of which
vegetables fruits, oils, teas, breads, eggs, jams and organic milk
are most produced (2007).
The network
Several NGOs and organizations play vital roles in strengthening
Argentina's organic sector. The Argentine movement for Organic
Agriculture (MAPO), the Chamber of Commerce (CAPOC) and the
Certifiers' Chamber (CA.CER) are all key parts of the country's
Organic network. These three organizations work towards attaining
agreements between public authorities in South America, and
strategic planning. MAPO acts as a hub for all the activities being
undertaken with this movement.
References
- CIA FactBook, 31.05.07 -
https://www.cia.gov
- FAO, 26.10.2006: Key Statistics of Food and Agriculture External
Trade. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), Statistics Division.
http://www.fao.org/es/ess/top/country.html?lang=en
http://www.fao.org/organicag
- Yussefi, Minou and Willer, Helga, Eds. (2007): The World of
Organic Agriculture: Statistics and emerging trends
- FIBL - www.fibl.ch
- IFOAM - www.ifoam.org