Population, territory and sustainable development

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C. PRODUCTION PATTERNS AND THE RURAL ECONOMY
Latin America and the Caribbean is “the region that has shown the greatest growth in agricultural,
livestock, forestry and fishery production, and in its exports, over the past 15 years (ECLAC/FAO/IICA,
2009). Much of this growth reflects developments in the South American countries, since the Central
American and Caribbean subregions are net importers, especially of staple products such as cereals,
oilseeds, meat and dairy. The broader agricultural sector —primary agriculture together with agroindustry,
transport, inputs and services— is still one of the largest sectors in the regional economy,
whether measured by employment or by share in GDP and exports. Box IV.4 summarizes the main trends
in agriculture in the past few years and looks at the challenges of developing the sector. The Latin
American and Caribbean region has much to contribute to global food security and the upward trend of
agricultural commodity prices in real terms offers a great opportunity for the region’s agriculture given
the great potential for crop production afforded by land availability in several countries (Argentina, the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia and, to a lesser extent, Belize, Ecuador,
Paraguay, Peru, the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Uruguay), its relative abundance of water and its
human resources (ECLAC/IICA/FAO, 2011). Thus far, however, agricultural production has been
concentrated in a few regions and centres on particular products and producers with access to external
markets. Accordingly it has generated social disadvantages and income inequalities, particularly in rural
areas (ECLAC/IICA/FAO, 2009; Graciano, Gómez and Castañeda, 2009).
Box IV.4
AGRICULTURE IN THE WORLD ECONOMY: RECENT TRENDS
The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A Perspective on Latin America and the
Caribbean 2011-2012 notes that the growth of agricultural activities in Latin America and the Caribbean took place
in an international environment characterized by rising, cyclical and volatile prices. Data on adjusted Agricultural
Value Added (AVA) show that there were cycles during the last decade in which real income grew much more
strongly than production volumes. Real agricultural income in the region grew by 13.3% in 2002 and 10.2% in
2003, and remained virtually constant until 2008 (10.1%), while growth in the volume of production never topped
5% in those years (ECLAC/FAO/IICA, 2011). It was also found that growth in adjusted AVA has been uneven
across the region: 4.5% as an annual average in the Southern Cone, but no more than 2.5% in the other subregions.
The study found that agricultural production in Latin America and the Caribbean was up in 2010 compared
with the previous year and performed fairly well in general; cereal production was the strongest segment, up by 7%
between 2009 and 2010. Variations in agricultural production have been due mainly to changes in weather
conditions, in the area sown and in prices, although crop production is expected to rise in 2011, especially in cereals.
The study put forward a number of considerations for the long term, with a view to boosting agricultural
performance. In particular: (i) energy and food prices will rise in real terms over the long run; (ii) China will
continue to be one of the region’s largest partners and will need larger quantities of food products, which will help
revive agricultural trade flows; (iii) the need to achieve food security will make it necessary to produce more goodquality
food and to do so competitively; and (iv) research will continue to be pursued and strengthened in the
countries of the region.
Livestock production, the study found, represented 46.6% of the region’s gross agricultural output. Prices
for livestock products were highly volatile in 2008-2011, owing to low income-price elasticity in the developed
countries and shocks on both supply and demand sides. In 2010 total meat production climbed 2.8%, with a drop in
beef production and a rise in that of pork, chicken and turkey. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef, followed
by Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. The region’s production of milk rose 10% between 2005 and 2008, and Brazil
and Argentina are among the world’s largest milk producers. The study cited good expectations for 2011, owing to
the strong horizontal integration which has developed in the meat and dairy industries and the next few years are
expected to bring major opportunities for the livestock sector, given the need to meet growing demand for meat and
dairy products.