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 Main subject - may/june 2005
South America seed production
Prof. Dr. Antonio C. S. A. Barros
UFPel
acbarros@ufpel.edu.br
South America is one of the few areas in the planet that still has cropping and good quality land. Because of this, it is one of the most important food sources in the world. It is also considered, by some researchers and scientists, as the area that will provide food for human kind in the new century, started five years ago but facing hundreds of changes. With more than 100 million cultivated ha, producing mainly export goods, an effective and productive seed system is needed in the South American countries that can attend the needs of such and essential input for agriculture.
Seed production, in several countries located in that South America, is based on the production control performed by their Food Departments, with strong participation of agriculture professionals supporting the system, performing production orientation and controlling tasks, even in public and private areas. Therefore, those production systems are equivalent to each other.
It can be stated that in the past ten years, with the increasing importance of soybeans, corn, cotton, rice and wheat as well as the use of modern technology, with regards to that specific area, there was a significant increase in the use of seeds, from 4,4 million tons to 5,2 million tons, approximately, included farmer's seeds, so called own seed. The total amount, which is close to 5% of the total used all over the world, reaches values close to 2,8 billion dollars.
Bolivia currently stands out for its seed system because created its own quality certification program, about 15 years ago, modifying its status quo in use until then. The great advantage was, as we say in our colloquial Portuguese speech, to "erase" the existing patterns and start everything brand new. In terms of using certified seeds, the rates are greater than 70% to species like soybean, corn, wheat, cotton and beans.
For Uruguay, it can be noticed that this country emphasizes the production of both rice and forage seeds, whereas an increase can be seen in the last few years in soybean production, mainly in face of the international interest on that item, reaching more than 250 thousand ha with this crop, implicating in the usage of more than 18,000 ton of seeds.
Argentina has been standing out in soybean, wheat, corn, grain sorghum and sunflower, the three last ones with hybrid crops in an area and rice and cotton in another one, forage seeds and other winter cereals, due to their weather conditions. It is the second greater seed market in that area, with more than 30 million hectares.
Paraguay, with its tropical-temperate climate, has an area for soybean production around 2 million hectares, considering its dimension (406 thousand km²) and agricultural areas, in the so-called oriental zone. It has an important domestic market with 1.8 million ha for soybeans, cotton, has an assistance program for small farmers for the crop over 300 thousand hectares and wheat production in winter, beyond some forage tropical cropping.
Equator, a country that shows several different climates, dedicates to production of flowers and fruit trees of temperate climate, in high locations, over 2,000m high, beyond winter cereal production as well as native corn. In the areas next to sea level, rice (200,000ha), corn and soy are cultivated near Pacific Ocean Coast.
If we go a little up, when looking at the map, we will arrive in Colombia, a country of longer territorial extension, with a population over 30 million people, but dedicated first to rice, sorghum, and corn; including also, sugar cane, cassava, and beans, among other several species. By the forest, where the climate is tropical, many forage seeds are produced. Seed market exceeds 100 thousand tons a year. Corn culture stands out, over 0.5 million ha.
Up in the map, we arrive in Venezuela, which stands out mainly due to its petroleum and its production for domestic consumption of rice, corn, sorghum, forages, and tropical fruit production. It is a country with a small agricultural area, because, only 4% are cultivable lands and 20% are for cattle rasing, with pastures. Currently, they are in the middle of a strong program of hybrid corn seeds for substituting the import of hybrid seeds.
Countries in the north of South America such as Guiana, French Guiana and Suriname stand out for rice and tropical fodder production, beyond native, fruit trees typical from tropical climate.
Chile, a north-south large extension country, from parallels 18 through 27, with desert areas in an end as well as Antartid in the other end, the Andes Mountains against Pacific Ocean, has a natural geographical isolation that prevents from weeds and diseases. It makes the country stands out for its winter cereals production, along with their seeds, corn, sunflower, and potato beyond oily species for export purposes, because the cold, dry character of its climate is proper for high quality seed production. However, the total area prone for cropping does not exceed 5 million ha. In 2004, the country has exported more than US$ 100 million in seeds.
Peru, a country that is under the geographical interference of the Andes Mountains, locates its production in the coast areas, with corn, rice, beans, cotton, some forage species and Andes potato.
Only Brazil is missing in the list to come to the end. Biggest country in South America, with over 50 million ha of cultivated area, emphasizing soybeans, corn, beans, rice, wheat, cotton, and sorghum with regards to significance of cultivated area as well as forages of tropical and subtropical species, with an effective seed demand over 1.6 million tons.
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