[THS] Argentina: Disappearing Farmers, Disappearing Food

[Peter Webster]

Re: the effort to get Pres. Obama to remove Monsanto's people from his government,
here's a shocking piece about the devastation wrought by monocultural soy on the
farmers--and, therefore, the food supply--in Argentina.

And, of course, it's not just Argentina, as what's happening there is happening
throughout
the world.

(Thanks to KA for sending this my way.)

MCM
~~~~~~~~~~

Argentina: Disappearing Farmers, Disappearing Food


By Marie Trigona

Global Research, October 30, 2009
COA News - 2009-10-29

mtrigona at msn.com


Worldwide, industrial mono-culture farming has displaced traditional food production
and farmers, wreaking havoc on food prices and food sovereignty. This is particularly
true for the global south, where land has been concentrated for crops destined for
biodiesel and animal feed. In response, peasants and small farmers organized actions
in more than 53 countries on October 15 for International Food Day as an initiative of
Via Campesina, one of the largest independent social movement organizations,
representing nearly 150 million people globally.

The National Indigenous Campesino Movement of Argentina joined the protests
taking place on around the world by organizing a march in Buenos Aires for
International Food Day. Argentina has often been described as South America's
bread basket because it once produced grain and beef for much of the region. But
with the transgenetic soy boom the nation has shifted to a mono culture production
for export, displacing traditional food production and farmers.

Hundreds of campesinos marked the day with protests against this agricultural model
outside of Argentina's Department of Agriculture. "For the government, the
countryside [is made up of] the landholding organizations and the agro-businesses,
we practically don't exist," says Javier from the campesino movement in Cordoba, an
organization that includes more than 1,500 families who have depended on
traditional agriculture for generations.  "We are also part of the countryside. We are
the ones who live on the land and protect the land. We want to continue to live on
our land, for future generations."

Evicted Farmers

According to Argentina's 2008 agricultural census, more than 60,000 farms shut
down between 2002 and 2008, while the average size of farms increased from 421 to
538 hectares. The shift to soy has replaced cultivation of many grains and vegetables
and even the country's beef production. Researcher at the nation's social research
institute CONICET, Tamara Peremulter outlines the affects of monoculture soy on
food production. "Soy historically hasn't been grown in Argentina. Soy was brought in
during the 1960's during the Green Revolution. Transgenetic soy has been brought
to lands where before cultivation wouldn't have been possible. The low production
cost of soy helped this process. Soy has replaced other crops, invading areas that
were historically for cattle grazing and dairy production. Soy has also invaded
indigenous and traditional farming communities. This model also implies deforestation
and loss of biodiversity"

Land access and disputes over land titles has become one of the central issues for
traditional farmers being replaced by machinery and high tech mono-culture farms.
The National Indigenous Campesino Movement of Argentina (MNCI) reports that 82
percent of farmers live off of 13 percent of the nation's land used for agriculture,
while 4 percent of large land holders or "growing pools" financial investors in the
agro industry own more than 65 percent. The disparities in land titles have lead to
violent evictions.

On October 12, 2009 a day on which indigenous communities commemorate the
genocide of their people following Christopher Columbus's arrival in 1492, an
indigenous farmer, Javier Chacoba was murdered during a protest against the forced
eviction of indigenous people off of lands. The 68-old farmer died of a gun shot
wound to the abdomen by Dario Amín, a landowner. Members of the Chuschagasta
community had been camping along a provincial highway bordering the lands to
demand land recognition for the Chuschagasta when Amín and two ex-police officers
showed up at the protest. "On the day commemorating 519 years of genocide in
Latin America, we suffered the loss of our brother (Javeri Chacobar) for simply
standing up for his rights, defending his dignity and land that belongs to him," said
Margarita Mamaní, member of the Chuschagasta community.

"They have been evicting farmers and members of the indigenous community from
lands. People have been killed in the evictions," says Ricardo Ortiz is an indigenous
representative from The Campesino Movement of Santiago del Estero (MOCASE).
More than 9,000 families make up MOCASE, a grassroots movement of traditional
farmers and indigenous groups. "Now they killed a farmer in Tucuman, a brother. He
was in a march to demand their rights and the man who bought the lands took out a
gun and shot the man and injured four more. The government has been blind, deaf
and mute; this is why we are worried."

Police Repression

In 2008 alone more than 35 campesinos were arrested and arrest warrants issued for
95 more, in Mendoza, Formosa and Santiago del Estero, in communities rejecting the
agro-industrial model. Santiago del Estero is a province once rich in forest land and
untouched by soy. This changed as the boom in soy prices has made these remote
areas now profitable for soy growers.

This is a "witch hunt," as the MNCI has described the situation for campesinos
resisting land evictions, and defending traditional cultures.  Local police enforce
eviction orders and meet any resistance with police force, clubs and many times
bullets. "Campesinos resisting are suffering a violent political persecution. We
demand that detained farmers are released, that officials, judges and police that
violate human rights be investigated and that evictions are stopped," declared the
MNCI.

Agro Industry Creates Joblessness

The shift to mono-culture crops and land concentration has stretched into cultivations
traditionally employing small farmers such as vineyards. Argentina's wine industry has
boomed in recent years, with the total value of Argentine wine in the US increasing
from 75 million to 146 million dollars between 2006 and 2008. Mendoza is Argentina's
largest wine producing region, with a micro climate perfect for the Malbec grape.
Access to water is a major issue for rural and indigenous communities there.

Marcelo Quieroga from the Union of Rural Workers (UST) says that much of the
vineyards in Mendoza have been monopolized by French and Swiss investors, who
buy land and mechanize wine production. "They are using machinery to replace
workers. By producing high quality wines for export the wineries have essentially
monopolized the production. Who suffers is the rural worker who can't find work, and
ends up living in a shanty town due to rural unemployment."

Rural displacement results in poverty and joblessness; the poorest provinces in
Argentina have ironically hosted a boom in soy industry, with soy fields replacing
forests and even cattle grazing land. The MNCI has reported that the soy model
creates only one job post for every 500 hectares cultivated. Meanwhile, traditional
agriculture provides 35 job posts for every 100 hectares cultivated, while also
guaranteeing food diversity, production or local markets and sustainable use of
resources such as land and water.

Food Sovereignty

Industrialization and the globalization of Argentina's food system has led to spikes in
food prices, and increasing rural poverty. This has become a global trend. "A billion
people are without food because industrial monocultures robbed them of their
livelihoods in agriculture and their food entitlements," writes Vandana Shiva in the
Nation Magazine.

Via Campesina does have an alternative to the agro industry, pushing for
governments to promote local, traditional farming which provides communities with
real food. "It's time for all civil society to recognize the gravity of this situation, global
capital should not control our food, nor make decisions behind closed doors. The
future of our food, the protection of our resources and especially our seeds, are the
right of the people," said Dena Hoff, coordinator of Via Campesina North America.

Food sovereignty as defined by Via Campesina is the peoples' right to define their
agricultural and food policy, and the right of farmers and peasants to produce food.
Worldwide communities are seeking an alternative to a model controlled by Cargill,
Monsanto, General Foods, Nestle and Kraft foods. Starved by industrialization and
concentration, citizens are now hungry for traditional production methods and
diversity in the food system.


Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and filmmaker based in Argentina. She can
be reached at mtrigona at msn.com

Photo from Argentina Indymedia