Innovating in the Pampas

Chapter 8 Innovating in © Theodor Friedrich/FAO the Pampas Zero-tillage soybean cultivation in Argentina Eduardo Trigo, Eugenio Cap, Valeria Malach, and Federico Villarreal he United States, Canada, the former cultivation began in earnest in the 1950s. Protein- Soviet Union, and many other countries rich soybean is commonly used in livestock feed, have learned valuable lessons about the and as global demand for livestock products— Tdire consequences of overexploiting land both dairy and meat—increased as incomes for intensive crop production. The emergence of grew during the latter half of the 20th century in dust bowls in the United States in the 1930s and many countries, some Argentine farmers saw the in the Kazakhstan plains of the Soviet Union in financial benefits of shifting to soybean cultiva- the 1960s illustrated how unsustainable farming tion. The land area under soybean production in practices can cause long-lasting ecological and Argentina expanded rapidly during the 1970s, con- agricultural damages and losses. tributing significantly to an increase in Argentina’s Argentina faced similar risks as it began to agricultural output. intensify the cultivation of soybean in the 1970s But while this new crop meant higher in the Pampas region, an expansive area of fertile economic benefits—derived from new demand and land stretching from the Andes Mountains in the the possibility of growing two crops, soybean and east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, an area wheat, instead of one—it required a much tighter more commonly associated with cattle ranching and more careful management schedule resulting and the gauchos, Argentina’s cowboys. from, among other factors, increased climatic While soybean is a commercially lucrative risks, higher demands for weed-control strategies, crop, its cultivation negatively impacts soil fertility, the need for more efficient use of machinery, and particularly when farmed intensively following the the need for greater technical assistance.1 The fact cultivation of other crops such as wheat and maize. that soybean was a new, relatively unknown crop, However, what could have been a disaster instead plus the greater complexity of the cropping system, became an unmitigated success. The widespread required expert knowledge on how to bring all the adoption of zero-tillage cultivation practices, pieces together in an effective way. Access to new improved soybean varieties, and other technologies and reliable information became a key issue for the together enhanced yields, boosted production, and success of soybean cultivation in Argentina. conserved soil fertility. Today, Argentina is a global Moreover, this new crop had a considerable leader in soybean production and exports, providing the international market with supplies of both food impact on the land. On many farms where soybean and feed that have helped keep global prices low. cultivation followed wheat or maize farming, the conventional practice was to burn the remains of the crop cultivated in the period preceding The Essentials of Zero Tillage soybean to minimize the time that the land was Although soybean was introduced in Argentina in left uncultivated, thus extending the period the early decades of the 20th century, commercial available to till, seed, and grow the soybean. This chapter is based on E. Trigo, E. Cap, V. Malach, and F. Villarreal. 2009. The case of zero-tillage technology in Argentina. IFPRI Discussion Paper. Washington D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute. 59 Chapter 8 Innovating in the Pampas But this practice created problems such as soil fertilizer. The opening is typically prepared by a erosion, water runoff, and loss of organic matter. tractor-drawn driller, although in some countries The practice was so environmentally damaging such as India, draught animals are used instead of that it actually started to undermine productivity, a tractor (see Chapter 9). The soil remains covered even in the best-endowed areas. By the early- by plant from previous crops, and herbicides are 1990s, soil degradation was estimated to have used to break these plants down and return their reached levels as high as 47 percent in the Arrecifes nutrients to the soil. The seeds that emerge from River basin and 60 percent in the farmland of the the undisturbed benefit draw on the nutrients Carcaraña River basin, two of the most important from these plant residues for their growth. areas in Argentina’s Pampas region.2 The method was first popularized in the 1950s As a result of these problems, both scientists and 1960s in industrialized countries with the and farmers were interested in exploring cultiva- introduction of commercial herbicides. Farmers tion practices that were less aggressive with regard in the United States began experimenting with to the preparation of the soil, less conducive to soil zero tillage in the 1970s, and scientists at the erosion, and less detrimental to productivity. Their U.S. Department of Agriculture, the University exploration was accompanied by debates about of Illinois, and the University of Kentucky con- appropriate technologies, farm shows to demon- tributed greatly to the technology’s further strate alternative cultivation practices, and foreign development. By the end of the decade, the study tours to learn about practices in other pipeline of zero-tillage technology—cultivation countries. It was in this context that the develop- techniques, drillers, herbicides, and so on—was ment of zero-tillage cultivation practices began in substantial, with promising applications not Argentina. only in the United States, but also in Canada, the Zero tillage (also called no-tillage farming) United Kingdom, and Germany, among other is a resource-conserving cultivation practice that countries. In Latin America, zero tillage was intro- depletes organic matter from the soil at a lower duced by the Instituto de Pesquisas Agropecuarias rate than conventional tilling and improves the Meridional (IPEAME) in Londrina, in the state of soil’s capacity to retain moisture. Under zero- Paraná, Brazil, in cooperation with the German tillage cultivation, crops are planted in untilled Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).3 soil by making a narrow hole or trench of suf- Zero tillage (and reduced tillage, which ficient width and depth to cover seeds and apply involves a minimal amount of tilling and land © Jim Pickerell/World Bank Soybean production, Argentina 60 preparation) has several advantages. It can perception of the nature of the problem and a con- improve water retention, reduce soil erosion, lower vergence of interests among these various actors the chances of drought-related crop failures, and was the initial glue that led to the creation of the lessen the need for labor that would be otherwise Argentine Association of No-Till Farmers, known required for soil preparation and weeding. These by its Spanish acronym, AAPRESID. advantages together help reduce or even neutral- AAPRESID was formed in 1989 as a nongov- ize decades-long erosion processes, improve soil ernmental organization composed of farmers with fertility, maintain or increase crop yields, and an interest in conservation. Its main goal was to lower production costs. bring together researchers, extension agents, and private input-supply companies to get zero tillage The Emergence of Zero off the ground, but it also acted as a lobbying group to help its members acquire necessary farm Tillage in Argentina equipment, and to secure loans and tax exemp- The successful introduction of zero-tillage tions for farmers adopting zero-tillage practices on cultivation practices in Argentina—not only for their farms. soybean, but also for wheat, maize, sunflower, and AAPRESID’s 20 or so founding members sorghum, although on a much smaller scale—is a were mainly medium-and small-scale farmers unique story in many ways. Zero-tillage cultivation and technical-assistance providers, all of whom was advanced by the emergence of a farmer- were already involved in the movement to promote driven network that brought together researchers, zero-tillage agriculture in Argentina. AAPRESID extension agents, private input suppliers, grew rapidly in tandem with the speedy increase agricultural machinery producers, and others to in the adoption of zero-tillage farming throughout adapt zero-tillage techniques and equipment to the the country. Soon, the majority of key players in needs of farmers in the Argentine Pampas.4 the agribusiness sector became members, and by The story begins as early as 1968, when the 1996, AAPRESID was firmly established as the National Institute of Agricultural Technology main force driving the development and expansion (INTA), Argentina’s largest agricultural research of zero-tillage cultivation. institution, started to notice the soil erosion problems that affected crop yields and output. Accelerating the Cultivation This issue led to the establishment of a soil conservation program at INTA (later known as INTA’s of Soybean Conservationist Agriculture Project), which played Three events contributed to a boost in zero- a significant role in developing both scientific tillage cultivation of soybean and other crops capacity to address soil-fertility issues, and spe- in Argentina in the 1990s. First, new soybean cialized machinery needed to practice zero-tillage varieties were introduced in 1996 that were geneti- cultivation. cally modified to be resistant to the herbicide But INTA was not the only one to notice glyphosate (sold commercially in

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