X-From_: tgray  Wed Nov 11 10:27:13 1992
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Date:         Wed, 11 Nov 1992 10:28:50 PST
Reply-To:     Tom Gray <tgray@IGC.APC.ORG>
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From:         Tom Gray <tgray@IGC.APC.ORG>
Subject:      IPS: Soil Erosion in Argentina

/* Written 12:11 am  Oct 30, 1992 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary
*/
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Agriculture
Title: ARGENTINA: ''GRANARY OF THE WORLD'' IS BECOMING A DESERT


an inter press service feature

by roberto herrscher

buenos aires, oct 27 (ips) -- the ''pampas''-- a vast tract of
formerly fertile plains -- now risk becoming a memory, alive only
in the imagination of argentinians, as soil erosion destroys
them, converting this ''granary of the world'' into land useless
for agriculture.

when general julio argentino roca, who later became president,
conquered the area from the mapuche indians in the 1880's, the
land was covered with grassland and forest.

ironically, roca called his massacre of the indians, in which
80 percent of the mapuches died, the ''conquest of the desert''.

today, after a century of agriculture with the use of
pesticides and fertilizers and extensive ranching, confined
almost exclusively to sheep, large tracts of the pampas can
rightfully be described as a desert.

the most severe soil degradation has occurred in the provinces
of patagonia in the extreme south of the american continent.

there, in argentina's most fertile zone, the humid pampas,
farmers are now seeing their production reduced by 30 percent due
to soil erosion.

and the erosion does not come alone: it is accompanied by
desertification and floods caused by the growing impermeability
of the soil, which increases the volume of water in the region's
rivers.

'' this year we have had the second worse flood in this
century, in the province of buenos aires. this was a direct
consequence of the fact that the surface of the pampa absorbs
less and less rainwater'', said agriculture expert linda valla.

explaining the situation in everyday terms, she said ''if we
empty a glass of water on a table covered by a towel, the towel
will absorb the water, but if it is emptied directly on the
table, the water will run onto the floor.''

this is what is happening to the pampa: the eroded earth
becomes so hard that it can not absorb the water, and in this way
the level of its rivers rises.

this process contributed to floods in may and june, when about
120 000 people had to be evacuated. the majority lived on the
banks of the parana river. (more)
----


soil erosion is probably the worst problem for agriculture and
livestock production. between 3 000 and 4 000 hectares of
productive land are lost every year.

according to the national institute of agricultural
technology, 70 percent of arable land here, or 211 million
hectares, is already arid or semiarid.

deforestation is an additional problem. statistics from the
national forestry institute show that 60 percent of the forest
that existed in argentina at the beginning of this century, has
disapeared.

erosion also causes poisonous agro-chemicals to flow into the
rivers. these substances are also the main cause of erosion,
according to specialists.

more than 40 percent of argentina's export come from the wet
pampas, especially crops like maize, wheat, soya and beef.

nevertheless, during the last five years, more than two million
hectares of the plains have been eroded, causing losses estimated
at 200 million dollars since 1986.

to correct this situation, the national institute of
agricultural technology mounted a project for
environment-friendly agriculture in 1986.

the project aims to develop consciousness and disseminate
information among the producers of the pampa, on sustainable
production, crop rotation and techniques to maintain stubble in
the fields after harvests.

nevertheless, gabriel prieto and adrian gargisevich, two
engineers working with the project, are pessimistic about the
possibility of recovering what has already been lost.

researchers say that 32 percent of the arable land has been
lost forever, and the rest is affected by some type of
erosion.(end/ips/trd/sp/rh-vh/ybh/kb/92)
----


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