The Business Magnate. It is a known fact and basic understanding that without a strong running Agriculture Industry and sector in a country and a good thriving ecosystem today, humans and any other living population and species wouldn’t survive. The deteriorating environmental conditions and adverse climatic changes brought about by human activities over years of evolution have severely impacted countries across the globe. The flora and fauna, entire species, habitats, and humans are suffering and becoming more and more exposed to detrimental factors that pose dangers to their very existence. The agricultural sector is the main or one of the largest industries present today in every country on Earth. Driving a country’s economy through such large industries paves the way for more research, growth, development, productivity, efficiency, added-value products, exports and trade, sustainability, foreign investments and initiatives, innovative technology, modernized agricultural and sustainable farming practices, and much more. All of these factors play into a larger game of increasing a country’s economic benefits and can also help the country to become a world-leading key player.
In this article where the focus shall revolve around sharing insights into the Agriculture Industry, the country in the game field is Paraguay. This article will delve into discussing how the Agricultural sector drives Paraguay’s economy as the primary driving industry, its main food products produced for exports, its generational use of a particular agricultural mechanism and practice followed by the people, and the opportunities and challenges faced by this essential agriculture industry by the country.
About Paraguay:
Before we delve into how the Agriculture Industry and sector drive Paraguay’s largest economic activity, let’s first learn a little about the country in itself.
Paraguay, officially known as the Republic of Paraguay, is a Latin American country located in central South America and surrounded by Argentina at the bottom, Brazil at the top, and Bolivia at the left. Paraguay is an upper-middle-income country developing rapidly than the other South American countries. With the country’s largest industries being Agriculture, Construction, and Retail driving its economic growth upwards, Paraguay’s economy as per the 2024 Index has been deemed as “moderately free”. With Paraguay’s Agricultural exports, Manufacturing in Food and Beverages, Forestry, and Fishing topping the economic charts, it is seen that almost one-fourth of the country’s workforce about 45% are employed in only the agricultural sectors. The country is also known for its popular tourist places like Asunción (Paraguay’s Capital City), the National Pantheon of Heroes, the Asunción Cathedral, La Santisima Trinidad de Parana, the Iguazu Falls, and many more scenic attractions. With many places to visit in Paraguay, the country is also famous for its architecture, greenery, and people.
Paraguay’s Agriculture Industry:
The Agriculture Industry and sector of Paraguay is a big deal. Being one of the main driving factors of its economic growth and development, this sector primarily encourages and promotes opportunistic research and development in Fertilizers, Farm Equipment, Pest Control, Biotechnology, and much more. The industry contributes a good 25% toward the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but today the GDP per capita amounts to $5,610. Pre-pandemic, Paraguay’s GDP averaged about 4% every year about one-fifth, but today post-pandemic the average growth rate as seen between 2019 – 2022 has slowed down to around 1.1%.
Paraguay’s agriculture exports in the industry see 70% – 85% of its food products being exported to other countries. With the majority of goods comprising of Cotton, Soybeans, Organic Sugar, Vegetable Oils, Wood, Meat, and Stevia. Other crops grown and exported are Corn, Rice, Wheat, Sesame, Rapeseed, Cassava, Peanuts, Sugarcane, and Dairy Products. Its Organic Sugars are Paraguay’s world-largest export, Stevia is the second-largest product of produce and export, Soy is the third-largest export while beef and pork are the eighth-largest export.
Agricultural Initiatives and Sustainable Farming Practices:
The country’s agricultural initiatives help its economic growth through the adoption of planting and growing transgenic crops like Paraguay’s Soybean production, Maize, and Cotton. This contributes significantly to the reduction of pesticide use, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost of production, and increases the development and advancement of double-cropping schemes.
The production practices that Paraguay and its farmers incorporate in its agricultural sector are No-Till Farming Methods and a mechanized system of Direct Sowing Methods. The No-Till Farming Methods help transgenic crops and improved seeds grow well and produce a good yield that is tolerant and resistant to herbicides and insects. The mechanized system of Direct Sowing Methods has been used by the people of Paraguay for many generations. A generational Direct Sowing method has allowed the carrying out of easy agricultural and sustainable farming practices that are simple and uncomplicated and an age-old method. By planting seeds directly into the soil of the field or garden rather than going through the two-step process of plating indoors and then transplanting them back outdoors, Direct Sowing or Direct Seeding practices help cut back on resources used like water, energy, time, effort and also reduces the amount of CO2 emissions generated. All this directly plays into the plants growing well and producing a successful and value-added yield later.
Opportunities and Challenges Faced by the Agriculture Industry in Paraguay:
Paraguay has come a long way as a developing country and has been deemed as “moderately free” as per the 2024 Index. As an upper-middle-income South American country, Paraguay has several opportunities to grow and develop its economy better in no time as well and simultaneously faces many challenges in the agriculture industry in its economic advances.
The opportunities that the country sees in its agricultural sector are its capabilities to access the market well. Through Paraguay’s exports of in-demand food products by various foreign countries, the country sees a diversified economy down the road, if not already conquering this path today. Seeing a future in biofuel production, the country can see its export lines expanding and becoming a key player in the global biofuel industry. With the agriculture industry providing their aid and support for the manufacturing of food and beverages industry, Paraguay sees bright exports in processed foods. The country also is lucky and happy to purchase imported farming and agriculture equipment like Tractors at competitively lower prices than Brazil.
While the opportunities seem to make way for a brighter future for Paraguay, the country also faces several challenges in economic advancements. The people face land inequalities, unsustainable monoculture farming practices, deteriorating environmental conditions, degrading and contaminated soil quality and health, and massive deforestation.
Thus as a solution, the Paraguayan government is currently addressing these challenges faced in the industry by adopting and enforcing the use of modernized agricultural practices, and sustainable farming methods. Additionally, the Government primarily provides adequate support for Paraguay farming and its farmers so that the country can improve its agricultural economic activity, growth, and development as the primary industry driving its economy.