Search

Begin New Search Topic Agriculture Political Geography Latin America

11. Taxation in Paraguay: Marginalization of small-scale farming

Author:
Déborah Itriago
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Paraguay's tax system is insufficient to provide the resource base to eradicate poverty in the country, and has done little or nothing to achieve a more equal distribution of income and wealth. Two major taxation reforms over the last decade have done little to alleviate the fiscal injustice that is generated partly by the low tax reciprocity of the soy agribusiness – Paraguay's main export crop. Meanwhile, programmes to support small- scale farming receive a level of public financing accounting for just 5 per cent of public expenditure. With one of the highest levels of unequal land ownership in the world, labour informality at very high levels and poor environmental regulation of soy producers, the livelihoods and ecosystems of Paraguay's small-scale producers are at risk. There are serious loopholes in Paraguay's tax system that must be addressed in order to deliver a fairer, progressive taxation system that will allow the country to meet its social objectives.
Topic:
Agriculture, Environment, International Trade and Finance, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Latin America

12. The Cost to Mexico of U.S. Corn Ethanol Expansion

Author:
Timothy A. Wise
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University
Abstract:
More than 40% of U.S. corn is now consumed in the production of ethanol. With the United States by far the world's largest producer and exporter of corn, this represents an estimated 15% of global corn production. A recent survey by the National Academy of Sciences estimated that globally biofuels expansion accounted for 20 - 40% of the price increases seen in 2007 - 8, when prices of many food crops doubled. This had a dramatic impact on poor consumers and on net - food - importing developing countries. Expanding U.S. production and consumption of corn - based ethanol, which has been encouraged by a range of U.S. government subsidies and incentives, is considered one of the most important biofuel programs in putting upward pressure on food prices. Mexico now imports about one - third of its corn from the United States. Using conservative estimates from a study on U.S. ethanol expansion and corn prices, we estimate the direct impacts of U.S. ethanol expansion on Mexican corn import costs. We find that from 2006 - 2011, U.S. ethanol expansion cost Mexico about $1.5 billion due to ethanol - related corn price increases. Other methodologies suggest the costs could be more than twice as high, surpassing $3 billion over the period.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Development, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Food
Political Geography:
United States, Latin America, and Mexico

13. Growth and Recovery in a Time of Default: Lessons from the Role of the Urban Sector in Argentina

Author:
Michael Cohen
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
International narratives on Argentina's recovery from the crisis of 2001-02 tend to emphasize the role of rising commodity prices and growing demand from China. Argentina is said to have been 'lucky', saved by global demand for its agricultural exports. The international narrative has also been used by local agricultural exporters to justify their objections against higher export taxes during periods of high commodity prices. These narratives are not correct. Data on the country's recovery show that it was not led by agricultural exports but was fuelled by urban demand and production. When the Convertibility period ended and the peso was devalued in 2002, price increases for imports stimulated the production of domestic goods and services for consumers. This production in turn generated multiplier effects which supported small and medium-sized firms and helped to create many new jobs. This later produced a revival of the construction and then the manufacturing sectors as well.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
China, Argentina, and Latin America

14. Combating Rural Poverty and Hunger Through Agroforestry in Bolivia

Author:
Kate Kilpatrick
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In contrast to intensive agricultural practices that require widespread forest clearing, agroforestry systems combine tree growing with the production of other crops or animals. By promoting tree planting, biodiversity, and long-term resource husbandry, agroforestry can be an economically and environmentally sustainable option for small-scale farmers who are struggling to combat the impacts of climate change. For hungry and food-insecure communities, agroforestry creates more resilient agricultural systems where the risk of crop failure is spread between diverse crops.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Economics, Environment, and Food
Political Geography:
Latin America and Bolivia

15. The Struggle for a Pro-Poor Food Policy in Guatemala

Author:
Kate Kilpatrick
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The 2008 food price crisis had a devastating impact on poor Guatemalans. This was followed by widespread crop failure and a food emergency in 2009, affecting an estimated 2.5 million people (de Schutter 2010). With a heavy reliance on imported staple grains and the most productive lands allocated to export crops, Guatemala's food system is broken.
Topic:
Agriculture, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
Latin America and Guatemala

16. Deforestation's Challenge to Green Growth in Brazil

Author:
Benjamin S. Allen, Charles Travers, and Louise Travers
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy
Abstract:
Understanding Brazil's green growth and emissions story requires a second look. Brazil's energy matrix is approximately 46% renewable, so when one compares the share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy in Brazil to that of most OECD countries, Brazil is doing relatively well (IPEA 2010, 133). However, looking at energy alone misses the core GHG story in Brazil: The principal drivers of GHG emissions in the country are not energy production or heavy industry, but rather deforestation and agriculture. Deforestation is responsible for about 55% of Brazil's GHG emissions, and agriculture for another 25% (McKinsey Company 2009, 7). In fact, the two areas of emissions are intimately linked: deforestation is principally a problem of agriculture. Cattle ranching and soybean and sugar cane farming are the major industries contributing to Brazil's emergence today as an agricultural and agroenergy superpower – and are directly and indirectly responsible for deforestation in Brazil's largest forests, the Amazon and Atlantic (Banco Mundial 2010, Barros 2009, Margulis 2004, McAllister 2008b, Nassar 2009, Nepstad et al. 2008, Sennes and Narciso 2009). By extension, because Brazil's large and growing renewable energy sector is principally based on agriculture, it has ties to deforestation and may not be as green as it first appears.
Topic:
Agriculture, Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, and Environment
Political Geography:
Brazil and Latin America

17. Land Titling as Women's Empowerment: Critical Observations from Recife Brazil

Author:
Regina K. Pritchett
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Development literature overwhelmingly argues in favor of formal property ownership (titling) as a practical intervention for poor women's empowerment and to address urban poverty. In this body of literature empowerment is equated with financial, social and politic al gains but it lacks a rigorous definition. Luke's three-dimensional power framework provides a methodology for critical assessment of empowerment. The chapter structures Luke's analysis around a case study from a center city slum in Recife, Brazil. Ultimately the chapter demonstrates how a critical definition of empowerment can move thinking and practice towards re-engineering titling process for gender equity in urban land markets.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Gender Issues, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Brazil and Latin America

18. Mining Water for the Revolution: Marte R. Gómez and the Business of Agrarian Reform in "La Laguna," Mexico, 1920s to 1960s

Author:
Mikael Wolfe
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In this paper I examine the little explored historical relationship between advances in “ecotechnical” knowledge of Mexico's scarce and fragile water resources and the state developmental imperatives of agrarian reform from the 1920s to the 1960s. In particular, I focus on how this relationship played out in the Comarca Lagunera of north-central Mexico, which was the emblematic region of Cardenista agrarian reform in the 1930s. Drawing on primary documentation, technical journals, newspapers, and secondary sources, I argue that the key actor in this history, hydraulic engineer-agronomist and Secretary of Agriculture Marte R.Gómez, epitomized the contradictions among advances in scientific understanding of Mexico's hydrology, agricultural development, and business. I further contend that these contradictions were at the heart of Mexican agrarian reform and its long-term ecological as well as social and economic unsustainability.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico

19. Can Asia Learn from Brazil's Agricultural Success?

Author:
Paul Teng and Margarita Escaler
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Over the last four decades, Brazil has transformed its agricultural sector to become the first tropical agricultural giant and the first to challenge the dominance of the world's major food exporters. This paper examines the secrets of Brazil's success and ponders whether Asia should try to emulate the Brazilian model to help achieve food security for its people and contribute to an increased level of selfsufficiency in the region.
Topic:
Agriculture, International Trade and Finance, and Food
Political Geography:
Asia, Brazil, and Latin America

20. Mining Water for the Revolution: Marte R. Gómez and the Business of Agrarian Reform in "La Laguna," Mexico, 1920s to 1960s

Author:
Mikael Wolfe
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In this paper I examine the little explored historical relationship between advances in “ecotechnical” knowledge of Mexico's scarce and fragile water resources and the state developmental imperatives of agrarian reform from the 1920s to the 1960s. In particular, I focus on how this relationship played out in the Comarca Lagunera of north-central Mexico, which was the emblematic region of Cardenista agrarian reform in the 1930s. Drawing on primary documentation, technical journals, newspapers, and secondary sources, I argue that the key actor in this history, hydraulic engineer-agronomist and Secretary of Agriculture Marte R. Gómez, epitomized the contradictions among advances in scientific understanding of Mexico's hydrology, agricultural development, and business. I further contend that these contradictions were at the heart of Mexican agrarian reform and its long-term ecological as well as social and economic unsustainability.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Natural Resources, and Water
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico