In mid-August 2020, access to purchase foreign exchange on the part of the Argentines, and its counterpart, the progressive depletion of the Central Bank's reserves, are once again at the focus of the economic discussion. The fact is that, despite the restrictive measures imposed on the demand for dollars, the trend of progressive loss of reserves has not been reversed. Although the successful negotiation of the debt has provided greater capacity for maneuver in the short term
However, to the above is added the alert of drought in the countryside, which strongly compromises the possibilities of post-pandemic recovery that the sector can provide through the genuine generation of dollars, through a greater volume of exports. In that sense, the last three months have undermined the prospects for a record wheat harvest.
The report that accompanies this note presents a series of conceptual foundations to understand the importance of agriculture in the economy in general, and in Argentina, in particular. He agrarian sector of a nation contributes to the process of economic development through 5 different avenues of influence:
- As a source of raw materials for other sectors of the economy.
- Contributing productive factors from the agricultural sector itself to other sectors. Work, capital and natural resources.
- Contributing more effectively to the reduction of poverty than any other sector.
- As a source of internal market for industrial production and services.
- Establishing the agro-export sector as a source of foreign currency.
Furthermore, the report does not avoid the discussion of economic policy for the sector. There is vast global experience that teaches the importance and need for sectoral public policies to promote the economic and social development of a nation. In fact, in all developed countries this type of policy has always been given a priority place. For their part, the developing countries that have shown the best performance in the last 40 years based their development model on public policies aimed at agro-export sectors.
In contrast, nations that based their economic policies on import substitution models, restricting foreign trade, discouraging primary production, and without sectoral policies consistent with long-term objectives; have shown poor performance in terms of economic growth and decline in poverty refers.
A valid lesson for all sectoral policies, and not just those related to agriculture, is that the overall impact of macroeconomic policy significantly affects the incentives and responses of all segments of economic activity. Planning towards economic and social development requires a unification of objectives from both the macroeconomic perspective and the micro perspective.
Until not long ago, the ways to achieve economic growth and development were not under discussion. The current situation of the biosphere invites (and forces) us to change (and reinvent ourselves). Currently, it is estimated that the planet is home to 7,6 billion people and the population is expected to reach 9.800 billion people by 2050. The pressure on natural resources is excessive and increasing. The report also shows that the necessary increases in agricultural productivity to sustain our consumption patterns can no longer be achieved at the expense of the environment, as has been the case for the past 50 years.
The implications of further intensification of agricultural, livestock and aquaculture production are worrying. There is the potential for this to cause large and widespread damage to ecosystems and human health. He challenge What awaits us (not for long) is to develop a sustainable but highly productive approach to agriculture. Land, healthy soils, water and plant genetic resources are vital inputs for food production, and their increasing scarcity in many parts of the world makes it imperative to use and manage them sustainably.