India Looks to Latin America for Farming Techniques

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--India is looking to launch a second green revolution to boost food security and has begun studying techniques and technologies used in Latin America, where countries have been able to increase food production with new technology and farming methods. India's Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar will visit Argentina, Brazil and Mexico this month to study the region's agricultural methods.

"India has much to learn from the best practices of South America, especially Brazil and Argentina," R. Viswanathan, India's ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, said during a recent return to India.

South American countries have overtaken the United States in soy production, accounting for 50% of global production and significantly denting the American domination in the agri-business sector.

With large swathes of land in a sparsely populated region that holds 26% of global freshwater reserves, South American nations have the highest crop yields per hectare.

Many of the technologies used in South American agriculture have been indigenously developed in these countries. The "no-till farming" method is used in 80% of the land cultivated in the Mercosur countries (a trading bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). In this kind of farming, land is not ploughed, and the agricultural residue of the last plant is allowed to enrich the soil. The seed is then injected into the soil using special machines.

Another technology that Pawar is likely to see in Argentina is the Silobag--a polyeutherane bag that can store up to 200 tons of food grains on the field itself. Using the bag reduces spending on the construction of concrete storage units. "We have brought this to the notice of the agriculture ministry," said Viswanathan. India faces a shortage of 15 million tons in storage capacity, which leads to hundreds of tons of grain being wasted in the country every year. The technology was discussed in a meeting between Pawar and his Argentine counterpart, Julian Andres Dominguez, earlier last month.

Moreover, India could perhaps replicate the success of Argentina in turning agriculture into a high-tech sector. Viswanathan referred to the Argentine group Los Grobos, which has brought the outsourcing model to agriculture. Los Grobos cultivates 270,000 hectares in Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, without owning a single plot of land.

The company uses "precision farming," which employs software to determine the input distribution. The location of the seeds and sprayer machines are monitored by satellite. At the same time, soil monitors give real-time information, helping the head office to decide on nutrition and other parameters. These technologies could be brought to India for trial.

Viswanathan said Indian entrepreneurs should vigorously explore the region "since South America has an agri-business ecosystem like the IT ecosystem in India--export-oriented with competent human resources and service providers that allow investors to focus on output and returns."

South America is a major source of oilseeds and exports soybean oil and sunflower oil worth $1 billion to India annually. The Indian delegation led by Pawar would explore increasing the supply of edible oil and pulses to the subcontinent, as domestic output has not been able to meet rapidly increasing demand.

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