Savannas
088
Rivas Ríos, Libardo. Desarrollo tecnológico y crecimiento económico en la
Orinoquia y Amazonia colombianas : pasado, presente y futuro : segundo borrador /
Libardo Rivas R.. Cali, Colombia : Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, 2000. 64
h. : il. [HC 79 .T4 R58]
A study was carried out to develop sustainable agricultural production
systems and appropriate technological components for Colombia’s Eastern Plains
(Orinoquia) and Amazonian region, within the framework of the Technical and Scientific
Cooperation Agreement signed between Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). The study
focused on two main issues: (1) the analysis of the region’s socioeconomic trends
over the last two decades, and (2) the ex-ante evaluation of social benefits resulting
from the development and adoption of improved technologies for certain crops and livestock
activities that could contribute toward a sustainable, competitive, and equitable growth
in both regions. The analysis of trends included a review of available information on the
magnitude and dynamics of land resources, aggregate production, population, agricultural
production, cultivated areas, and yields. Given the lack or poor quality of information on
livestock activities in these regions of Colombia, the surface under pastures and the
beef/milk production were estimated. The assessment of the potential benefits of
technological change in the study area covers not only the region’s traditional
agricultural activities, such as the cultivation of rice, banana, cassava, maize, and
beans, and livestock production, but also those of more recent appearance such as oil
palm, sorghum, and soybeans and others, such as fruit trees, that are currently
insignificant but show high potential. This last group includes orange, pineapple,
avocado, mango, papaya, and watermelon. The Economic Surplus Analysis Model (MODEXC) was
used to estimate the social benefits stemming from the development and adoption of
improved technologies. The annual flows of technological benefits and their distribution
between consumers and producers can also be calculated, and the social distribution of
benefits, depending on the degree of market aperture, can also be analyzed. The study
concludes that technical change in the Amazon and Orinoquia regions is highly profitable
from the social viewpoint, and that investment in R&D of appropriate technologies is
absolutely necessary but insufficient to achieve high levels of adoption and impact. The
problems of technological adoption in these regions are more related to viability than to
profitability, and include economic, technicians, marketing, and communication issues as
well as deficient road infrastructure. Producers do not control many of these factors, but
can either promote or thwart the adoption of a technology. Social and economic stability
is one of the main factors determining viability. Prevailing social conflicts and tensions
in Colombia represent a serious obstacle to public and private investments that are
necessary to modernize the nation’s agricultural sector and, in particular, that of
the Amazon and Orinoquia regions.
089
Smith, Joyotee; Cadavid Herrera, José Vicente; Ayarza, Miguel Angel; Agiar, Jozeneida
Lucia Pimenta. [1996]. Adoption of resource management technologies : lessons from
the Brazilian savanna. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical. Cali
(Colombia). 25 h. En. (S 944 .5 .M3 S6)
090
Smith, Joyotee; Cadavid Herrera, José Vicente; Rincón, Alvaro; Vera, Raúl R. 1994. Land
speculation and intensification at the frontier : a seeming paradox in the Colombian
savanna. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical. Cali (Colombia). 44 h. En.
(HD 111 .S65)
Frontier areas in Latin America have been characterized by land
speculation, abandonment and exploitation. This paper analyzes a frontier cattle ranching
area in the savanna where intensification has occurred in spite of land speculation. A
whole farm livestock production model is used to quantify the determinants of
intensification. Results show that land speculation has simultaneously increased the
profitability of cattle ranching while slowing down intensification and impeding the
adoption of sustainable `because the production gains offered by improved pastures over
native grasses were large enough to owercome the negative effect of land speculation on
intensification. By contrast, in the Amazon, improved technologies have to owercome the
high fertility of newly deforested land. Thus, technology, land speculation and
characteristics of the resource base interact in a complex way to determine the speed and
nature of intensification.
91
Smith, Joyotee. Winograd, Manuel. Gallopín, Gilberto C. Pachico, Douglas H. Dynamics
of the agricultural frontier in the Amazon and savannas of Brazil : analyzing the impact
of policy and technology. En: Environmental Marketing and Assessment. 1998 v. 3
p. 31-46. [61647]
Simulation of future land use shows that the synergistic effect of
favorable policies and technologies can control frontier expansion and achieve
environmental protection, including carbon sequestration, without sacrificing production.
Policy is a pre-condition for technology adoption, while policy without technology
threatens future productive capacity. Key elements of favorable policies and technologies
are identified.
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