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Paraguay Food Crops
Manioc (cassava), maize, beans, and peanuts, the four basic
crops of the Guaraní Indians, were still the country's major food
crops in the 1980s. Manioc, the staple of the Paraguayan diet, had
been cultivated in nearly every area of the country for centuries.
Called mandioca in Paraguay, the root crop was the main
starch of the diet. Manioc did not experience the rapid explosion
of cultivation that cotton, soybean, and maize did. Nevertheless,
manioc yields ranked as some of the best in Latin America. In 1986
about 220,000 hectares produced 3.4 million tons of manioc. These
figures compared favorably with 1976 data, which recorded 106,500
hectares producing 1.6 million tons.
Maize, or was Paraguay's most rapidly growing food crop. From
the early 1960s to the late 1980s, corn output multiplied rapidly,
covering more hectares than any crop except soybeans. After the
doubling of both hectares cultivated and total output in the 1970s,
corn production accelerated even further in the 1980s, mostly
because of continued agricultural colonization. In 1980
approximately 376,600 hectares yielded 584,700 tons of corn,
compared with an unprecedented 547,000 hectares of corn in 1987,
which harvested 917,00 tons. Like manioc, maize was grown
throughout the country, but the departments of Itapúa, Paraguarí,
Caaguazú, and Alto Paraná were responsible for most of the harvest.
White corn was the traditional corn of Paraguay, but yellow, highyield hybrids were increasingly common, especially on larger farms.
Most corn went to domestic human consumption; roughly a third of
domestic corn consumption took place in the form of feed grain for
the livestock sector. In addition, some surplus corn was exported
to Brazil and Argentina, depending on weather conditions and annual
output.
Other principal food crops included beans, peanuts, sorghum,
sweet potatoes, and rice. Many types of beans were grown in
Paraguay, including lima beans, french beans, and peas. Since the
1970s, however, bean production had been declining because of the
profitability of other crops. Peanuts, a traditional though
marginal crop, expanded in the 1970s and 1980s and often were
intercropped with cotton. Peanuts also were processed as an
oilseed. Sorghum, a drought-resistant crop, was grown primarily as
feed for livestock and was considered a potential crop for the arid
Alto Chaco. Sweet potatoes, another main staple crop, like many
other food crops, did not expand significantly in the 1970s, and
harvests contracted measurably in the 1980s. Rice production, by
contrast, expanded after high-yield varieties were introduced in
the 1960s. Rice is not a dietary staple in Paraguay as it is in
many Latin American countries, but it is popular and consumed in
ever-greater quantities. Self-sufficient in rice, Paraguay showed
potential as a regional exporter because of its rich soils and
irrigation potential along the Río Paraná.
After attempting for twenty years to become self-sufficient in
wheat production, Paraguay reached wheat self-sufficiency in 1986.
For two decades, the government's national wheat program had
encountered numerous obstacles: seeds inappropriate for Paraguay's
climate, skyrocketing prices for alternative crops, poor weather,
blight infection, and a lack of proper farming practices. From 1976
to 1986, however, the number of hectares covered with wheat
multiplied some sixfold, from 24,200 to over 140,000. Wheat output
reached 233,000 tons in 1986, 33,000 tons above national
consumption. In 1987 approximately 175,000 hectares of wheat fields
yielded 270,000 tons, a record high. Over half of all wheat was
grown in Itapúa, where most soil testing, tractors, and fertilizers
were used. Despite the rapid expansion, wheat production in the
1980s was hurt by floods, droughts, and cheap contraband, all of
which caused flour mills to operate at about half of capacity.
Smuggled Brazilian flour sometimes was half the price of Paraguayan
flour. Future growth in the wheat industry was constrained by a
lack of adequate grain-cleaning and storage facilities.
Paraguayans cultivated numerous other fruits, vegetables, and
spices for both domestic consumption and export. Most common were
citrus fruits, which were ideal for Paraguay's subtropical and
tropical climate. Paraguay also produced pineapples, which
according to some sources originated in Paraguay, and peaches,
which were farmed commercially by fruit companies from the United
States. Bananas, plums, strawberries, pears, avocados, guavas,
papayas, mangoes, grapes, apples, watermelon, and other melons were
cultivated to varying degrees as well. Vegetable production
included gourds, squash, tomatoes, and carrots. Onions and garlic
were widely grown and commonly used in cooking.
A uniquely Paraguayan crop was the yerba maté plant. Yerba maté
was grown throughout the country--especially Eastern Paraguay --
for both domestic and regional markets. Large-scale production was
traditionally dominated by Argentine and British interests. Despite
its popularity, yerba maté output fell significantly in the 1970s
and 1980s, as farmers switched to more lucrative crops.
Paraguay was also believed to be an expanding producer of
marijuana in the 1980s. One United States Congressional report in
the 1980s estimated annual production at 3,000 tons.
Data as of December 1988
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