Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
for the extent of the
campesino
sector. This analysis suggests that
campesinos
ac-
count for approximately 83 per cent of total farms, although a mere 16 per cent of
the total agricultural land in the province (Obshatko
etal.
, 2007). Despite their rep-
resentation in the agricultural census and historical claims to specific lands (at times
for generations), they largely occupy land without having legal recognition as pro-
prietors (de Dios, 2009). Insecure land tenure remains one of the main problems con-
fronting the
campesinos
in the province, especially as it is considered a likely region
for soybean cultivation.
The precarious land tenure rights have made
campesino
farms a soft and frequent
target of resourceful agribusinesses wanting to expand their operations, even prior to
the emergence of soybeans, when the agribusiness was primarily focused on catle,
cotton and maize. The first land dispute resulting in the eviction of
campesinos
oc-
curred in 1963, in the southeast of the province. The 1970s saw an increase in the
numbers of judicial evictions and displacements of
campesinos
when a number of
commercial agriculture companies claimed ownership over parcels of land already
occupied by
campesinos
(Barbeta, 2009).
In 1986 another dispute over land erupted when a number of companies intended
to evict some 400 families of
campesinos
occupying about 120,000 hectares in the
eastern part of the province. With the encouragement and support of a local Catholic
clergyman and an NGO, the
campesinos
organized to successfully defend their land
(Durand, 2009). Following this event, further mobilization of the peasantry led to
the establishment of a number of organizations across the province. In 1990 these
organizations joined forces to create the
Movimiento Campesino de Santiago del Es-
tero
(Peasant Movement of Santiago del Estero - MOCASE). In 2001 an internal dis-
pute led to a separation within the movement that resulted in the formation of two
organizations - MOCASE and MOCASE-Vía Campesina (VC). The main differen-
ce between the two organizations involves their internal and external politics: their
principal objectives remain virtually the same - that is, securing land tenure and im-
proving standards of living of their communities. As in other parts of Latin America,
insecure land tenure is at the centre of their mobilization, although the struggle also
reahes muh further to address social and economic objectives. he MOCASE-VC
struggle for secure tenure involves more than the land's economic potential com-
monly associated with property rights. For
campesino
communities, some of whih
are of indigenous identity, land is not an economic asset, it is life: 'The most serious
hallenge that we have is to defend the land. And defending the land means defend-
