Analysis of Beef Production Practices in the Argentine Gran Chaco

This analysis paper assesses the current status of conservation practices in beef production in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina as well as examining its growth in recent years. Using this analysis, the document provides recommendations to improve the uptake of these conservation practices, to ensure stakeholders in the region can continue producing beef while eliminating habitat conversation in this critical biome. These recommendations include the need to implement effective monitoring systems, developing intervention projects with economic incentives to increase sustainable husbandry as well as encouraging NGO or state actors to support small farmers given a lack of training and funds to implement more sustainable practices on their own.

This analysis was informed by surveys conducted with cattle farmers and advisors in the Gran Chaco region to understand what sustainable production practices are currently being adopted. The survey was conducted by the Tropical Forest Alliance and the Argentine Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. The Gran Chaco is South America’s second largest forest after the Amazon rainforest and is home to diverse landscapes and species. However, the region is threatened by agricultural development largely through the production of beef and soy.