The Gran Chaco Pathways Towards a Sustainable Future 2025

Similarly to soybean dynamics, livestock production in the Gran Chaco exhibits distinct trends across the region. Paraguay, in particular, stands out in this sector, having experienced significant fluctuations in livestock numbers over the past years. Between 2009 and 2011, the herd size averaged 4.5 million heads before dropping to just under 4 million. By 2020, the numbers had rebounded to a peak of more than 6.7 million, highlighting a period of substantial growth in recent years, especially when compared to Argentina’s more stable trend. The soy boom and livestock displacement in the Argentinian Gran Chaco BOX 7 The expansion of intensive agriculture in Argentina, driven by rising international demand for soybeans since the 2000s, has reshaped the country’s agricultural landscape. The introduction of new technologies enabling land-use change has allowed formerly mixed-use areas in the Pampas region, where agriculture and livestock rotated seasonally, to transition into permanent cropland.This shift displaced cattle ranching to more marginal areas. Between 1980 and 2020, more than 8.6 million heads of cattle were relocated from traditional livestock zones in the Pampas to the Gran Chaco or to more intensive production systems, such as feedlots.27 GDP data further underscores the importance of agriculture, livestock and also forestry to the economies of the Gran Chaco countries. According to World Bank data,28 these sectors make notable contributions to each country’s GDP: 12.53% in Bolivia, 11.34% in Paraguay and 6.06% in Argentina. These figures highlight the role of the food production and forestry sectors not only as economic drivers but also as essential sources of employment and livelihoods for millions of people in these nations, as illustrated in Figure 9. Agriculture employment in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, 1991-2022 (% of total employment)FIGURE 9 010 5152025303550 45 40(% of total employment) 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Argentina Bolivia Paraguay The data in Figure 9 indicates that, although employment in the agricultural sector has decreased over the past 30 years, its contribution to total employment remains significant in all countries of the Gran Chaco. In 2022, this sector accounted for 27% of total employment in Bolivia, 17% in Paraguay and slightly more than 7% in Argentina. Source: Analysis based on data from the World Bank. The Gran Chaco: Pathways Towards a Sustainable Future 23