Impacto del modelo productivo agrario en la industria química argentina en los años recientes (2006-2017)

According to the Cámara de la Industria Argentina de Fertilizantes y Agroquímicos (ciafa), the agrochemical market in Argentina reached 2.5 billion dollars in 2016. It is a market in constant growth, with contradictory trends that, until the moment, they have always been resolved in favor of expansion. In this article we ask ourselves about the impact that the most widespread production model has had on the national production of extensive crops in the dynamics of the local agrochemical market in recent years. We dimension the volume of this market through data from the commercial balance of agrochemicals reported by the Dirección de Agroquímicos, Productos Farmacológicos y Veterinarios de Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (senasa). We analyze the composition at international and local level to indicate the strongly concentrated and centralized nature of the sector. Using secondary sources, we show evidence of the increase in the costs of agrochemicals per ton for soybeans and corn which, together with the territorial expansion of these crops, contribute to explain the increase in the volume of this market. Next, we hypothesize that the aforementioned expansion is linked to an increase in chemicalization within the agricultural production model of greater relevance in the production of extensive and industrial crops nationwide and we argument that there are at least three interrelated phenomena that explain this increase. By way of closure, we postulate questions about the sustainability of the model in the medium term, and we point out some indications of limits already reached by chemicalization, which try to be resolved within the dominant agrarian paradigm. De acuerdo con la Cámara de la Industria Argentina de Fertilizantes y Agroquímicos (ciafa) el mercado de agroquímicos en Argentina alcanzó los 2,5 mil millones de dólares en 2016. Se trata de un mercado en constante crecimiento, con tendencias contradictorias que se han resuelto siempre en favor de la expansión. Analizamos el impacto que ha tenido el modelo productivo más extendido en la producción nacional de cultivos extensivos en la dinámica del mercado local de agroquímicos durante los años recientes. Dimensionamos el volumen de este mercado a través de datos de la balanza comercial de agroquímicos. Analizamos la composición de este sub-sector a escala internacional y local indicando su carácter fuertemente concentrado y centralizado. Mostramos evidencia del aumento de los c