During the launch of the 2023 soybean planting season, the president of the National Forestry Institute (Infona), Cristina Goralewski, unveiled the new soybean planting map, which is part of the future fuel map that will improve the evaluation of potential hazards and determining areas. which require special attention to reduce the spread of fires.
With the help of the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, ministers and public authorities and union sectors, cooperative members and producers, the launch of the 2023 soybean planting season was held on Friday, September 15, in department of San Pedro. The event, organized by the Federation of Production Cooperatives (FECOPROD), carries the motto “From the Paraguayan countryside to the world”, highlighting the productive potential of Paraguay to meet the global demand for food.
The opportunity is good to present the relevant data from the Soybean Cultivation Map of the Eastern Region, prepared by the National Forest Monitoring System of the National Forestry Institute (INFONA), whose president, Cristina Goralewski, gave the details about it.
“We decided to cross-reference the information on soybean crops with the information on land use changes in the Eastern Region of our country, and these are the results: 2,816,075.3 hectares of the area planted with soybeans in the year 2022 were made in the areas. which was not removed after the entry into force of the zero deforestation law. In other words, 94.5% of the soybeans planted in the Eastern Region have been free from deforestation since December 2004,” explained the president.
He also emphasized that based on the Comprehensive Fire Management Law, Infona is working on the development of a fuel map, which will provide detailed information on the amount and type of combustible material present in a specific area, allowing for evaluation -weigh the potential risks. determining areas that require special attention to reduce the spread of forest fires.
“According to the crop map prepared by the INFONA National Forest Monitoring System, in the Eastern Region of Paraguay there will be a total area of ​​2,978,795.3 hectares of soybeans in 2022.
The 2022 National Agricultural Census estimates, for that year, the total area planted or under soybean cultivation in the Eastern Region is 3,009,608 hectares. This represents a minimum difference of 1.1% in relation to Infona’s data, that is, we are talking about reliable data,” he emphasized.
“In a world where information flows at great speed, the truth and reliability of our data are our most valuable assets. Therefore, we ensure the reliability of this data, which is carefully checked and has a thematic accuracy that reaches 98.7%,” said Goralewski.
Forest and land use changes 2020-2022
According to the crop map, in the Eastern Region of Paraguay, until 2022, the total area of ​​soybean hectares is 2,978,795.2. Of this total, more than 87% can be found in five departments: Alto Paraná, Canindeyú, Itapúa, San Pedro and Caaguazú.
The 2022 National Agricultural Census (CAN) estimates, for that year, a total area planted or under soybean cultivation of 3,062,086 hectares, of which 98.3% can be found in the Eastern Region, that is, 3,009,608 hectares. This represents a minimum change of 1.1% in relation to Infona data.
The map of soybean crops for the year 2022 was analyzed by overlaying it with maps of forest cover and land use changes made by Infona, to determine the surface of native forest affected by land use changes since 2005, taking into account the entry into force of the first “Zero Deforestation Law” in December 2004.
In the first 6 years of the implementation of the “Zero Deforestation Law” (period 2005-2011), a decrease in the rate of deforestation for this plant was observed.
According to the results of the Thematic Accuracy Evaluation process of the 2022 Soybean Crop Map, it was obtained that the global accuracy is equal to 98.7%. This value represents the percentage of accuracy; That is, if the classified soybean crop on the map actually corresponds to what is on the ground.
In November 2019, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved an initial disbursement of USD 50 million, in recognition of the successful efforts of Paraguay, which has the second largest forest ecosystem in South America. , for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forestation. degradation between 2015 and 2017.
Within this framework, the Paraguay + Verde project was prepared, implemented under the leadership of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), an entity accredited by the GCF, in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES). ) and as allies in the killing, the National Forest Institute (INFONA), the Technical Secretariat of Planning for Economic and Social Development (STP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG). FAO and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are technical partners for the implementation of the components, according to expertise.
