Current Position of Legislation on Latin-American Grains and Its Regional Socioeconomic Impact

Abstract

Over the centuries, Latin American grains and seeds have been vital in the societies development of the region. Nevertheless, production of many of these species decreased in the 20th century, being reduced to household consumption. In the last decades, with the arrival of globalization, the renewed consumer interest in heritage crops increased and international demand achieved important levels. Production systems and technologies, intensification of cultivation, and the legal context vary among Latin American countries, generally associated with trading volumes. Legislation plays a key role -in both producing and importing countries- since it facilitates production planning, streamlines processes and operations, promotes fair trade and poverty alleviation of rural producers, guarantees seeds safety and facilitates the proper framework for international trade. Although this allowed many crops (such as quinoa, chia and maize) to enter the international market -especially Europe and North America- there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of legislation.