Soybeans and Land Issues in Paraguay

Unequal land distribution is not the only land issue in Paraguay. The FNC (the country's leading voice of the peasant farmer, primarily cotton farmers) is also upset at foreign soybean producers who take advantage of cheap Paraguayan labor and land. Foreigners have planted half of Paraguay's usable land as genetically modified soybeans and made the country the forth largest soybean exporter in the world (see here for more export numbers).

Additionally, there are rumors of widespread use of pesticides and fertilizer that poison the soil and harm near-by residents. FNC has organized a number of protests during which two protesters were shot dead when they failed to stop at a police check point. The landowners said cannot spray the soybean fields without angering the peseants and and began protesting themselves. Their group, Coordinadora Agricola de Paraguay, say the peasants are extorting the landowners so they will give up thier land.