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Agriculture
The percentage of arable land in the country is
5.71%, whilst Irrigated land occupies a total of 8,650
km2.
The coastal region has 4 million hectares dedicated
to crops. Out of this area, 21.38% is used for short-
cycle crops, such as maize, cassava, rice, cotton
and tropical fruits, 26.99%, correspond to permanent
crops: banana, oil palm, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane
sugar, whilst 51.62% is used for pastures. Areas
unsuitable for agricultural production are the Santa
Elena peninsula and lands located at the border with
Peru, which are dry regions with adverse weather
conditions.
In the mountain region, agricultural production var-
ies depending on the altitude. At about 3200 meters,
barley and root vegetables are produced, such as
goose and potato melloco. Most of the agricultural
land is dedicated to grassland (42.88%), whilst
38.26% is used for short-cycle crops, such as pota-
toes, beans, corn, vegetables, and the rest (18.86%)
is devoted to permanent crops, such as sugar cane
and coffee.
In the Amazon region, the land is less fertile and its
Cigars froma tobacco plant
exploitation requires permanent rotation of crops.
Its production is mainly devoted to pasture that ac-
counts for 63.12%, whereas permanent crops, oil
palm, sugar cane and citrus represent 19.22% and
the remaining 17.66%, are occupied by short-cycle
crops, such as corn, cassava and naranjilla.
LIVESTOCK
The Secretariat of Livestock Development is the
body created with the purpose of increasing the
profitability of livestock production contributing to
food sovereignty in Ecuador:
Activities:
- Zoning of different species and soil management
- Improving animal health with the prevention,
treatment, control and eradication of diseases
- Improving animal welfare with a good treatment
- Improving the genetics and breeding
- Improving nutrition
There has been developed a project aimed at
boosting productivity of meat products, ensuring
quality, health and safety standards in the sector,
as well as implementing a system of animal iden-
tification and traceability.
Livestock is an important part of agricultural pro-
duction and it has increased significantly since
1980, with the introduction of European and Asian
races.
Cattle production in Ecuador
In the Agricultural Census of 2002, land owners
were classified according to the size of UPA (pro-
duction units): less than one hectare, one to two
hectares, two to three ha., three to 5 ha., and 5
to 10ha. This classification represents the major-
ity of producers in Ecuador that are considered
small units, totaling 842882 and covering a total
production area of 12335831 hectares, 4486868
of which are cultivated in natural pastures, and
504795 – in artificial pasture production units. In
Ecuador, according to the census, 36% of the land
for agricultural use is occupied by pastures with
205833 production units, whereas the remaining
32.0% is used for harvest, 5% for wasteland, 32%
for mountains and forests, 3% for rest and 3% for
other uses.
Ecuador’s total area is 256370 square kilometers.
It´s represented by three defined regions: East