Large scale soy producers in Paraguay. Attitudes and behaviors towards sustainability.

Abstract

Most of the reports on soy are about the negative effects that smallholders experience. Agri-business is also often spoken to, but the soy producers themselves are not. The objective of this thesis is to give the soy producers a voice and to see whether there is a foundation for the implementation of Rural Horizons. The central question in this thesis is what the attitudes of large scale soy producers towards sustainability are, and why. Twenty two of the large producers that supply soy to ADM were interviewed. The results reveal that the producers have no attitude towards sustainability, because they do not regard it any way. Economic sustainability is important, and only if environmental and social sustainability fit within their economic goals, then measures will be taken.