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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

Erick Boy

researcher spotlight

Erick Boy

Erick Boy is the Chief Nutritionist in the HarvestPlus section of the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. As head of nutrition for the HarvestPlus Program since 2008, he has led research that has generated scientific evidence on biofortified staple crops as efficacious and effective interventions to help address iron, vitamin A, and zinc deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.

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Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

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IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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The Earth Planet

Paraguay

countries and regions

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Deforestation in the MERCOSUR Countries: A comparative analysis of trends, policies, and governance (2000–2024)

2025Piñeiro, Valeria; Papendieck, Sabine; Elverdin, Pablo; Illescas, Nelson; Jorge, Nicolás; Mingoti, Rafael; da Silveira, Hilton Luis Ferraz; Campos, Silvia Kanadani; da Pereira, Vanessa da Fonseca
Details

Deforestation in the MERCOSUR Countries: A comparative analysis of trends, policies, and governance (2000–2024)

The countries of MERCOSUR—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay (ABPU)—are home to some of South America’s most vital and diverse forest ecosystems. These include the globally significant Amazon rainforest, the biodiversity-rich Cerrado savannah, and the expansive and carbon-dense Gran Chaco dry forests. Together, these ecosystems regulate hydrological cycles, support endemic biodiversity, store vast amounts of carbon, and provide critical ecosystem services to rural and urban populations alike. The importance of these forests extends beyond their ecological functions. They are central to the region’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, to global biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and to the livelihoods and cultural heritage of indigenous and rural communities. Moreover, forests are increasingly linked with international trade and investment. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), for example, imposes new traceability requirements on commodities linked to land-use change, and the EU-MERCOSUR partnership agreement with its trade and sustainable development chapter, further elevating the geopolitical and economic relevance of forest governance in the MERCOSUR countries.

Year published

2025

Authors

Piñeiro, Valeria; Papendieck, Sabine; Elverdin, Pablo; Illescas, Nelson; Jorge, Nicolás; Mingoti, Rafael; da Silveira, Hilton Luis Ferraz; Campos, Silvia Kanadani; da Pereira, Vanessa da Fonseca

Citation

Piñeiro, Valeria; Papendieck, Sabine; Elverdin, Pablo; Illescas, Nelson; Jorge, Nicolás; Mingoti, Rafael; et al. 2025. Deforestation in the MERCOSUR Countries: A comparative analysis of trends, policies, and governance (2000–2024). LAC Working Paper 38. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176401

Country/Region

Argentina; Brazil; Paraguay; Uruguay

Keywords

Americas; South America; Deforestation; Biodiversity; Trade Agreements; Land-use Change; Development; Agriculture; Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

What do we know about the future of agriculture in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay? The Mercosur Outlook

2025Jorge, Nicolás; Campos, Silvia Kanadani; Gianatiempo, Juan Pablo; da Pereira, Vanessa da Fonseca; Masaro, Jimena Vicentin; Peri, Graciela Isabel; Piñeiro, Valeria
Details

What do we know about the future of agriculture in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay? The Mercosur Outlook

This report constitutes a long-term vision for key variables of the agricultural sector in the Mercosur countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (or ABPU, with both terms used interchangeably). The objective is not to forecast the sector’s future but to serve as a reference tool, considering long-term drivers. This study addresses the question: what will happen to relevant agricultural variables over the next decade if current trends persist? Although based on a quantitative model, the results are not merely model outputs; they undergo a thorough revision process with experts from each country. The outcomes are also conditional on specific assumptions, including macroeconomic conditions, government policies, weather, international agreements, and other influencing factors.

Year published

2025

Authors

Jorge, Nicolás; Campos, Silvia Kanadani; Gianatiempo, Juan Pablo; da Pereira, Vanessa da Fonseca; Masaro, Jimena Vicentin; Peri, Graciela Isabel; Piñeiro, Valeria

Citation

Jorge, Nicolás; Campos, Silvia Kanadani; Gianatiempo, Juan Pablo; da Pereira, Vanessa da Fonseca; Masaro, Jimena Vicentin; Peri, Graciela Isabel; and Piñeiro, Valeria. 2025. What do we know about the future of agriculture in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay? The Mercosur Outlook. LAC Working Paper 39. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176398

Country/Region

Argentina; Brazil; Paraguay; Uruguay

Keywords

Americas; South America; Agricultural Sector; Policies; Food Security; Supply Chains; Exports

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Paraguay report on deforestation 2000-2024

2025Elverdin, Pablo; Illescas, Nelson
Details

Paraguay report on deforestation 2000-2024

The definition of “forest” varies between countries, and while the differences may be marked by small subtleties, this can imply important divergences in what is understood by deforestation and/or forest degradation. A first approximation to the definition of forests in Paraguay arises from Art. 5 of Law 2524/04, on “zero deforestation” in the Eastern Region.1 There, “native forest” is defined as any native or autochthonous ecosystem, whether or not intervened, regenerated by natural succession or other forestry techniques, which occupies a minimum area of two hectares, characterized by the presence of mature trees of different ages, species and varied size, with one or more canopies that cover more than 50% (fifty percent) of that area and where there are more than sixty trees per hectare of fifteen or more centimeters in diameter measured at breast height.

Year published

2025

Authors

Elverdin, Pablo; Illescas, Nelson

Citation

Elverdin, Pablo; and Illescas, Nelson. 2025. Paraguay report on deforestation 2000-2024. LAC Working Paper 36. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176388

Country/Region

Paraguay

Keywords

Americas; South America; Biological Diversity; Deforestation; Ecosystems; Land Use

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Datasets

Dataset

ASTI Paraguay Database

2016Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators
Details

ASTI Paraguay Database

This dataset includes national-level time series data on researcher capacity by qualification level, age bracket, discipline mix, and commodity, as well as a detailed breakdown of agricultural research investment across government, higher education, nonprofit, and (where possible) private for-profit agricultural research agencies. These data were derived through a series of primary survey rounds conducted by IFPRI’s Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) and in close collaboration with a large network of national collaborators. The ASTI data constitute a powerful resource for national and regional research managers, policymakers, donor organizations, and other stakeholders. ASTI’s key indicators provide both a diagnostic tool for assessing the allocation and use of existing resources and an advocacy tool for increasing resources and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of resource use. The ASTI website offers interactive pages that allow users to access country-level time series data, make cross-country comparisons, create graphs, and download country datasets and publications as well as detailed institutional information on agencies involved in agricultural research. The interactive benchmarking tool on the ASTI website is a convenient map-based instrument allowing users to make cross-country comparisons and rankings based on a wide set of financial and human resource indicators. The detailed ASTI datasets are available in an easy-to-use data download tool. Detailed information on definitions, methodology, and calculation procedures are available at www.asti.cgiar.org

Year published

2016

Authors

Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators

Citation

Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators. 2016. ASTI Paraguay database. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://www.asti.cgiar.org/paraguay. Harvard Dataverse. Version 1. https://www.asti.cgiar.org/paraguay

Country/Region

Paraguay

Keywords

Americas; Latin America and the Caribbean; South America; Agricultural Research

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-3.0

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Dataset

Dataset

A 1998 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Paraguay

2005International Food Policy Research Institute
Details

A 1998 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Paraguay

The 1998 Paraguay Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) is based on the 1997-98 integrated household surveys, the matrix for intermediate demand by the Central Bank of Paraguay (CBP), the final demand matrix and total supply matrix constructed also by the CBP, tax information for the principal tax payers reported by the Ministry of Finance (MF) disaggregated in different levels, balance of payments statistics and the national accounts bulletin from the CBP. The SAM distinguishes eight sectors of activities times equal number of commodities. These sectors include (1) primary sector (agriculture, livestock, hunting, mining and fishery), (2) manufactured goods, (3) construction, (4) utilities (electricity and water and sewage), (5) transportation, storage and communications, (6) trade, restaurants and hotels, (7) financial services such us banking, insurance, real state and services provided to the firms, and (8) community, social and personal services.

Year published

2005

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute. 2005. A 1998 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) For Paraguay. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/1902.1/11190. Harvard Dataverse. Version 1.

Country/Region

Paraguay

Keywords

Americas; Latin America and the Caribbean; South America; Financial Institutions; Commodities; Taxes; Households; Transport; Economic Activities; Manufacturing

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-3.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Dataset

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IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 13, 2017

Southern Cone countries and agricultural trade at the Eleventh WTO Ministerial

By Sara Gustafson and Valeria Piñeiro

A new book explores opportunities and obstacles for Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay in global trade negotiations.

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