Argentina considers allowing farming on 50,000 hectares along national routes

Lawmakers in Argentina's Chamber of Deputies are exploring initiatives to permit agricultural planting on land bordering national routes, known as "banquinas." Currently prohibited, these proposals could potentially add approximately 50,000 hectares to agricultural production.

Two specific proposals, one from national deputy Javier Sánchez Wrba (PRO) and another from Agustina Propato (UXP), are being discussed in the Transport Commission. These projects aim to enable the productive use of these adjacent surfaces through specific, albeit precarious and costly, permits. Crucially, they stipulate that planting would not occur directly on the road shoulders or within safety zones.

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The proposals enable, under specific permits and conditions, the productive use of surfaces adjacent to national routes. About 50,000 hectares could be incorporated into agricultural production.

Under Sánchez Wrba's proposal, landowners adjacent to national routes would have priority in obtaining permits to use these public lands for cultivation, provided they pay a fee. The funds collected would be earmarked for the maintenance of the National Road Network.

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The projects aim to take advantage of surfaces that today may be without productive use, through precarious and costly permits, maintaining the necessary conditions for the circulation and maintenance of the routes. A central point is that it does not propose to plant on the shoulders or on the road safety strips.

Propato's proposal shares the goal of utilizing unproductive land but directs the revenue generated from permits towards social and cooperative objectives. The Fundación Barbechando, which reported on the discussions, noted that these initiatives seek to reverse a 2008 resolution that effectively ended the system allowing permits for planting, cultivation, and harvesting on these areas.

Estimates suggest that if approximately two hectares per linear kilometer along national routes in productive zones were utilized, the potential area could reach 50,000 hectares. Some Argentine provinces, like Buenos Aires, already permit cultivation on land adjacent to provincial routes under specific precautions, demonstrating a precedent for such land use.

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More production also means making better use of our territory. That's why from @prodiputados we presented a project to recover the productive use of land bordering national routes, with a fundamental condition that is to ensure the safety of those who travel on them. The project begins to be discussed in the Transport commission.