Agriculture

Due to this, among the results obtained in the last 5 years, there was a remarkable increase of organic matter in the soil, which in turn resulted in a better yield of crops, such as soybeans, which is the main cash crop of the company.

Regarding the use of water, it should be noted that the irrigation of crops in the Estancia Golondrina is done with rainwater stored in reservoirs. This practice has allowed a significant increase in the productivity in the area (1,460 ha.) in a period of 7 years. Meanwhile, in Estancia Lomas, the Paraguay River water is used for the irrigation of the rice crop, whose quality is periodically evaluated.

PAYCO performs agricultural production in two of its own properties. They grow soy, corn, wheat, rapeseed in rotation with other species for ground cover in Estancia Golondrina, and irrigated rice in Estancia Lomas, using 7,000 ha. and 6,700 ha. respectively.

All production activities are carried out following the criteria of sustainability and are based on agricultural best practices, among which are: (i) direct sowing, (ii) crop rotation, (iii) balanced fertilization, (iv) permanent monitoring of nutrients in the soil, (v) soil covered with crops, during most of the year to minimize erosion caused by rainfall and (vi) permanent monitoring of crops, to determine timely crop protection applications thus avoiding unnecessary use of agrochemicals.
The soybean production process is carried out following the principles of the Round Table on Responsible Soy Association, RTRS and has been certified under this standard since 2016.