Why do poorer latin american countries often practice such environmentally destuctive agricultural practices?

Question

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Answer 1

Ignorance and lack of options.

Answer 2

Because they are poverty stricken subsistence farmers who often use the most damaging methods to get the fastest economic return.

Answer 3

GREED

Answer 4

They are getting higher prices for easy chemical farming which is more cheaper than Organic Agriculture. Awareness creation, serious organic certification, export etc are needed to curb this practice.

Answer 5

It would be helpful if you listed what environmentally destructive practices you are talking about. In most cases poorer farmers don't have a choice of methods they use to farm and make a living for their family. I'm guessing that you are referring to burning off the forest in order to get the land into production. The ash provides the farmer with fertility and some weed control for his crop. If done on a small scale and the land is allowed to regrow for a long enough time, this slash and burn type of agriculture works fairly well and allows the farmer to feed his family. If done on a large scale it can be disastrous to the environment and land.

Answer 6

People do whatever it takes to feed their family.  Some come to the US looking for work while leaving their families behind and others do whatever they can to support their families while staying home.  In addition, their level of education and awareness also determines how they conduct business.  

For example, I know people who don't believe in using tobacco products and don't believe it's right raising the stuff, but they do so because that's what it takes to feed their family and make the farm payment.

The American dust bowl was the result of farmers not being aware of the interaction between wind, soil, vegetation and so on.  Clean plowing and cultivation was an accepted and expected practice at the time but left the soil vulnerable to wind erosion.  They didn't intentionally set out to create a dust bowl.  Now days, farmers in the same area use no-till and reduce tillage practices, strip cropping and windbreaks to protect the soil from wind damage.  Today, no-till planting and mulch tillage is possible because of herbicides and farm implements that weren't even imagined during the dust bowl days.  In addition, much of how present farmers operate is based on the mistakes make by previous generations.  In short, people don't fix something that isn't broken.  When it's broken and doesn't work, then you make changes.