Agroecología vs. Agronegocio en el Valle de Calamuchita, Córdoba, Argentina. ¿A quién le damos de comer cuando comemos?

In recent years, growing concern about the quality and origin of the food that reaches the consumer’s table has been key in the formation of alternative networks based on sustainable consumption and small and medium-scale agroecological production. In Argentina, agroecological production –even more so organic, has become almost exclusively consumed by the middle and upper classes of the population, out of the reach of the popular sectors. The lack of public policies aimed at democratizing access, in the face of the advance of market logic typical of the agro-industrial sector, only deepens social inequalities in the context of a deep inflationary crisis. This article seeks to address the characteristics that this problem acquires in the Calamuchita Valley (Cordoba, Argentina), based on a series of questions that arose during an ethnographic fieldwork carried out together with agroecological producers in the region. From an anthropological perspective, it aims to trace the journey of the foods that arrive in the Calamuchita Valley, from their production conditions at origin to the vicissitudes prior to their commercialization; aspects that are, as will be show later on, directly related to the widespread use of pesticides within Argentine fruit and vegetable production. On the other hand, and based on the data constructed within the framework of my research, it will seek to address the impact of agribusiness at the local level, its expansion and retreat in the face of resistance movements. Finally, some alternatives that agroecological experiences have inaugurated in the CalamuchitaValley after its growth are presented, mainly in relation to the supply of locally produced fruits and vegetables, identifying possibilities and challenges for a future that requires the emergence of environmentally sustainable agriculture but, above all, socially fair.