This article uses parametric and nonparametric methods to update estimates of agricultural
productivity growth in 10 South American countries in 1969-2009 with the objective of checking
if the slowdown being measured in other countries is present in the region. Results show that the
increase in agricultural output during the period analyzed is explained by factor accumulation,
but also by higher Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and that the slowdown present in the U.S. and
some European economies does not seem to be present in South America. The region yearly
average TFP growth went from 1.23 percent during the 1970s to 1.79 percent in the 1980s, 2.04
percent in the 1990s and 2.59 during the 2000s. This growth is not uniform across countries; the
different performances can be associated to different environmental and institutional conditions.
