Anita Sosa, born with hydrocephalus and spina bifida, plays with her sister in Chaco, Argentina. Doctors attributed her condition to pesticides used in the soybean fields that surround her town of 3,000 inhabitants. 
2026 Photo Contest - South America - Long-Term Projects

The Human Cost of Agrotoxins

Photographer

Pablo E. Piovano

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation, Philip Jones Griffiths Foundation, Lawen.doc
29 November, 2014

Anita Sosa, born with hydrocephalus and spina bifida, plays with her sister in Chaco, Argentina. Doctors attributed her condition to pesticides used in the soybean fields that surround her town of 3,000 inhabitants. 

In 1996, Argentina approved genetically modified, herbicide-resistant soybeans paired with glyphosate-based herbicides, a policy adopted without independent research. In three decades, pesticide use skyrocketed from 40 million to 580 million liters annually. Today, 60% of Argentina’s cultivated land is sprayed, affecting 14 million people. Despite independent studies linking exposure to increased risks of cancer and congenital malformations, regulations continue to loosen even as agrochemical usage moves closer to human settlements. This project documents the human cost of an economic model that prioritizes agro-industrial profit over the lives of its rural citizens.

 

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Pablo E. Piovano
About the photographer

Pablo Ernesto Piovano (b. 1981) is a documentary photographer and filmmaker from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Across his career, Piovano has collaborated with international media such as Geo, Stern, Liberation, L’Expresso, Bloomberg and others.  He has won numerous awards including the Henri Nannen Prize (...

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Jury comment

This long-term project demonstrates a strong, distinct voice, documenting the increasing usage of agrochemicals in communities and the ensuing impacts. Through intimate, lyrical frames and sustained engagement, the photographer builds a necessary visual narrative of everyday life, and health effects, presenting community action with dignity and respect. Partially self-funded and meticulously executed, the work effectively uses a classic documentary style to identify the issue and convey their own relationship to the community. This work serves as an inspiring example of impactful photojournalism.