Population growth, although sloWing down, could place increasing pressure on resource use in general and especially through a change in consumption patterns and an increase in food production, an activity that competes with other economic activities for land and water use. Demographic trends and economic growth patterns have produced large differences in economic and social equity, as well as the sustainability of resource use. In recent years, due to a reduction in external demand, growth in the region has been driven mainly by the expansion of the domestic market, stimulated by subsidy policies in most countries.