Dr. Ignacio García Diez
CEO · Coordinator of the CREA Esquel Group
Estancia El Chalet
A veterinarian and farmer, and a leading figure in technological innovation in Patagonian livestock production. Born in Bahía Blanca and settled in Esquel, Chubut, from a young age, he is the fourth generation of a farming family and the son of Paula Gonzalo, one of the first women to chair a farmers' association in the region.
He manages the family sheep and cattle breeding operation at the foot of the Andes, where he applies Voisin rational grazing and management tools to gain efficiency in marginal environments. He is a member of the local CREA group and of the Mesa de Articulación por el Cambio Climático (the Climate Change Coordination Board) of the provincial Legislature.
Takes part in
- 11:30–12:30 Panel Panel 2 — Steppe, grasslands, and sheep farming
To examine the challenges and opportunities that extensive sheep farming on the Patagonian steppe faces in the context of climate change, in a fragile situation marked by desertification, the degradation of natural grasslands, and variable rainfall patterns. The panel will consider the role of sustainable management of natural grassland—through practices such as appropriate stocking rates, rotational resting of paddocks, regenerative grazing, and soil recovery—as a central tool for reconciling livestock productivity with conservation of the forage resource. The panel will highlight the production experience of several Patagonian sheep operations, the coordination among the public sector, INTA (the National Institute of Agricultural Technology), and producer organizations, and the financing and investment opportunities associated with sheep farming that is more resilient, more efficient, and better adapted to climate change.
Recordings will be available on the YouTube channel of the Province of Chubut once the event has concluded.