Argentina-Farming Emergency Plan.

ARGENTINE- President Cristina Fernandez has declared the country is suffering from an "agricultural emergency" brought on by a devastating drought affecting farms and ranches around the nation.

The drought, which has left countless cattle dead and crops in wretched condition, has been worrying farmers and ranchers for months.

Fernandez said those affected by the drought will be able to defer personal income and other tax payments for up to a year, though it wasn’t immediately clear how the government will determine who is eligible for the deferral.

"Many farmers have been waiting for this for a long time," said Ricardo Echegaray, head of Argentina’s tax collection agency, AFIP.

The government will also temporarily stop charging farmers for the right to transport grains and oilseeds.

The state news agency Telam reported that this could save farmers up to ARS200 million (A$86.4 million).

"These are difficult times," Fernandez said in a speech at the presidential residence.

The drought is so severe it threatens to undermine farm exports to the tune of A$7.6 billion, or 2 per cent of gross domestic product, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange warned last week..

Argentina, the world’s No. 3 exporter of corn and soybeans and the leading exporter of soymeal and soyoil, is suffering what is thought to be its worst drought in memory.

Many parts of the farm belt have seen the lowest precipitation in 47 years, with a reduction of between 40 per cent and 60 per cent from historic averages, the Exchange said.

The Exchange said the drought probably will cause soybean production to fall between 17 per cent and 25 per cent from last season to somewhere between 34..5 million to 38.2 million metric tonnes. Corn output is seen plunging by 33 per cent to 40 per cent to just 12.3 million to 13.7 million tonnes, it said.

The government depends heavily on the sector to provide it with tax revenue.

Meanwhile, the sector has long been a major motor of economic growth and is estimated to account - either directly or indirectly - for around one third of all jobs in the country.