Cerro Largo Department

Cerro Largo occupies the eastern interior along the Brazilian border, with rice cultivation distinguishing its agriculture from the national livestock pattern. Melo, the departmental capital, serves as a commercial center for rice farmers and cattle ranchers. Cross-border trade with Brazil supplements the formal agricultural economy.

Rice production benefits from the department's water resources and relatively flat terrain suitable for paddy cultivation. Uruguay's rice industry, concentrated in the eastern departments, exports primarily to Latin American and Middle Eastern markets. Cerro Largo's producers compete on quality and reliability rather than volume against Asian exporters.

The department demonstrates how water availability determines agricultural possibility in a country otherwise dominated by extensive livestock production. Rice requires investment in irrigation infrastructure that most Uruguayan farmland lacks or does not need.