Agriculture in Brazil
The agricultural sector in Brazil is historically one of the principal bases of Brazil's economy. In 2024, Brazil was the second-biggest grain exporter in the world, with 19% of the international market share, and the fourth overall grain producer. Brazil is also the world's largest exporter of many popular agriculture commodities like coffee, soybeans, organic honey, beef, poultry, cane sugar, soybean meal, açai berry, orange juice, yerba mate, cellulose, tobacco, and the second biggest exporter of cotton, corn, pork, and ethanol. The country also has a significant presence as producer and exporter of rice, wheat, eggs, refined sugar, soybean oil, cocoa, beans, nuts, cassava, sisal fiber, and diverse fruits and vegetables.
The southern one-half to two-thirds of Brazil has a semi-temperate climate, higher rainfall, more fertile soil, more advanced technology and input use, adequate infrastructure and more experienced farmers. This region produces most of Brazil's grains, oilseeds, and agriculture exports.
The drought-ridden northeast region and Amazon basin lack well-distributed rainfall, good soil, adequate infrastructure and development capital. Although mostly occupied by subsistence farmers, both regions are increasingly important as exporters of forest products, cocoa and tropical fruits. Central Brazil contains substantial areas of grassland. Brazilian grasslands are far less fertile than those of North America, and are generally suited only for grazing.
Extreme weather events like drought, linked with deforestation and climate change, increasingly impact Brazilian agriculture. Experts consider a forest-friendly economy the best method to sustain the Brazilian agricultural sector, because deforestation presents severe dangers to it.
Brazil's agricultural production in 2018
In 2018, Brazil:- It was by far the largest world producer of sugarcane. The 2nd place, India, produces about half of Brazil's production. Brazil uses much of the cane to produce ethanol, in addition to exporting a lot of sugar.
- It was the 2nd largest world producer of soy, second only to the United States. However, Brazil surpassed US soybean production in 2020.;
- It was the 3rd largest world producer of maize, third only to the US and China;
- It was the 5th largest world producer of cassava, fifth only to Nigeria, Thailand, Congo and Ghana;
- It was the largest world producer of orange ;
- It was the 9th largest world producer of rice ;
- It was the 3rd largest world producer of banana, third only to India and China. If we also consider the plantains, Brazil is the 7th largest producer;
- It produced 5.4 million tons of wheat;
- It was the 4th largest world producer of cotton, losing only to India, USA and China;
- It was the 10th largest world producer of tomato ;
- It produced 3.6 million tons of potato;
- It was the world's largest producer of coffee ;
- It was the largest world producer of guaraná ;
- Produced 3.2 million tons of legume;
- It was the 3rd largest world producer of beans, third only to Myanmar and India;
- It was the 3rd largest world producer of pineapple, only to Costa Rica and the Philippines;
- It was the 5th largest world producer of coconut, losing to Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka;
- It was the 4th largest world producer of watermelon, losing to China, Iran and Turkey;
- It was the 7th largest world producer of sorghum ;
- It was the 7th largest world producer of mango ;
- It was the 14th largest world producer of grape ;
- It was the 14th largest world producer of onion ;
- Produced 1.5 million tons of palm oil;
- It was the 5th largest world producer of lemon, losing to India, Mexico, China and Argentina;
- It was the largest world producer of açaí ;
- It was the 13th largest world producer of apple ;
- It was the 2nd largest world producer of papaya, second only to India;
- Produced 996 thousand tons of tangerine;
- Produced 897 thousand tons of oats;
- It was the 2nd largest world producer of tobacco, second only to China;
- It produced 741 thousand tons of sweet potato;
- It was the 14th largest world producer of peanut ;
- It produced 546 thousand tons of yerba mate;
- It produced 330 thousand tons of barley;
- It was the 6th largest world producer of cocoa ;
- It was the 6th largest world producer of avocado ;
- Produced 199 thousand tons of natural rubber;
- It was the 6th largest world producer of persimmon ;
- It was the 9th largest world producer of cashew nuts ;
- It produced 135 thousand tons of sunflower;
- It was the largest world producer of Brazil nuts ;
History
Early farming
Brazilian Natives began farming some 12,000 years ago. They farmed cassava, peanuts, tobacco, sweet potatoes and maize, in addition to extracting the essence from other local plants such as the pequi and the babassu. Production was for food, straw or lumber. They cultivated local fruits such as jabuticaba, cashews, Spondias mombin and Goiabas.The Indians both influenced and were influenced by the Europeans who arrived in the fifteenth century. The Portuguese "nourished themselves with wood-flour, slaughtered the big game to eat, packed their nets and imitated the rough, free life", in the words of Pedro Calmon.
Until other crops began to be exported, brazilwood was the main reason Portugal wanted control in Brazil.
Fires
One practice of indigenous Brazilians was to clear land for cultivation by burning it. This provided arable land and ashes for use as fertilizer and soil cover.Scholars such as Monteiro Lobato considered this practice to be harmful. However, burning only became a problem when the Europeans adopted the practice aggressively around 1500, divided land into farms, began monocropping, etc. The combination of burning with these new farming methods decimated native flora.
International problems
Brazilian coffee production exceeded global demand at the beginning of the 20th century. This resulted in the Taubaté Agreement, where the State began acquiring surplus for destruction and planting seedlings was forbidden—with the goal of maintaining a minimum profitable price.Rubber suffered from foreign competition. In 1870, English smugglers smuggled rubber tree seedlings out of Brazil and in 1895 began production in Asia. In the 1910s and 1920s this competition practically eliminated Brazilian production.
Agronomy schools
In 1887 during the Empire era, the first school dedicated to the training of agronomists opened in the city of Cruz das Almas. In 1883, in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, a second school opened.The first school was officially recognized thirty-five years after its creation, with Decree 8.319/1910. The agronomist profession only came to be recognized in 1933. Seventy regular agronomy colleges operate in Brazil. The day the decree was publicized, 12 October, became the "Day of the Agronomist".
Professional registration is managed by Regional Engineering and Architecture Councils, integrated at the national level by CONFEA. Educational activity is supported by the Federation of Brazilian Agronomy Students.
Diversification: 1960–1990
The Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research was established during the military regime in 1973 with the objective of diversifying production. The body was responsible for the support of new crops, adapted to the country's diverse regions. The expansion of agricultural borders towards the Cerrado had begun, and of monocultural latifundia with production at a semi-industrial scale of soybeans, cotton and beans. Czech-Brazilian researcher Johanna Döbereiner helped lead Brazil's Green Revolution, winning her the UNESCO Science Prize for her work on nitrogen-fixing microorganisms.In 1960, four main agricultural products were exported, growing by the early 1990s to nineteen. Brazil also moved "downstream" to expand post-harvest processing. In the 1960s, unprocessed goods made up 84% of total exports, falling to 20% by 1990.
Agricultural promotion policies included subsidized credits, bank debt write-offs and export subsidies.