Mapa leads program to expand knowledge of Brazilian soil

Holder of the fifth largest territorial extension on the planet, with around 8,5 million square kilometers, Brazil knows little about its soil. The need to expand this knowledge is directly linked to promoting agricultural production, climate risk management and food security. In this sense, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa) coordinates a program that will map the country in its entirety.

The Brazilian National Soil Survey and Interpretation Program (PronaSolos) aims to provide this detailed soil classification on a minimum scale of 1:100.000. This means that each centimeter on the maps represents a kilometer of the real area. Currently, not even 5% of the national territory has information with this level of detail.

Mapa's director of Sustainable Production and Irrigation, Mariane Crespolini, emphasizes that it is extremely important that the country has in-depth knowledge of its soils in order to guarantee the population's food security and its development on a sustainable basis. “On this date when National Soil Conservation Day is celebrated [April 15], it is vital that we remember this natural resource that is directly linked to life on the planet. Knowing our soil is essential for the country to better establish its strategies, not only for food production, but also for conserving natural resources. The information will be extremely useful for the Brazilian State, and not just for agriculture,” she highlights.

Brazil's soil research program was made official with the signing of presidential decree No. 9.414, of June 19, 2018. The program's governance structure, whose strategic committee is led by the Ministry of Agriculture and the executive committee by the Empresa Brasileira de Agricultural Research (Embrapa/Solos) was adjusted by presidential decree No. 10.269, of March 6, 2020.

Currently, according to Petula Ponciano, general head of Embrapa Soils, the level of information on soils in Brazil contrasts with the reality of most developed countries, such as the United States, whose territory is almost entirely covered by soil maps at much larger scales. detailed.

For this year, the objective is to build the PronaSolos Platform, which will gather information on Brazilian soil and should have its first version presented in December. The data can be accessed by researchers, rural producers and the general population, free of charge.

Another initiative of the department related to soil conservation is the National Program for the Conservation of Natural Resources and Rural Development in Hydrographic Microbasins, “Águas do Agro”. It is a strategic project of the department aimed at conserving soil and water, through technologies that combat soil erosion and with incentives for production systems such as Direct Planting, strengthening Brazil's global leadership in this regard.

“When agriculture properly manages the soil, other natural resources are conserved”, highlights Mariane. Currently, Brazil faces a major challenge with soil loss. In Mapa's assessment, PronaSolos and Águas do Agro will make the management and conservation of this resource more efficient, improving the productivity and sustainability of Brazilian agribusiness.