Unprecedented research investigates how and where food is produced in Brazil

How and where is food produced in Brazil? An unprecedented study by the Institute of Forestry and Agricultural Management and Certification (Imaflora) looked into the topic and produced an in-depth analysis of the country's agricultural production in recent decades. Entitled “Food Production in Brazil: Geography, Chronology and Evolution”, this is the second research in a series produced by Imaflora with support from the Ibirapitanga Institute, Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS) and Public Policy Group (GPP/Esalq) that analyzes food systems in Brazil and their production, distribution and consumption aspects. A The full study can be seen on the Imaflora website.

The study finds that Brazilian production is concentrated in a few crops. In all the years analyzed, only five crops occupied 70% or more of the country's total agricultural area: rice, sugar cane, beans, corn and soybeans. In the 2000s, soybeans gained a prominent role, occupying, in 2017, 43,2% of the area, followed by corn (22,5%), sugar cane (13%), beans (3,9%) and rice (2,6%). In the period analyzed, soybeans and corn always occupied the majority of the country's agricultural area, with corn being the main crop until 1995, losing its position in the 2000s to soybeans. Sugarcane gained third place, overtaking food crops (rice and beans) over time.

One of the aspects analyzed was how the agricultural frontier has evolved in recent decades. The study identified that the prevalence of growth in pasture areas, identified in the first two periods analyzed (1985-1995; 1995-2006) gave way to a greater expansion of agricultural areas in the most recent period, which runs from 2006 to 2017. The expansion of agricultural areas was greater in around 54,9% of the country's 558 micro-regions (group of municipalities defined by IBGE) between 2006 and 2017, while the expansion of pasture areas was greater in 29,3% of the micro-regions. The expansion of forest areas was greater in only 15,8% of the areas in this period. “This great expansion of agriculture can be explained, among other factors, by the increase in sugarcane areas in the Southeast region and soybean areas in the Center-South”, says Vinicius Guidotti de Faria, Geoprocessing Coordinator at Imaflora.

When analyzing the evolution of the planted area and agricultural production between the period 1988 and 2017, the study found that in 2017 the total area occupied by agriculture in the country was approximately 78,7 Mha (million hectares), an increase of 26 % compared to 2006 and 39% compared to 1988, while 2017 production grew by around 57% compared to 2006 (398,5 Mt) and around 85% (707,6 Mt) compared to 1988. In general, the increase in production was twice as large as the expansion of productive areas between 1988 and 2017, indicating productivity gains in the period.

Commodity boom

The crops that had the greatest production growth between 1988 and 2017 were soybeans, corn and sugar cane. Soybean production grew by around 536% in tons in the period, while the cultivated area increased by 221%. Corn expanded its production by 295%, with a 32% increase in planted area. Sugarcane production expanded by 194%, with an increase in area by around 145%. Some crops reduced the production area, but increased the quantity produced, demonstrating an increase in productivity - as in the case of rice (reduction in area of ​​67% and increase of 5,5% in production) and coffee (40% smaller area, with 96% higher production). Crops such as wheat, cassava and cocoa showed a reduction in area and production during the period analyzed. The area occupied by wheat reduced by around 47%, by cassava by around 30% and by cocoa by 16%. The production of these crops also declined, with a 24% drop in wheat, 15% in cassava and 40% in cocoa.

Although some crops present very dynamic and heterogeneous processes, others, especially soybeans, demonstrate that the increase in productivity did not prevent the expansion process, causing a phenomenon called “rebound effect”. (rebound-effect from English) , when the increase in production caused by intensification generates a search for new areas, instead of remaining in the original area, known as the “land-saving effect” (land-sparing from English).

The advance of soybeans and the stagnation in the production of crops such as rice and beans can also be seen when looking at the percentage of crops that prevail in each of the agricultural microregions, that is, the crops with the largest amount of area in relation to all crops planted in each microregion. In 2017, soybeans were the prevalent crop in 27,6% of the country's microregions, corn in 19,7%, sugarcane in 16,1%, beans in 6,9% and rice in only 3,8% of microregions. “If we imagine ourselves traveling through the interior of the state of São Paulo, it is likely that we will see the prevalence of sugarcane cultivation on the roads. If it were in the state of Mato Grosso, we would probably see extensive areas with soybean cultivation. However, these states have several other crops, which are outside this great productive concentration”, says Ana Chamma, researcher at the Public Policy Group (GPP) at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (Esalq/USP) and one of the authors of the study.

Despite this concentration, the production of other crops, on a smaller scale, continues. “The areas specialized in the production of soybeans, corn and sugar cane are quite clear in the country. But we cannot say that the expansion of these major commodities reduced the variety of crops on a regional scale. Overall, the country's agricultural production did not lose in quantity or diversity, but there was a change in the way it was produced, with an increase in productivity and the area of ​​some crops”, explains Guidotti.

Productive concentration and social selectivity

The dynamics of production and the concentration on large-scale crops aimed at export have a direct impact on the reduction of agricultural establishments and the increase in the average area, as these crops require larger areas for their economic viability. Between 2006 and 2017, the number of establishments decreased by 2% in the country. The average area of ​​establishments went from 64,5 hectares in 2006 to 69,2 hectares in 2017, a variation of 7,4%. “When we look at Brazil as a whole, these changes seem small, but the fact is that the changes were quite pronounced in some regions. In the south of the country, for example, there was a 15,2% reduction in the number of establishments and an increase in the average area of ​​21%, indicating a strong production concentration in the region. This phenomenon can be explained by the increasing complexity of managing agricultural activity and the high cost of technologies that, together with other factors, have led a considerable number of small producers and family producers to give up agricultural activity”, says Guidotti.

The concentration of production and the need to expand areas to guarantee the financial sustainability of properties also changes the profile of producers. Between 2006 and 2017, family farming lost almost 500 thousand establishments, going from 84% to 77% of the total. “A large part of them stopped obtaining their income mainly from agriculture, becoming considered non-producing rural residents, with income coming mainly from the provision of services, pensions and income transfer programs”, explains Guidotti.

Reflecting this, the study points to land concentration in Brazil as a phenomenon that continues over time: in 2006, around 69% of the country's agricultural establishments were small (from 2 to 100 hectares) and large ones (from 500 to more than 2500 hectares) corresponded to 2%. However, the area occupied by large ones was 56% and by small ones 23%. In 2017, the proportion remained almost unchanged: 69% of establishments were small and 2% large. The area occupied by large establishments corresponded to 58% of the total. In other words, since 2006, at least, a small number of establishments occupy more than half of the country's agricultural area. “In fact, the unequal distribution of land has been a well-known phenomenon in Brazil for a long time. Available data indicate that the Gini index, for example, was 0,83 in 1940 and 0,85 in 2017, indicating that the country's land structure has not undergone major changes over time [the closer to 1, the more unequal the situation]. This unequal structure corroborates the geography of agricultural production that, in a certain way, becomes concentrated and specialized”, says Chamma.

The income of 82% of these establishments, which represents 600 thousand families, is less than two minimum wages per month. The aging of the population in the countryside, the movement of young people to large centers and the technological cost of maintaining the activity are other factors that contribute to this reality. “It would be necessary to rethink agriculture in Brazil in order to have advances in the next 30, 40 years that aim to produce food and improve rural areas, with positive effects from an economic and social point of view”, concludes Guidotti. “This configuration of rural Brazil, which ends up putting pressure on small farmers to expand their areas and technicalize their crops so that production is profitable, requires the construction of new public policies aimed at this rural population. Encouraging the insertion of young people in the countryside and valuing small-scale agriculture, for example”, adds Chamma.

"The food issue is at the center of some of the main challenges of our time, with profound impacts on health, climate change and Brazil's development model. The research carried out allows us to understand the transformations in food production in recent decades and in helps to formulate interventions that contribute to the construction of a fairer, healthier and sustainable food system", adds André Degenszajn, director-president of the Ibirapitanga Institute.