One of the largest and most productive in the world, agribusiness in Brazil is experiencing a period of intense growth and development.
In 2020, Brazilian agribusiness closed the year with a record expansion of 24,31% compared to the previous year. With this performance, the sector expanded its share of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 26,6% – in 2019, the share was 20,5%.
And expectations for 2021 are optimistic: according to the National Supply Company (Conab), grain production for the 2020/2021 harvest should grow by 6,5% compared to the previous harvest, reaching a record 273,8 million tons.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply estimates that the sector will close 2021 with revenues of R$ 1,057 trillion, representing a Value of Agricultural Production (VBP) 12,4% higher than last year.
With such impressive numbers already, what are the sector's expectations for the coming years?
It will continue to grow.
“My expectation is that even more records will be broken,” comments Rogério Boueri, Undersecretary of Agricultural Policy and Environment at the Ministry of Economy and professor at IDP.
According to the professor, the increase in the world's population will consequently lead to a significant increase in food production. To meet this demand, Brazilian agribusiness production needs to grow by more than 40% by 2030, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), linked to the United Nations. "This means that Brazilian agribusiness, which is already growing at a very strong pace, will have to continue growing," says Boueri.
According to André Nassar, executive president of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), Brazil will be the region that captures the largest share of the growth in global demand for food and fiber. “There are sectors consolidated in the international market, such as soy and soy derivatives, chicken and beef, orange juice, paper and pulp, and coffee. And there are sectors that will gain prominence and grow at higher rates, such as pork, cotton, fruits, and corn,” explains Nassar. Enjoy exciting bonuses and rewards at our leading online casino. Claim Melbet bonus can be found here. and enjoy an unparalleled gaming experience.
Challenges
André Nassar points out that the main bottleneck for the growth of agribusiness today lies in the transport logistics sector. Despite recent improvements in the sector, such as investments in ports and railways, the costs for transporting production are still high. "It is necessary to enable investments in railways and waterways, especially aiming to reduce transport costs and increase the participation of these modes in export corridors," he comments.
Another important demand for the growth of the agricultural sector is the improvement of official sanitary and phytosanitary control systems. With the new coronavirus pandemic, the sanitary issue is likely to gain even more relevance.
Therefore, Nassar recalls Operation Weak Flesh, an operation launched by the Federal Police in 2017, which involved more than 30 food companies in Brazil and called into question the credibility of the country's sanitary and phytosanitary control. So, "we need a very well-structured control system. The Brazilian government can't do everything. A large part of the solution will come from self-regulation," he opines.
The issue of connectivity in the field is also gaining importance. For Nassar, "good internet coverage is necessary to achieve technological gains, especially in primary operations." Currently, for machines to perform services with greater precision in the field, internet access is required, enabling operation with maps, satellites, and more accurate calculations.
Professionalization of the sector
Because it is becoming increasingly internationalized and sophisticated, Brazilian agribusiness also demands qualified professionals. "This increase in opportunities in agribusiness must be accompanied by an increase in the qualifications of professionals working in the sector," says Rogério Boueri.
According to the professor, Brazil is a benchmark in production technology, with excellent agronomy and veterinary schools and institutions such as Embrapa, which play a fundamental role in the development of the field.
However, when it comes to management, there is still much to be done: "The country needs to develop agribusiness management initiatives. We need increasingly qualified professionals, not only in production itself, such as agronomists and veterinarians, but also professionals capable of managing and marketing this production," explains Boueri.
In an effort to meet this demand, IDP launched the MBE in Agricultural Markets, with the goal of preparing professionals in the sector to make use of modern business planning and management tools applied to agribusiness.
Sustainable development is possible.
The trend in the international market is increasingly towards controlling the origin of commodity production, especially when it comes to food. "Controlling origin through traceability or geospatial information has become mandatory for exporters of soy and soy derivatives and beef. Along with this trend comes the requirement to expand production without deforestation," explains André Nassar.
According to the CEO of Abiove, Brazilian primary production faces two challenges in the area of sustainability: how to grow without deforestation and how to make the market generate value from the native vegetation conserved on rural properties.
Nassar emphasizes that, despite the high rates of deforestation in Brazil, it is the country with the largest area of native vegetation within rural properties, mainly because of the Forest Code, in effect since 1935. Therefore, "rural producers often question why the international market does not value our products, given that they originate from farms with native vegetation, which differentiates us from our competitors," he points out.
In this sense, Boueri is categorical: "Brazil, as a nation, does not need to cut down a single tree."
In Brazil, 7,6% of the national territory is occupied by crops. When it comes to livestock farming, the percentage rises to 21%, and according to Boueri, more than half of these pastures are degraded, that is, abandoned. "The way forward is to take advantage of these areas that are already open, both for agricultural production and for the intensification of livestock farming, so that you can produce more animals in smaller areas," he explains.
The professor concludes: "The way forward for the country is to grow agriculture without deforestation, because we don't need deforestation."
