AGRICULTURE-BRAZIL: Boosting Soy Productivity – Without Transgenics

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 9 2001 (IPS) - Soybean productivity in Brazil surpassed that of the United States this year, thanks to technological advances in agriculture which did not include the use of genetically modified crops.

Soybean, a legume that originated in northern China, could only be grown in competitive conditions in temperate or subtropical climates – at latitudes of 30 degrees or higher – until 30 years ago.

But in the past three decades, Brazil has not only been successful in growing soybean in a tropical climate, but has attained a high level of productivity that has made it the world’s second-biggest producer, without the need to turn to the genetically modified seeds widely used by its two biggest competitors, Argentina and the United States.

Brazil’s productivity averaged 2,708 kgs per hectare this year, compared to 2,594 kgs per hectare in the United States, as calculated by the US Department of Agriculture.

Brazil’s savannahs, known as “cerrados”, which in the past were regarded as infertile, have turned out to be good cropland. In fact, the central-western state of Mato Grosso became the country’s biggest producer of soybean last year, posting the highest productivity level: 2,999 kgs per hectare this year.

That is due to technological advances like the development of new varieties of seeds and new fertiliser and pest and weed control techniques, Amelio Dall’Agnol, a researcher at the governmental Brazilian Company of Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA), told IPS.

EMBRAPA has 40 specialised research centres. The one where Dall’Agnol has worked since it was founded in 1975 is based in Londrina, in the southern state of Parana, and specialises in soybean.

“As much technology has been incorporated into Brazilian soybean as in today’s new computers,” said Carlos Henrique Cruz, president of the State of Sao Paulo Research Support Foundation, one of Brazil’s leading science and technology research institutions.

Without high-technology, soybean, which comes from a temperate climate, could not be produced in competitive conditions in northern Brazil, just below the equator, he pointed out, while criticising the prevailing mentality that focuses on providing incentives only for scientific advances in industry.

The low priority put on farm technology in Brazil has led to a ranking of 43 out of 72 nations listed by the United Nations in terms of technological advances, said Cruz.

The high productivity of soybean grown on Brazil’s cerrados is also the result of an accumulation of successful experiences and growing expertise, as well as the financial resources of agribusiness companies based in southern Brazil, which have moved to that area, especially Mato Grosso.

Flat land that favours mechanisation, new fertilisation techniques involving the innoculation of seeds with bacteria, and the development of industrial-scale transportation and other infrastructure are added to other factors that have ensured the success of extending soybean-growing to Brazil’s tropical regions, Cruz noted.

The use of nitrogen-fixing bacteria was a revolutionary advance achieved by Johanna Dobereiner, a prominent researcher in Brazil who passed away last year, that cut the costs of producing soybean by eliminating expenditure on fertilisers.

In addition, innoculation is more effective, because it avoids the loss of fertilisers that evaporate or are washed away by the rain, as occurs with conventional fertilisers, said Dall’Agnol.

Sixty of the 68 researchers working at EMBRAPA’s soybean research centre are involved in developing new varieties and processes, to boost production as well as domestic consumption.

Their innovations have played a decisive role in making soybean Brazil’s leading farm export, eclipsing traditional crops like coffee and sugar.

Brazil has 60 million hectares of savannah or cerrado that could be incorporated into soybean production, while Argentina and the United States have practically exhausted their possibilities of expanding the area devoted to soybean cultivation, Dall’Agnol pointed out.

According to the researcher, the expansion of soybean production would not affect the environment, as environmentalists fear, because it would not involve clear-cutting forestland, but would instead take advantage of areas with scant vegetation. In Brazil’s Amazon jungle region, for example, areas that have already been deforested, or grasslands, could be used.

In addition, “direct planting”, a technique that is more productive and prevents erosion, is now used by most soybean farmers in Brazil.

Boosting production in Brazil now depends solely on expanding domestic consumption, which could be achieved by increasing the incomes of the poorest sectors of the population of 170 million, said Dall’Agnol.

One of the lines of research followed by EMBRAPA’s soybean research centre involves the development of varieties whose flavours are adapted to the specific tastes of Brazilians, who fail to take full advantage of the nutritional, protein-rich crop because they don’t find it appetising.

Dall’Agnol announced that two new strains for human consumption, with different flavours, will hit the market next year.