The 2006 edition of the Census of Agriculture revealed that the concentration of land distribution has remained practically stable in the last twenty years, in spite of the decrease in 2,360 municipalities. In the Censuses of Agriculture of 1985, 1995 and 2006, the establishments with over 1,000 hectares occupied 43% of the total area of establishments in the country, whereas those with less than 10 hectares occupied only 2.7% of the total area. By focusing on the total number of establishments, about 47% of them had less than 10 hectares, whereas those with over 1,000 hectares represented about 1% of the total, in the censuses analyzed.

In 2006, the about 5.2 million agricultural establishments in the country occupied 36.75% of the national territory and had cattle raising as one of their main their activities. The total area of agricultural establishments decreased by 23.7 million hectares (-6.69%), in relation to Census of Agriculture 1995, a possible cause was the creation of new Environmental Conservation Units (increase of 19.09% of area) and the demarcation of indigenous land (increase of 128.2%), amounting to over 60 million hectares. Between 1995 and 2006, agricultural establishments faced reduction of forest areas (-11%) and of natural grazing land (-26.6%), and increase of 1.7 million hectares in the area of grazing land (1.8%), mainly in  the North Region (39.7%), whereas areas  directed to agriculture increased 19.4%, with the biggest increase occurring in the Central West Region (63.9%).

Most producers interviewed were illiterate or only knew how to read and write but had not attended school (39%), or did not have complete high school (43%), amounting to over 80% of rural producers with a low level of schooling. A total 18.9% of the employed population in Brazil worked in agricultural establishments. Among these, 77% were related to the producer and 35.7% did not know how to read or write. There were more than 1 million children below 14 years of age working in agriculture.

With increase of 88% in production, soybeans was the crop with the most significant level of expansion in the last decade; it is worth mentioning that 46.4% of the establishments preferred the transgenic type of this product. Only 1.8% of the agricultural establishments developed organic agriculture in the country, and, among them, 42.5% of these producers were members of associations, unions or cooperatives. Other 6.3% of these establishments declared to use irrigation, which meant increase of 39% in relation to the previous Census. Over half of the establishments where there was use of agrochemicals had not received any technical guidance (785 thousand or 56.3%). Besides, 15.7% of the rural producers responsible for establishments where there was use of agrochemicals did not know how to read and write, a factor which increases the risk of intoxication and inappropriate use of the product. The Brazilian cattle herd was formed by 171.6 million head in December 2006; in Mato Grosso do Sul there were 20.4 million head and  Pará had the significant increase (119.6%).

The establishments surveyed had a bigger total amount produced, R$ 147.26 billion, among which 77.07% (R$ 113.49 billion) came from Vegetation Production. A total 920 thousand establishments had obtained financing; 91% of them obtained financing from banks and 85% from governmental programs. The establishments which have sugarcane or soybeans and their main product held the biggest part of the value of agricultural production (both with 14%), followed by those which work with cattle raising (10%). These are some of the results of the tenth Census of Agriculture – 2006 edition, the major survey conducted about the production structure of the Brazilian primary sector, brings a profile of approximately 5.2 million establishments, in all the 5,564 Brazilian municipalities.

 

 

Cattle raising is the most common activity

In 2006, the main activity³ of agricultural establishments was cattle raising, which occurred in over 30% of them. Also relevant were the cultivation of temporary crops (including beans and cassava) in about 18% of the establishments surveyed; cereal cultivation (12%) and poultry raising (9%). The establishments which have sugarcane cultivation as their main activity had the biggest participation in the value of agricultural production (14%), followed by those establishments where the main activity is: soybean cultivation (14%), cattle raising (10%), cereal cultivation (9%) and cultivation of other products from temporary crops (8%). Specialized establishments⁴ accounted for 81% of the value of agricultural production.

 

Smaller areas of forests and natural grazing land in agricultural establishments 

There was reduction of 12.1 million hectares (-11%) in areas with woods and forests contained in agricultural establishments, distributed as follows: 6.8 million less in the North Region, concentrated in Rondônia (2.5 million hectares) and Pará (4.1 million hectares); with a reduction of 2.5 million hectares in the Northeast; 331 thousand hectares in the Southeast; and 3.2 million hectares in the Central West, concentrated in Mato Grosso ( 4.3 million less).

There was also reduction by 20.7 million hectares (26.6%) in the areas of natural grazing land. The North Region faced reduction by 3.7 million hectares, concentrated in Tocantins (-2.9 million) and Roraima (-844 thousand); the Northeast Region faced decrease by 3.9 million hectares, concentrated in Bahia (-2.7 million) and Maranhão (-692 thousand); the Southeast  6,4 million hectares, concentrated in Minas Gerais (-6.4 million); the South faced reduction of 2.8 million hectares concentrated in Rio Grande do Sul (-2.2 million); and the Central West had 3.7 million less hectares, concentrated in Mato Grosso (-1.8 million) and Goiás (-2.0 million).

 

Planted grazing land expand towards the North and crops have biggest increase in the Central West

 

There was slight and uneven increase, of 1.7 million hectares (1.8%), in the total area of planted grazing land. Area increased 5.8 million hectares in the North Region (39.7%), especially in Rondônia (1.9 million hectares or 75.8%) and in Pará (3.2 million hectares or 55.3%). In the Northeast region, there was increase of 2.4 million hectares (20.1%), concentrated in Maranhão (1.1 million hectares or 38.2%) and in Bahia (1.0 million hectares or 15.9%). In the other regions, however, there was decrease.

In relation to crop areas, there was increase in all the areas, with overall gain of 9.7 million hectares (19.4%). N the North Region, there was over 1.1 million hectares, with increase of 37.3%, being the highlight Amazonas (560 thousand hectares or 184.2%). In the Northeast Region, the increase was 725 thousand hectares (5%), and the biggest increments occurred in Maranhão (609 thousand hectares or 33.1%), Piauí (138 thousand or 11.4%), Pernambuco (223 thousand or 15.2%) and Bahia (347 thousand hectares or 7.2%). In the Southeast there was increase of 1.5 million hectares (about 13%) in crop areas, being the highlight Minas Gerais (increase of 273 thousand hectares or 5.6%) and São Paulo (1,3 million hectares or 25.4%). In the South region, there was increase by 1.5 million hectares (11.9%), concentrated in Paraná (979 thousand hectares  or 17.9%) and Rio Grande do Sul (625 thousand hectares or 9.96%). In both regions, the increase observed in crop areas resulted from the migration of grazing land.

The Central West had the biggest increase of areas directed to crops: 4.7 million hectares (63.9%), and all the states had significant increases: Mato Grosso do Sul, 681 thousand hectares (45.4%); Mato Grosso, 2.87 million hectares (83.5%); Goiás, with  1.1 million hectares (48.3%); and Federal District, with increase of 26 thousand hectares (37.1%).

 

Census of Agriculture 2006 shows that concentration of land ownership decreased in almost 50% of the municipalities

The results of Census of Agriculture 2006 show that the structure of Brazilian agriculture, characterized by the concentration of land in bi rural areas has not changed in the last twenty years. The continuation of unevenness in the distribution of land is seen in the comparison of data in the three last editions of the Census of Agriculture. By analyzing the results in 1985, 1995 and 2006, properties with less than 10 hectares took up only 2.7% (7.8 million hectares) of the total area of agricultural establishments, whereas those with over 1,000 hectares concentrated over 43% (146.6 million hectares) of the total area in the three censuses. Considering the total number of establishments, about 47% of them had less than 10 hectares, whereas those with over 1,000 hectares made up about 1% of the total, in the censuses analyzed. 

The structure of intermediate properties has also remained the same (from 10 to less than 100 hectares and from 100 to less than 1,000 hectares). Whereas establishments with 10 to less than hectares concentrated, respectively, 37.2%, 39.4% and 38% of the total area of establishments, in the censuses of 1985, 1995 and 2006, the participation of these properties in the total number of establishments changed from 18.5% in 1985, to  17.7% in 1995 and, finally, to 19% in 2006. In terms of properties varying from 100 to less than 1,000 hectares, this change ranged between 35%, in 1985 and 1995, to 34% in 2006; in terms of the area used, compared the total area of establishments, there was change from about 9% in the two censuses, to 8.2%, in 2006. 

By analyzing the evolution of the Gini index, which is based on the total area of establishments, by municipality, it is possible to observe that there was decrease of this indicator in 2,360 municipalities; however, the structure of agricultural production still reflects, to a great extent, the processes and methods in the uneven occupation of the national territory.

 

Over 80% of the agricultural producers are illiterate or have not finished elementary school

The Census of Agriculture 2006 shows the low level of schooling of agricultural producers. Most of them are illiterate or only know how to read and write, but have no other type of formal knowledge (39%) or have not finished elementary school (43%); this group makes up over 80% of the rural producers. Among women, who account for 13% of the agricultural establishments, illiteracy figures reach 45.7%, whereas among men, this figure is 38.1%. The rates for other levels of schooling are: 8%, for complete elementary school, 7% for agricultural technical school high school, and only 3% for higher education.

The North (38%) and Northeast (58%) concentrate the highest percentages of producers who are either illiterate or have less than one year of schooling, whereas the Central West (13%) and Southeast (11%) will have the highest percentages of producers with a technical course in agriculture or with complete high school.

A total 1,479,362 producers declared to have some kind of economical activity out of the agricultural establishment (28.5% of the total), being 46% in agricultural activities and 50% in non-agricultural ones. The same happened to residents in the establishment who are related to the producer: 20% of them had some kind of activity out of the establishment, being most of them (61.6%) in non-agricultural activities.

  

Technical guidance reaches only 22% of the establishments, and is most common in the medium and small ones

The Census of Agriculture 2006 reveals that technical guidance remains very limited, being practiced in 22% of the establishments, which occupy 46% of the land. The average area of the group which received guidance is 228 hectares, whereas the area of those who did not receive any is 42 hectares. Technical guidance received by the government reaches 43% of the establishments and is most common among smaller establishments, with average area of 64 hectares 

In all the North and Northeast Region, there was rise in relation to technical guidance of governmental origin, and the same occurred in Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso and the federal District. There was significant reduction of the number of producers which received technical guidance from the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Goiás, which may be a sign of decline in the rural services of extension in these states. The establishments which receive private technical guidance or guidance from producer themselves (when they are qualified professionals) have average area of 435 hectares. Private planning companies serve establishments with a bigger average area (506 hectares). 

The level of schooling of the person directing the establishment has a strong connection with the access to technical guidance. Among producers with a level of schooling equivalent or inferior to high school, only 16.8% received technical guidance, whereas among producers with complete elementary school, this percentage increases to 31.7%. For produces with higher education level, except those with a degree in veterinary and agrarian sciences, technical guidance reached 44.7% of the establishments.  

 

Soybeans was the crop with the biggest increase (88%) in the last ten years

The inclusion of big areas of land in the Central West, North and Northeast Region for agriculture and the intensification of land occupation in the South and Southeast are the main changes in this activity, compared to the latest Censuses of Agriculture. The main highlights are the soybeans and herbaceous cotton crops in Mato Grosso, including expansion towards the Amazon. Another phenomenon was the expansion of commercial crops in Goiás, Federal District and the savannah of Minas Gerais.  

In the period 1995/2006, soybeans presented increase of 88.8% in production, reaching 40.7 million metric tons, in 15.6 million hectares, with increase of 69.3% in the harvested area. In absolute figures, this represents increase of 6.4 million hectares, characterizing soybeans as the crop with the most significant level of expansion in the last decade. A major part of this area belongs to the Central west Region.

The planting of soybeans, the main agricultural product in the group of Brazilian exports, was harvested in 215,977 establishments, generating R$ 17.1 billion for the Brazilian economy. According to the census of Agriculture 2006, Mato Grosso was the major national producer of soybeans, with 10.7 million metric tons, which represented 26.2% of the Brazilian production in 2006. 

With the objective of reducing production costs, producers have chosen to plant transgenic soybeans in Brazil: 46.4% of the agricultural establishments which planted soybeans in 2006 used genetically-modified seeds, which were planted in about 4.0 million hectares. There was also a big variety of certified seed (44.6%) and, in 96.8% of the area, harvesting was thoroughly automatized. In most of the harvested areas, there was also use of pesticides and (95.1%) chemical fertilization (90.1%).

 

Herbaceous cotton has biggest relative increase of production (188.6%)

The 13,290 establishments which had planted herbaceous cotton in 2006 produced 2.4 million metric tons, in 786,974 hectares harvested, reaching R$ 3.2 billion. Herbaceous cotton was the product with the most significant production increase (188.6%).

Technological advance led to increase of 124.0% in the average yield of crops, and Mato Grosso became the major national producer, with over 1.2 million hectares, accounting for over half of the national production (52.4%). The fiber produced in the state features among the best in the world.

The West of Bahia also became one of the most important centers of production of herbaceous cotton, so much so that, in 2006 it had average yield of 17.8% above that of Mato Grosso. In the year, the production in the state of Bahia accounted for 27.2% of the national production.

 

Average yield of corn production increases 144.3%, in the last ten years

With the development of new hybrid types which obtain most benefits from fertilizing and are more resistant to plagues and diseases, the average yield of corn production rose by 144.3%; figures were 1,76 kg/ha in 1985 and reached 3,06 kg/ha in 2006. In 2006, corn was harvested in about 2.0 million establishments which produced 42.3 million metric tons in 11.7 million hectares, reaching R$ 11.4 billion.

In the last decade, a period in which corn crops had the biggest expansion, this product had major increment in productivity (47.7%), significantly above that of soybeans (11.5%). The increase of productivity, together with the rise of 12.2% in harvested area, led to increase of 65.7% in the national production of corn.

 

Manual harvesting of rice took place in 91.7% of the establishments

In 2006, rice was harvested in 396,628 agricultural establishments, which produced 9.4 million metric tons, a national record at the time, generating R$ 4.0 billion. A total 2,409,587 hectares were harvested, but only 8.9% of them were irrigated, representing 71.2% of the national production. The increase of productivity which occurred in crops in the last decade was 44.6%, making up for the reduction of harvested area of this crop, which was 18.8%. In 91.7% of the establishments, harvesting was manual.

Irrigated rice is a highlight in the South Region, mainly in Rio Grande do Sul, which accounted for over half of the national production in 2006. Upland rice⁵ is produced in several Brazilian states, mainly in the Central West; nevertheless, the reduction of area

 

Production of sugarcane generates R$ 19.6 billion in 2006, the highest figure reached by a crop

The bio-fuel technology of has contributed to increase of 47.9% in the production of sugarcane from 1995 to 2006, reaching R$ 19.6 billion in 2006, the highest figure reached by a crop. The rise of grinding capacity and the appearance of new plants have led to the appearance of planted area by 33.3%, causing the value of land to rise in several areas of the country.

In the last few years, mechanical harvesting has increased and, in 2006, 13.6% of the area was harvested that way. However, in 91.6% of the establishments, which account for 46.6% of harvested area, the collection of production was still completely manual.

 

Harvested area of coffee is reduced by 6.9%, but average income increases 35.3% in the last decade

In 2006, the production of coffee in grain was 2.3 million metric tons and reaches increase of 26.0% in relation to the 1995-96 Census. Increase of 35.3% in the average yield made up for the reduction by 6.9% of harvested area. Weather conditions, usually favorable since the flourishing period, in the end of 2005, contributed to the good results obtained in 2006. Brazil is the major world producer of coffee.

Production value reached R$ 8.6 billion, and, among the total, 85.9% was generated by Arabic coffee, which, being considered a products of higher quality, is usually better aid for. This type of coffee is the most common one in Brazil; it is produced in 200,859 agricultural establishments, which represented 70% of the places which produce coffee in Brazil. The majority of establishments which plant this type of coffee is located in Minas Gerais (52.2%), being responsible for 65.0% of the national production of Arabic coffee.  

Robusta coffee was produced in 85,984 establishments, which took up 395,560 hectares, producing R$ 1.2 billion, for a total 471.037 metric tons. Most of the establishments which produced the Robusta type is located Espírito Santo (41.1%), accounting for 59.7% of the national production. Rondônia also has a significant number of establishments producing this type of coffee (29,638), and generating 66,832 metric tons in 136,214 hectares.

 

Production of oranges and cacao fall and cassava crops do not show rise of productivity

Among the highlights, cassava was the only product not to present productivity gain in relation to the Census of Agriculture of 1995 (-20.4%); its production, however, increased  76.9%, due to the increase of harvested area. Cacao and oranges were the products which faced reduction of production by 17.7% and 25.2%, respectively. The main reason was the reduction of areas, which decreased by 24.1% and 37.0%, respectively.  

 

About 70% of the establishments had animal production in 2006

Livestock was the main economic activity in most of the agricultural establishments surveyed in the census, accounting for 44% of the total establishments do total de and for 62% of its total area. About 70% of the establishments had animal production, with production value corresponding to 21.2% of the total production.

The Census of Agriculture 2006 data reflected changes occurred in the sector, after the end of the 1990’s, with the restructuring of the producing chain of meats, the adoption of technologies and more professionalism culminating with the Brazilian leadership in the international market of chicken and beef. The country became the 4^th biggest exporter of pork in 2006. The participation of exports of beef in the national production of carcasses changed from 1.2%, in 1996, to 17.8%, with increase of exports and the opening of new markets; the same occurred to the production of pork and chicken.

In the last decade, bovine cattle increases 12.1% and Pará has biggest increase (119.6%) 

The Brazilian bovine cattle was formed by 171.6 million head on 12.31.2006, with increase of 12.1% in relation to the Census of Agriculture of 1996. It is worth mentioning there was a difference in the reference dates (in 1996, it was 07.31.1996). There were 2,673,176 establishments with bovine cattle on 12.31.2006, and a total 534,630 establishments with over 50 head were counted at the occasion, amounting to 138.5 million of these animals (80.7% of the overall total). The biggest bovine cattle was found in Mato Grosso do Sul (20.4 million head), being followed by Minas Gerais (19.9 million) and Mato Grosso (19.8 million).

 

Pará was the state with the biggest relative increase  of bovine cattle in the period 1996-2006 (119.6%), and Rio Grande do Sul had the major reduction (-15.4%). In the North Region, Amapá was the only state to present decrease the number of cattle head; in the Northeast, Maranhão and Bahia, which have the two biggest herds in the region, were the only states not to face decrease. The average of the North was only positive due to the increase of 44.3% in the cattle herd of Maranhão, which had increment of 1.7 million cattle head in these ten years.

The biggest increases in terms of number of cattle head occurred in the North (81.4%) and Central West Regions and Central West (13.3%). Decreases in the number of establishments with cattle and of herds in the South and Southeast shows that bovine cattle-raising has moved from the South to the North of the country; the highlight in this period was the increase of herds in Pará, Rondônia, Acre and Mato Grosso. In these three states of the North region, the number of cattle heads more than doubled, whereas in Mato Grosso, the increase was 37.2%.

The increase of bovine cattle in the country occurred simultaneously with the reduction of pasture areas (-10.7%) of agricultural establishments, pointing to increase of productivity. The rate of passage in 1996 was 0.86 animais/ha and it was 1.08 animais/ha em 2006 which reinforced the trend to rise of the rate of passage between censuses.

Among the total 138.5 million animals in establishments with over 50 head, the main type is beef cattle (80.9% or 112.0 million animals), followed by dairy cattle (16.3% or 22.6 million head). Agricultural establishments with at least 500 hectares of grazing areas held 46.2% of the herd formed by 138.5 million animals. The total animals sold reported by agricultural establishments were 34.6 million head.

Milk production has grown continuously since 1970, and surpassed the 20 billion liters obtained in 2006, being 12.4% above the production obtained in the census of 1995/96. There was reduction of the total number of milked cows, indicating increase of productivity of dairy livestock by 22.1%, from 1,307 liters/cow/year in 1995/96 to 1,596 liters/cow/year in 2006. A total 1.35 million establishments have reported their cow’s milk production 2006, and this was the main livestock item in terms of production value (R$ 8.818 billion). Minas Gerais was the main national producer of milk, with 27.9% of the overall production, above that of Northeast and Central West Regions. Also important are the results of  Rio Grande do Sul (the highest productivity: 2,501 liters/cow/year, Paraná and Santa Catarina.

 

Volume of hogs and pigs sold has increased 197% and number of birds has doubled throughout the last few censuses

The national total of hogs and pigs, which has declined since the census of Agriculture of 1980, has increased by 14.9% in relation to the census of 1996. In 1996, Brazil exported 4.5% of the production of hogs and pigs carcass, and 21.1% in 2006. In the same year, the number of hogs and pigs was slightly bigger (2.3%) than in 1985, but the volume of animals sold (43.2 million head) was 197% higher than in 1985 (14.5 million head). This has occurred due to investments of producers in genetics, animal handling , nutrition and sanity in order to obtain earlier maturity and productivity of animals, as demanded by internal and external markets.

In ten years, the number of poultry units (hens, roosters, chickens, pullets and chicks) has doubled, outnumbering the animals on the reference date (12.31.2006). In spite of these increase in the number of cattle head, the ratio animals sold/total animals in 2006 has presented a different behavior from that observed since the Census of 1970. This decrease of the sales ratio is directly related to the discovery of Asian influenza spots in Asia, Europe and some African countries in 2006.

The production of hens’ eggs has increased by over one billion dozens compared to figures in the last census, having reached 2.83 billion dozens. There were 2.71 million agricultural establishments with hens, roosters, etc, but only 1.66 million declared to produce eggs. Among these, 30,641 establishments had over 2,000 head and housed 1.31 million head on 12.31.2006.

 

Agricultural establishments employed 18.9% of the workers in the country

On 12.31.2006, according to the Census of Agriculture 2006, there were 16,567,544 persons employed in agricultural establishments (including producers, their relatives and temporary or permanent workers), which accounted for 18.9% of the population employed in the country (87,628,961 persons, according to PNAD 2006). Among the total, 30.5% were women. With the urbanization of the country, the number of persons employed in these establishments has been reduced. Between the last two agricultural censuses, decrease was more significant between 1985 and 1995 (-23.3%) than between 1995 and 2006 (-7.2%).

 

About 4.6 million workers in agricultural establishments were illiterate 

By analyzing only persons somehow related to the producer, and according to the information reported to the Census of Agriculture 2006, a total 4,564,384 (or 35.7%) of persons employed who could not read or write were found in  were found in agricultural establishments. Among the total persons employed in agricultural establishments, 6.5% (or 1,076,890) were under 14 years of age.

 

Almost 12 million persons worked on a temporary basis in agricultural establishments in 2006 

Except by persons who were not hired directly by the producer (as it is the case of outsourcing companies), Census of Agriculture 2006 found 11,846,503 persons who were working on a temporary basis, up to  180 days a year, being 3,844,459 related to the producer.

The activity with the biggest number of temporary workers was Livestock and raising of other animals (5.055 million). The Production of temporary crops (4 million) and Production of permanent crops (1.9 million) were also relevant; Vegetable and fruit production (435. 9 thousand), Forestry – native forests (191 thousand), Forestry – planted forests (157.8 thousand), Aquiculture (52.8 thousand), Fishing (11.8 thousand) and Production of seeds, seedlings and other types of vegetative propagation (10.8 thousand).

 

Small establishments concentrate almost 85% of workers

 Although the sum of their areas makes up only 30.31% of the total, small establishments accounted for 84.36% of the persons employed in agricultural establishments. Although each one of them generates few jobs, small establishments (with less than 200 ha of area) use 12.6 times more workers by hectare than medium ones (area from 200 and lower than 2,000 ha) and 45.6 times more than big establishments (with an area above 2,000 ha).

Producers and their relatives made up 77% (or 12,801,179) of the total number of persons employed in agricultural establishments. Due to its significant number, establishments which had livestock ad their main activity employ more persons, although they are not the major ones in terms of manpower.

 

Permanent crops employed 110 persons for each thousand hectare in 2006

Considering the number of persons employed by area, only the establishments whose activity was planted forest (26.6 persons employed/1000 hectare) had lower figures than livestock (27.3 persons/1000 hectare). Permanent crops had the biggest proportion (110 persons /1000 hectare). At a more detailed level, soybeans (18.1 persons /1000 hectare) and coffee (162.0 persons /1000 hectare) were at extreme positions, respectively.

 

Only 1.8% of the agricultural establishments developed organic agriculture

The establishments producing organic material represented 1.8% (or 90,425) of the total number of agricultural establishments. They were mainly directed to livestock and raising of other animals (41.7%), temporary crops (33.5%), permanent crops (10.4%), vegetable/fruit production (9.9%) and forestry (3.8%).

The Census of Agriculture 2006 investigated, for the first time, organic agriculture. The establishment should inform if this method was being practiced and if the production was certified. Agricultural activities performed by producers who were not aware of the technical norms required by organic agriculture certifying institutions were not considered as organic ones.

 

Organic products prevail in vegetable and fruit production

The proportion of establishments which produce organic material among the total establishments in Brazil showed that the representatives of organic products is bigger in vegetable and fruit production.

In 2006, among the agricultural producers working with organic crops in Brazil, 77.3% were owners of exploited land; 41.6% had incomplete elementary school and 22.3% were illiterate. Among the total, 54% did not participate in any social organization and, among those who did, 36.6% were members of associations and unions, and only 5.9% of cooperatives.

 

920 thousand establishments have received credit, among which 91% obtained funding from banks and 85% from governmental programs

Among 5.2 million agricultural establishments, 4.3 million did not obtain any credit in 2006. Lack of necessity (51.92%), the fear of having debts (20.65%) and bureaucratic obstacles (8.36%) were the main reasons reported. Among these establishments, 3.63 million (85.42%) have a total area below 100 hectares. Overall resources obtained as credit in 2006 amounted to 21 billion reais. Establishments with 1,000 hectares or over held 43.6% of the resources, in spite of representing only 0.9% of the total establishments which obtained funding benefits. Establishments with up to 100 hectares made up 88.5% of those which obtained funding benefits in 2006, with 30.42% of the resources. Medium-sized establishments (between 100 and 1000 hectares) represented 7.72% of the ones which obtained funding, with a total 25.69% of these resources.

The establishments surveyed declared a total R$ 20.96 billion in investments: 26.06% declared to have invested in Real Estate; 20.06% in Machinery, implements or tractors (related to the use of machines in rural areas) and 15.19% in acquired land. The main investments came from small establishments (R$ 7.77 billion), followed by big (R$ 7.32 billion) and medium ones (R$ 5.85 billion). São Paulo was the only Federative Units with major investments, R$ 3.70 billion. In the last position was Amapá, with 650 million.

Among the establishments receiving funding benefits, 85% had a governmental program as one of the sources – with 57.6% of the resources. In these establishments, 80% received resources from PRONAF, which accounted for 32.07% of the resources financed in the year. A total 65.75% (R$ 8.15 billion) of the funding resources came from other programs (Federal, State or Municipal ones). A total 19.73% of the establishments declared to have received such resources.

Among those who declared to have received resources, 91% indicated banks as one of the origin. They made up 78.3% of the total resources. Among producers who declared to have obtained resources, 79.7% were land owners – they obtained 86.07% of the resources. Lessees made up 4.89% of the producers who obtained financing benefits (10.31% of the resources).

Half of the establishments which had financing benefits (492,628) declared to have coverage of costs as their main objective. The objective “Investment” features in second place, with 40.15% (395,425). Maintenance was mentioned by 8.75% of the establishments.

Agricultural production was R$ 147 billion in 2006

The establishments surveyed had a total production value of R$ 147.26 billion, of which 77.07% (R$ 113.49 billion) came from vegetative production. In this group, 64.61% (R$ 73.32 billion) were obtained from Temporary Crops, 22.25% from Permanent Crops, 7.55% from Forestry, 3.85% from Horticulture, 1.18% from Vegetative extraction and 0.56% from Floriculture.

The value of Animal Production was concentrate in the activities related to big-sized animals, responsible for 44.71% (R$ 13.64 billion) of total animal production. In sequence comes poultry production, with 34.56% (R$ 10.54 billion). Medium and small-sized animals reached 17.01% and 3.72%, respectively.

In 2006, revenue amounted to R$ 122.63 billion. Small establishments (an area below 100 hectares) generated 47.13% of this total (R$ 57.79 billion), above the 25.49% (R$ 31.25 billion) of medium and 26.62% of big-sized ones (R$ 32.64 billion). When the variable approached is expenditure, which amounted to R$ 111.29 billion in the year, the opposite occurs: big (with an area above 1,000 hectares) accounted for 38.29% (R$ 42.61 billion), medium-sized ones accounted for 33.97% (R$ 37.81 billion) and small ones accounted for 27.43% (R$ 30.52 billion).

The result of “Total Revenue minus Expenditure” could not be calculated to indicate the profits of big and medium-sized establishments, since most of the revenue is related to crops planted in 2006 and expenditure is calculated base don the amount to be collected in the following harvest. The group of small-sized establishments, with expenditure less affected by conjuncture (currency exchange, price of commodities, etc), is formed by establishments in which expenditure tends to be more stable from one year to the other, and present a difference of R$ 27.27 billion, among revenue and expenditure.

Among the producers surveyed, 2,044,976 declared to have revenue besides obtained from the establishment activities. Among these, 47.73% received resources from retirement resources and pensions, 34.91% had revenue from special governmental programs and 31.66% from salaries obtained in activities performed out of the establishment. Among the ones receiving revenue from special governmental programs,  74.79% are producers whose establishments are located in the Northeast. In this are also lived 50.49% (492 thousand) of those who declared to have revenue from Retirement Programs or Pensions. These held 45.27% of the resources (R$ 2.62 billion).

68% of the establishments have electricity, which means increase of over 80% in the period 1995/1996-2006

In 1996, among the 4.85 million Brazilian agricultural establishments, 39% declared to have electricity of at least one type (generated in the establishment, obtained by cession or bought from the distribution company). In 2006, even with increment of 6.5% in the number of establishments (5.17 million), 68.1% of them (3.52 million) declared to have electricity of at least one type.

The major increase of use (41.6 percentage points) occurred in the Northeast, where electricity reached 1.5 million rural establishments (61.5% of the total in the region). The North Region comes in second place, with increment of 27.4 percentage points in relation to 1996, where electricity reached 38% of the establishments. The units in the Central West which have electricity make up 73.1% of the total, and their percentage increase in relation to 1995-96 was 21.2 percentage points. The Southeast and South Regions presented increment of 20.5 and 10.3 percentage points, and the proportion of electricity agricultural establishments reached 82.3% and 84%.

Electricity bought from the distribution company is present in 3.25 million establishments (92.4% of the total ones with electricity); in 7.7% of them electricity is obtained by cession and in 2.1% it is generated in the property. The Northeast region is a highlight in relation to the group of establishments which have generation of electricity in the property itself: the 32 thousand establishments in this situation correspond to 43.3% of the total. The generation of electricity in the agricultural establishment itself occurred through light capturing by wind, hydraulic movement, burning of fuels or even other sources, and it was most commonly used in the North Region, from 159 to 1,000 registrations of energy from external sources. In the Central West, there were 30 occurrences in 1,000 and in the Northeast, a little more than 21.6 occurrences in each 1,000. As for the type of electricity generated in the establishment, preference was the through sunlight, which occurred in 42.7% of the Brazilian rural establishments with this facility. Hen come burning of fuels (40.6%) and hydric type (in 9.4% of the generating establishments). The generation of energy through wind capturing is present in 273 of the Brazilian agricultural establishments, mainly in the Northeast Region (60.4% of the generating units).

Mechanization advances through outsourcing

On December 31, 2006, 530 thousand establishments (10.2% of the total) had tractors, in a total of 820 thousand units. In relation to 1995-1996, there was increment of 20 thousand units, that is, of 2.6%. The apparently small increase in reality can be explained by the substitution for less powerful tractors (less than horse power): in 1995-1996, 674 thousand tractors (84.3% of the total) were of less than 100 horse power. In 2006; the category of 100 horse power totaled over 250 thousand units, with increase of 99.4% in this category.

Among the 1.56 million establishments which declared to use mechanical force, only 59.6% used force generated by themselves. Of this total, 30.9% (484 thousand) declared to use mechanical force of a service contracted with the worker. 5.3% granted by others; 6% granted by the government; 4.7% granted by building companies; 4.1% of community use and 3.4% obtained through rent. Figures indicate the increment of outsourcing in mechanization of agriculture, and show that the total tractors existing in establishments cannot be used to explain advances in rural mechanization.

Over half of the establishments where there was use of pesticides did not receive technical guidance

Establishments directed by the same producer for 10 years and over (3.16 million or 61.1%) were the ones using the biggest amount of pesticides (922 thousand or 66.1%). The number of establishments using pesticides increased with the number of years of a same producer directing the establishment.

There is also little occurrence of alternate cropping in the establishments (641 thousand or 12.4%), mainly considering that over half of them did not receive technical guidance for the use of this method (351 thousand or 54.9%). Alternative methods, such as biological control (67 thousand or 1.3%), burning of agricultural residue and crop waste  (45 thousand or 0.9%), use of repellent, baits, etc (405 thousand or 7.8%), which could generate reduction of the use of pesticides, also little applied.

Most of the establishments where there was use of pesticides did not receive technical guidance (785 thousand or 56.3%), and only 21.1% (294 thousand) received it regularly. In the correlation among the establishments which used pesticides and the total establishments according to the origin of technical guidance, the highlight is integrating companies (127 thousand or 83.1%), characterized by the use of technology and modern inputs. The state with the biggest number of establishments using pesticides was Rio Grande do Sul (273.85 thousand). Amapá had only 235 establishments which used pesticides.  

There is a significant number of establishments which receive technical guidance from cooperatives and use pesticides (172 thousand or 76.7%). Considering the condition of prooducers in relation to the land, there is a predominance of establishments directed by owners (1.07 million or 78.4%) mainly those using backpack sprayers (745 thousand or  69.1%) and equipment of mechanical or animal traction (322 thousand or 29.9%).

The backpack sprayer, which is the equipment which is most exposed to pesticides, is a highlight in relation to the establishments which use pesticides, corresponding to most of them (973 thousand or 70.7%). As for the destination of empty packages, although there is still a considerable number of establishments which leave it in the field (126 thousand or 9.0%), there are some which are burned or buried in 358 thousand establishments (25.7%).

No protection material was used in about 20% of the properties which applied pesticides

The program of collection of empty containers, managed by the National Institute for Processing Empty Containers (Inpev), has gained notoriety. Among the establishments,   538 thousand (38.6%) returned empty containers to shops. Another result of the program may be observed in the 10.3% of establishments (143 thousand) whose containers were collected by the municipal government or public organizations, or handed in at container collection units; or in the 13.3% (185 thousand) who sent them to establishments to be collected. About 296 thousand establishments (21.3%) did not use any type of individual protection (EPI). Establishments which reported the use of boots (947,651 or 67.9%) and hats (740,488 or 53.0%) were the majority.

In the establishments where there was use of pesticides, 77.6% of the persons in charge of the direction (1.06 million) declared to have incomplete elementary school (1^st grade) or a lower level of schooling. Since the instructions concerning the use of pesticides which accompany these products are rather difficult to understand, the low level of schooling, including the 15.7% who do not know how to read or write (216 thousand) are among the socio-economic factors which increase the risk of intoxication.

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 ¹ A total 5,219,588 units were registered at first, but results refer to 5,175,489 registers; valid registers the other  44,015 (0.84%) were excluded due to producers who refused to provide information or, in most cases, due to inappropriate registers (units which did not fit the category of agricultural establishment).

² In the preliminary release of the Census of Agriculture, in December 2007, the figure of 354,865,534 hectares was presented as the total area of establishments; from this total, 30,709,039 hectares were divided into indigenous lands and conservation units. After analyses and evaluations, it was found that areas belonging to the two aforementioned groups had been mistakenly defined as agricultural establishments. This way, only 8,433,064 hectares of area of these two categories were left, resulting in decrease reduction by 22,255.975 hectares.

³ The Census does not include a category to investigate the main activity of an establishment through a direct question to the producer. The answer was obtained by the analyses of information about the composition and value of production informed.

⁴ Once defined the main activity of an agricultural establishment, it was considered specialized if the value of production, considering the addition of its main activity represented 66% or more of the overall value of production, considering the sum of the value of animal production, of extractive agriculture and of the aggregated value of rural industry.

⁵ Upland rice is produced without the use of irrigation.

⁶ The organic certification is an inspection process which, according to Law no. 10831 of 12//23 is done by certifying institutions or associations and cooperatives which are registered in the  National Council for Organic Production / MAPA.