The Atlas of Rural Areas in Brazil, which has just been released by IBGE, is a publication that gathers data from the Census of Agriculture 2006 and from population, social, economic and environmental surveys carried out by the Institute. The information is approached from a spatial point-of-view in order to provide a detailed, current picture of the territorial complexity of the Brazilian countryside.

 

 

The Atlas comprises data on the rural-urban relations, showing, for example, how the modernization process in agriculture went from a massive expenditure in mechanization to a greater investment in intellectual capital, irrigation techniques, use of certified and transgenic seeds, access to technical assistance, no-till, embryo transfer, confinement and insemination, among others.

 

 

On the other hand, 39% of the rural proprietors that directly managed 3.9 million of agricultural establishments were illiterate or could read and write without having gone to school and 43% had not finished elementary school.

 

 

The publication also highlights that agriculture and livestock farming, of all human activities, cause the greatest impact on the natural environment. Of the six biomes found in the national territory, the most affected by the activity is the “pampa”, with 71% of its area occupied by agriculture and livestock farming. The other most affected biomes are the “pantanal” (69%), the “mata atlântica” (66%) and the “cerrado” (59%).  Still concerning the environment, the maps present the country’s river basins – comprising 53% of the continent’s fresh water – and their relation with the rural establishments.  Even though the country has more than 29 thousand km of navigable rivers, cargo transport still depends basically on highways (70%).

 

 

IBGE has also mapped the agricultural borders spatial dislocation to the Central-West and North regions, as well as the consolidation of countless productive chains.

In addition, the publication addresses family agriculture, the use of Information Technology and Knowledge (ITK), logistics and flows of production chains and the environmental/institutional issues that make land use and geographic distribution even more complex when it comes to agricultural production. The Atlas raises social issues as well, such as schooling levels, access to goods, sanitation, public policies and justice in the agricultural establishments. Moreover, it features time series of relevant products of the national agriculture and livestock farming and information on the publication – Census of Agriculture 2006 – Second Counting, which is available on the Internet starting today.

 

 

The complete publication can be accessed at www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/agropecuaria/censoagro/2006_segunda_apuracao/default.shtm.

 

Agricultural modernization: from machinery and equipment to intellectual capital

 

Agricultural machines and inputs feature agricultural modernization, but currently the intensive consumption of intellectual capital stands out (accounting for a hold of skills, competences, information, knowledge, databank and techniques). In this area the highlights are, for example: use of irrigation; municipalities with 50% and more of the harvested area with the use of certified and transgenic seeds; municipalities with 50% and more of the agricultural establishments with access to technical assistance; implementation of no-till; eucalyptus production; establishments larger than 100 hectares, according to the number of harvesters; and floriculture production value. As to cattle, the highlights were the establishments with embryo transfer; tracking; use of industrial feed; and confinement and insemination.

 

Of particular note is the introduction of no-till in the soil preparation system and the use of certified and transgenic seeds in the grain culture in the west of Bahia, in the south of Maranhão and in Piauí. Besides the spatial pattern of isolated modernized areas, typical of the Northeast, it is possible to see a continuous pattern in high density areas of crops and livestock farming that supply large urban centers in and out of the country, covering the states of the South, Southeast and Central-West regions.  The use of certified and transgenic seeds stands out in municipalities of the South and Southeast regions. The use of harvesters in big establishments (100 hectares and over) enables the observation of selected areas with well-defined borders in the states São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Mato Grosso e Goiás.                                                                

 

As to livestock farming, the use of technologies is a highlight in Mato Grosso do Sul, part of Minas Gerais and Goiás, as well as some areas in Acre, Amazonas and in Pará.

 

Mechanic force, tractors and soil corrective treatments are more used in the South, Southeast and Central-West

 

In the analysis of the use of mechanic force and animal traction in the crops, it was seen that mechanic force is proportionally more used in intensive production areas of commercial tillage in the northeast of São Paulo, in the west of Paraná, northwest of Rio Grande do Sul and in the central part of Mato Grosso and, individually, it appears in the south of Maranhão and Piauí, and in the west of Bahia.

 

The combined use of both techniques stands out in peripheral areas, as those of the Jaguaribe river valley, in Ceará; the Apodi river valley, in Rio Grande do Norte; and the Municipality of Irecê, in Bahia, among others, in the Northeast Region; as well as in the north of Minas Gerais and in the São Francisco River Valley. The use of tractors is mostly concentrated in the South and the Southeast, with an expansion tendency in the new areas of agricultural production, such as the Central-West. The use of limestone and/or other soil correctives, as well as manure, is likely to follow a spatial pattern very similar to that of the use of tractors, showing a connection among the sectors of agricultural modernization.

 

82% of the 3.9 million rural proprietors were illiterate or had not finished elementary school.

 

Out of 5.2 million agricultural establishments, 3.9 million (75.9%) were run by proprietors, corresponding to 69% of the total area of the establishments. In that group, 39% were illiterate or could read and write without having attended school and 43% had not finished elementary school. Women, who were responsible for almost 13% of the agricultural establishments had the highest illiteracy rate (45.7%), against 38.1% (men). The greatest illiteracy rates, both for owners and for occupiers, were concentrated in the municipalities of the North and Northeast regions of the country.

 

The concentration of the greatest percentages of the owners-producers with a high school level (regular and vocational) occur in the areas of higher dynamism in the agricultural production, with a highlight to the Central-South, especially in the region dominated by the agroindustrial complex of soybeans and other export commodities, proving the relationship between agricultural technical improvement and the schooling level of the rural producer.

 

Agriculture and livestock farming have great impact on biomes; sustainable practices are rare

 

 

 

Agriculture and livestock farming, of all human activities, exert the greatest impact on the natural environment, affecting the ecologic balance and diminishing the biodiversity in the biomes. Of the six biomes found in the national territory, the most affected by the activity is the “Pampa”, with 71% of its area occupied by agricultural establishments.   The other affected biomes are “Pantanal”, “Mata Atlântica” and “Cerrado”, which have, respectively, 69%, 66% and 59% of their areas taken by agricultural establishments.  According to the Census of Agriculture 2006, just almost 20% of the agricultural establishments in the country occupied lands destined to Permanent Preservation Areas or Legal Reserves.

 

The main actions that could prevent and control erosion are level plantation, terrace farming, slope protection and direct seeding in straws. In addition to those practices, it is also important to maintain soil fertility through the practice of fallow (interruption of crops to allow the land to recover) and crop rotation.  In Brazil, almost 40% of the agricultural establishments do not resort to any of those practices. The Central-West and North regions present the highest percentages of establishments that do not use agricultural practices, with 64% and 50%, respectively. The South region is the one with the highest percentage of establishments adopting some of those agricultural practices, approximately 70%. The most used agricultural practice in order to prevent erosion was level plantation, adopted in almost 30% of the establishments.   Fires were used in 14% of the establishments in the country, with the highest percentages in the North (26%) and Northeast (22%).

 

Another important information about the relation between agricultural activity and the environment is the way energy is obtained. According to the Census of Agriculture 2006, almost 30% of the agricultural establishments did not have access to electricity. Among those that had access, just 2% produced their own energy, mainly through the use of solar energy and fuel burning.

 

Brazil concentrates 53% of the continent’s and 12% of the world’s fresh water

 

The national production of fresh water represents 53% of the South American continent (334,000 cubic meters per second) and 12% of the world’s total (1,488,000 m³/s). About 80% of the water resources available in the national territory are distributed among the river basins of fewer demographic density, whereas the denser urbanized regions have only 12% of the water resources, encompassing 54% of the country’s total population. Approximately 90% of the water resources of the country are destined to agricultural production, industrial production and human consumption, the greatest demand of water being irrigated agricultural activities.  

 

The river basins committees are the most common forms of municipal participation in environmental management in Brazil, corresponding to 33% of the country’s municipalities. The Southeast region records the largest percentage of municipalities with participation in basin committees (55%). The remaining regions register levels below 30%, the North recording the lowest percentage, 11%.

 

In terms of irrigated agriculture, the main water consumer, the Census of Agriculture 2006 identified 330 million hectares  of area occupied by agricultural establishments, 54.2 of which are taken by permanent and temporary crops. 4.5 million are irrigated, which correspond to 8.3% of the planted areas in the country. This is evidence of a considerable margin of potential expansion of irrigated agricultural areas, which could reach 30 million hectares.                                                                                                                                                   

 

Regional inequalities feature agriculture and livestock farming

 

The maps of the Atlas of Rural Areas in Brazil highlight the inequality in the density of the economic flow of the Brazilian agriculture and livestock farming.  The geography of the activity has as a propulsion force the international trade of commodities, and is supported by a logistics that gathers agricultural areas, circulation pathways, storage, processing and distribution of services and production.

 

Private and state policies, especially those stimulating scientific research related to the adaptation of plant species to the Brazilian cerrado, made investments move from the South into the Central-West, as, for example, it happened with the cotton plantation. More recently, the Brazilian agricultural frontier advanced into the cerrados of the west part of Bahia, south/southeast of Maranhão and Piauí, together with investments in port infrastructure and logistics. However, there are enormous territorial extensions where there are practically no organized productive chains, especially in the North and Northeast. In the Amazon, following a historical pattern of export economy, there are huge areas that supply large exporting ports with raw-material, while the cities still concentrate scarce essential services to the local communities. 

 

Family farming covers 84.4% of the establishments, but only 24.3% of the area

 

Family farm agriculture, even though encompasses 4.4 million of agricultural establishments in the country (84.4%), covered just 80 million hectares, 24.3% of the area. The average area was of 18.3 hectares for the establishments with family farming, but 330 hectares for the others. The Northeast had about 50% of the total of the establishments with family farming, as well as the largest area, almost 35% of the country’s total.

 

Highways concentrate 70% of cargo transportation

 

Even though Brazil has more than 29 thousand km of naturally navigable rivers, just 5% of the grain harvest are transported through waterways, whereas 67% travel along highways.  Throughout the 1990’s and the 2000’s, highways responded for about 70% of the total cargo transported in the country, as opposed to other countries, such as The United States (26%) and China (8%). As to ports, two problems are crucial: the first is the access to the terminals, which depends on investments in terminal networks and the second concerns operation costs.

 

Corn production fourfolds in the Central-West from 1999 to 2009

 

The national production of corn grew 137.7%, from 21.4 million metric tons, in 1990, to 50.8 million metric tons, in 2009, due to productivity gains rather than to increases in the planted area. In the Central-West, the growth was of 402.7%, driven by land availability and the use of modern inputs coupled with mechanization in the whole crop cycle. The highlight was the state of Goiás, which, nevertheless, would lose its position to Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul , throughout the period.

 

Seeds adapted to Cerrado generate increase in cotton production

 

From 1990 to 2009, the Central-West region share in the cotton production rose from 10.7% to 61.7%, leveraged by the development of seeds especially adapted to the cerrado soil. In this period, the dislocation of this culture from the South and Southeast to the Central-West was also favored by the low value of the land, and by the flat topography as well, which makes it easier to mechanize the whole culture cycle.  

 

São Paulo and Paraná lose share in coffee growing from 1990 to 2009

 

The national production of coffee declined from 2.9 million metric tons, in 1990, to 2.4 million in 2009, due to a significant contraction of the planted area occurred right in the main areas of production (South and Southeast) as well as in the Central-West.

 

The downturn of the planted area in the Southeast resulted in a slight decrease in the regional production, from 2.2 million metric tons in 1990, to 2.0 million, in 2009, driven by the performances of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, whose productions rose 14.8% and 42.03% respectively.   São Paulo’s coffee growing, which has been in the spotlight for decades, posted a drop of 69.5% and its share of regional production shrank from 30.3%, in 1990, to just 9.7% in 2009. In Paraná, the production retreated from 313.8 thousand metric tons, in 1990, to 89.2 thousand metric tons in 2009.

 

Tobacco culture grows in the South supported by production chain

 

The increase of 61.2% of the tobacco culture planted area in the 90’s contributed to the expansion of the national production, which grew from 445.5 thousand metric tons in the 1990, to 863.1 thousand metric tons in 2009. Tobacco growing constitutes one of the oldest practices in the South region and, nowadays, it is part of the agricultural scenario of at least 814 of the region’s 1.188 municipalities. Besides, it comprises the most important segments that integrate the production chain of the sector.   The regional production edged up from 397.3 thousand metric tons in 1990, to 843.2 thousand metric tons in 2009.

The regional production of the Northeast declined 45.1 thousand metric tons in 1990, to 19.3 thousand metric tons in 2009, becoming just residual in the national picture; the highlights, in such case, being the losses in Alagoas (-64.4%). The production in Bahia also fell from 10.6 thousand metric tons in 1990, to 4.6 thousand metric tons in 2009, which is due to the notable reduction of the planted area in the state (-71.2%). The tobacco culture in Sergipe, the third bigger producer of the Northeast, widened from 1.7 thousand metric tons in 1990, to 2.3 thousand metric tons, in 2009, climbing from 3.7% to 11.9% in terms of its share in the regional production in this period. 

 

Adoption of high-yielding rice varieties widens production in the South

 

The national production of rice advanced from 7.4 million metric tons, in 1990, to 12.7 million metric tons, in 2009, mostly due to the South region (responsible for2/3 of the national production), where, in addition to the regional tradition in the plantation, there were technological improvements in the production, as well as an enlargement of the planted area.

 

Culture management enhancement and the adoption of high-yielding varieties, coupled with the expansion of the planted area (58.4%) increased the production in Rio Grande do Sul from 3.2 million metric tons in 1990 to 8.0 million metric tons, in 2009. In Santa Catarina, it edged up from 567.7 thousand metric tons in 1990 to 1.0  million metric tons in 2009. However, in Paraná, it posted a sharp fall in the production, from 253.5 thousand metric tons in 1990 to 167.4 thousand metric tons in 2009, mostly due to the reduction in the planted area (-71.3%).

 

National production of beans grew from 1990 to 2009

 

The national production of beans grew 56%, from 2.2 million metric tons, in 1990, to 3.5 million metric tons, in 2009, due to productivity gains since there was a significant contraction in the planted area. In the South region, the production of beans posted a rise of 55.8% thanks to the productivity gains and to the stability of the planted area in Paraná, whose production grew from 279.0 thousand metric tons in 1990 to 787.2 thousand metric tons in 2009.

 

In contrast, the production of beans in the Southeast region faced a reduction of its planted area, the most significant among the producing regions (-40.4%), nevertheless, the increases in the production, very expressive in Minas Gerais, generated a regional expansion of 41.9%. The production in Minas more than doubled in the period, growing from 293.5 thousand metric tons to 602.3 thousand metric tons.   

 

In the Northeast, where the bean culture is one of the most ingrained practices, its importance can be measured either by the dimension of the planted area - the largest of all regions, which, by the way, presented a subtle contraction (-6.2%) in the period, or by the production growth, from 580.0 thousand  metric tons in 1990, to 844.5 thousand metric tons in 2009. Bahia remains as the biggest bean producer in the Northeast, contributing, on average, with 40% of the regional production.    

 

Production of cassava falls to one third in the Northeast from 1999 to 2009

 

The national production of cassava remained practically unchanged from 1999 to 2009, from 24.3 million metric tons to 24.4 million metric tons. This is attributable to the one-third decline in the Northeast production (followed by the 27.6% loss of the planted area), where only Rio Grande do Norte and Alagoas recorded production expansions (66.4% and 46.7%).  

 

The North region stood out on behalf of the culture expansion in all of its states, which resulted in a rise of 64% in the regional production. In that context, Pará, currently the biggest cassava producer of the country, is a highlight, for its production grew 57.1% in the period, driven by the introduction of enhancements in the culture management.

 

The production of cassava in the South region, on its turn, presented a pretty modest growth (7.9%), mostly due to the sharp drop of the activity in Rio Grande do Sul, and, especially, in Santa Catarina. In this context, Paraná reaffirmed its position in the southern scenario, producing almost 2/3 of the regional total.