Brazil

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Overview of the industry. History
Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in Brazilian economy, accounting for 22 % of the country’s GDP. Brazil is one of the few countries that is self-sufficient in basic food crops and is a leading exporter of sugar, coffee, orange juice, soybean, beef, tobacco, ethanol in the world. About one-third of the world’s oranges are grown in Brazil - more than twice the amount produced in the United States, which is the world’s second largest supplier. That means, Brazil is very important globally as a source of food security and environmental sustainability; it contains 13.5 % of the world’s potential arable land and 15.2 % of the world’s renewable water resources. 1
The country is known for its successful implementation of tropical agriculture; Brazilian researchers developed new crops that are growing in tropical climate as well as those in the temperate one, and have yields as high as those crops produced in temperate regions.
The agricultural sector in Brazil has always been important for the economic growth of the country, and the exploration of the resources started as early as 16th century. Brazilian economy was almost solely based on the agricultural products and its export abroad until 1930s. This trend continued all the way through 1990s but two main products of 1990s , soybean and iron ore , represented 10 % of the total exports. 2 Surprisingly, Brazil was receiving food aid from other countries up until 1960s, and even after the country was a large food importer. After the 1980s the traditional agriculture transformed and became a modern, competitive agriculture based on science and research. 3 This was a result of the growing population with higher income ...

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... If put in effect, the new law, promoted by rural and agribusiness interests, opens vast new areas of forest to agriculture and cattle ranching and extends amnesties to illegal deforestation conducted prior to 2008. Areas formerly held to be too steep or vital to the protection of watersheds and watercourses are among those now open to destruction.
Conclusion
Agribusiness in Brazil faces a lot of challenges, despite the growing demand for food, fiber, fuel. As in a lot of countries, agribusiness is not a priority for Brazilian government or public policies, which results in a lack of strategy and investments. Brazil, for example has a serious problems with infrastructure, from roads to ports etc. Brazil could supply 40 % of increased food demand by expected 2050 but to achieve this , agricultural sector needs a lot of improvement and structured investment.

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