Land Use and Agriculture in Brazil

The total area of Brazil is 8 514 880 square meters. Of the total area 8 459 420 square meters (99.3%) is of land and 55 460 square meters (0.7%) is of water surface. Land use in Brazil includes 2 635 00 square meters (31.1%) of agricultural land, 595 000 square meters (7%) of arable land, 70 000 square meters (0.8%) of permanent crops, 1 970 000 square kilometres (23.3%) of permanent meadows and pastures, 4 714 920 square kilometres of (55.7%) of forest area and 1 109 500 square kilometres (13.1%) of other land.

Monoculture

           

            Pros

·      Reduced plant competition for nutrients, space and solar radiation

·      Control of undesirable organisms

·      Reduction of costs by limitation of specialized machinery required for arable operations

·      Maximize profit from the growing of high gross margin crops

            Cons

·      Lack of biodiversity

·      Single threat can destroy all of the crops

·      Needs a complex irrigation system

·      Diseases/pests spread more effectively

Polyculture

           

            Pros

·      Reduced susceptibility to disease

·      Local biodiversity increases

·      Needs a less complex irrigation system

·      More stable type of agriculture

·      Consistent income for farmers

            Cons

·      Higher cost of equipment

·      Laborious task for farmers

·      Farmers have to have knowledge of the plants because of the large diversity

·      Difficult for farmers to control and supervise because of the variation

Slash

            Pros

·      Removes debris

·      Cheaper because there is less equipment required

·      Returns nutrients to soil

·      Crops are recycled on site so decomposition occurs

            Cons

·      Deforestation – when practiced by large populations or when fields are not given sufficient time for vegetation to grow back, there is a temporary or permanent loss of forest cover

·      Erosion – when fields are slashed, burned and cultivated next to each other in rapid succession, roots and temporary water storages are lost and unable to prevent nutrients from leaving the area permanently

·      Nutrient loss- fields may gradually lose the fertility they once had

·      Biodiversity loss- when plots of land area are cleared, the various plants and animals that lived there are swept away

The agriculture of Brazil is one of the principal bases of Brazils economy. Its initial focus was sugar cane. Brazil eventually became the world’s largest exporter of coffee, soybeans, beef, sugar cane, ethanol, and frozen chicken. Brazil is the second largest producer of soybeans on the planet. These beans and derivatives are used extensively all over the world. Brazil is the global leader in the production of sugarcane, harvesting more than 600 million tonnes of it every year.fruits.  2009 Brazil had about 106,000,000 hectares of undeveloped fertile land. Brazil had record agricultural production, with growth of 9.1%, principally motivated by favourable weather. Production of grains in the year reached an unprecedented 145,400,000 tons, totalling 65,338,000 hectares and producing $148 billion Reals. The principal products were corn and soy. The southern side of Brazil has a semi-temperate climate, higher rainfall, more fertile soil, more advanced technology, adequate infrastructure and more experienced farmers. This region produces most of Brazils grains. The drought-ridden northeast region and Amazon basin lack well-distributed rainfall, good soil, and adequate infrastructure. Both regions are increasingly important as exporters of forest products, cocoa and tropical fruit.