When people talk about rural producers, it is often not linked with sustainability. This association doesn’t exist because they don’t know what Brazilian agriculture is really like.
Many studies carried out in several countries show that no other country comes close to the level of adherence of Brazilian producers regarding sustainable practices in agriculture and livestock activities. The results of these studies are divergent from the assumptions of people who insist on criticizing and attacking Brazilian agribusiness and always place it on the other side of environmental preservation.
Producers carry out preservation practices in different areas of rural properties, such as crop protection, where 55% of Brazilian producers already use biological products, a higher percentage than other countries and blocs such as the European Union (23%), China (8%), the United States (6%), and Argentina (3%).
The Brazilian bio-inputs market has been standing out, with an increase of 50% per year, compared to a global average of 15%. The use of bio-inputs for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is crucial for preventing resistance to chemicals, while at the same time reducing the amount of resources applied in this activity and the labor deployed due to fewer uses. This helps with plant growth and a greater yield of nutrients in the soil.
Other practices are widely implemented by producers, such as no-till farming. This practice is the most conservative land use method for agricultural and livestock purposes. It consists of sowing or planting without prior soil preparation, crop after crop. This system makes the agricultural system more profitable by maximizing the plants’ genetic potential and improving the soil, air, and water quality.
The Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest (ICLF) system, like many other practices, enables the integration of different production systems (agriculture, livestock, and forestry) in the same area. This production system increases the efficiency of agricultural systems by increasing income by implementing several productive activities in the same area, such as milk, grains, meat, and wood, optimizing the resources applied to the soil. In Brazil, the ICLF system already encompasses 18 million hectares.
All the practices presented above, as well as many others, are used by Brazilian farmers to protect the environment and preserve riparian forests, water, and soil. Many people are unaware of the environmentally friendly practices performed by Brazilian farmers.
Luana Frossard Gomes de Aguiar is the Project Operationalization Coordinator at Brazil’s National Rural Learning Service (SENAR)