Agriculture in Brazil
Agricultural fields near Perdizes, Minas Gerais
Cultivated land	91.9 million ha (2022)[1]
Agricultural land (% of land area)	28.6% (2021)[2]
Rural population (% of total population)	12% (2022)[3]
Main products	Soybeans, corn, sugarcane, coffee
Production
Grains	322.8 million tons (2022)[4]
Major products
Cane and derivatives	630.7 million tons (2020)[5]
Soy	154.6 million tons (2022)[4]
Corn	131.9 million tons (2022)[4]
Participation in the economy
Crop value	R$830.1 billion (US$154.01 billion) (2022)[6]
Contribution to GDP	4.53% (2008)[7]
Agribusiness GDP (Rural industry and trade, livestock and agriculture)	26.46% (2008)[7]

The agriculture of Brazil is historically one of the principal bases of Brazil's economy. While its initial focus was on sugarcane, Brazil eventually became the world's largest exporter of coffee, soybeans, beef, and crop-based ethanol.^[8]

The success of agriculture during the Estado Novo (New State), with Getúlio Vargas, led to the expression, "Brazil, breadbasket of the world".^[9]

As of 2009, Brazil had about 106,000,000 hectares (260,000,000 acres) of undeveloped fertile land – a territory larger than the combined area of France and Spain.^[10]

According to a 2008 IBGE study, despite the global financial crisis, Brazil had record agricultural production, with growth of 9.1%, principally motivated by favorable weather. The production of grains in the year reached an unprecedented 145,400,000 tons. That record output employed an additional 4.8% in planted area, totalling 65,338,000 hectares and producing $148 billion Reals. The principal products were corn (13.1% growth) and soy (2.4% growth).

The southern one-half to two-thirds of Brazil has a semi-temperate climate, higher rainfall, more fertile soil, more advanced technology and input use, adequate infrastructure and more experienced farmers. This region produces most of Brazil's grains, oilseeds, and exports.

The drought-ridden northeast region and Amazon basin lack well-distributed rainfall, good soil, adequate infrastructure and development capital. Although mostly occupied by subsistence farmers, both regions are increasingly important as exporters of forest products, cocoa and tropical fruits. Central Brazil contains substantial areas of grassland. Brazilian grasslands are far less fertile than those of North America, and are generally suited only for grazing.

Brazil's agricultural production in 2018

In 2018, Brazil:^[11]

• It was by far the largest world producer of sugarcane (746.8 million tons). The 2nd place, India, produces about half of Brazil's production (376.9 million tons). Brazil uses much of the cane to produce ethanol, in addition to exporting a lot of sugar.
• It was the 2nd largest world producer of soy (117.8 million tons), second only to the United States. However, Brazil surpassed US soybean production in 2020.;^[12]
• It was the 3rd largest world producer of maize (82.2 million tons), third only to the US and China;
• It was the 5th largest world producer of cassava (17.6 million tons), fifth only to Nigeria, Thailand, Congo and Ghana;
• It was the largest world producer of orange (16.7 million tons);
• It was the 9th largest world producer of rice (11.7 million tons);
• It was the 3rd largest world producer of banana (6.7 million tons), third only to India and China. If we also consider the plantains, Brazil is the 7th largest producer;
• It produced 5.4 million tons of wheat;
• It was the 4th largest world producer of cotton (4.9 million tons), losing only to India, USA and China;
• It was the 10th largest world producer of tomato (4.1 million tons);
• It produced 3.6 million tons of potato;
• It was the world's largest producer of coffee (3.5 million tons);
• It was the largest world producer of guaraná (3.3 million tons);
• Produced 3.2 million tons of legume;
• It was the 3rd largest world producer of beans (2.9 million tons), third only to Myanmar and India;
• It was the 3rd largest world producer of pineapple (2.6 million tons), only to Costa Rica and the Philippines;
• It was the 5th largest world producer of coconut (2.3 million tons), losing to Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka;
• It was the 4th largest world producer of watermelon (2.3 million tons), losing to China, Iran and Turkey;
• It was the 7th largest world producer of sorghum (2.2 million tons);
• It was the 7th largest world producer of mango (including mangosteen and guava) (1.9 million tons);
• It was the 14th largest world producer of grape (1.6 million tons);
• It was the 14th largest world producer of onion (1.5 million tons);
• Produced 1.5 million tons of palm oil;
• It was the 5th largest world producer of lemon (1.4 million tons), losing to India, Mexico, China and Argentina;
• It was the largest world producer of açaí (1.3 million tons);^[13]
• It was the 13th largest world producer of apple (1.1 million tons);
• It was the 2nd largest world producer of papaya (1 million tons), second only to India;
• Produced 996 thousand tons of tangerine;
• Produced 897 thousand tons of oats;
• It was the 2nd largest world producer of tobacco (762 thousand tons), second only to China;
• It produced 741 thousand tons of sweet potato;
• It was the 14th largest world producer of peanut (563 thousand tons);
• It produced 546 thousand tons of yerba mate;
• It produced 330 thousand tons of barley;
• It was the 6th largest world producer of cocoa (239 thousand tons);
• It was the 6th largest world producer of avocado (235 thousand tons);
• Produced 199 thousand tons of natural rubber;
• It was the 6th largest world producer of persimmon (156 thousand tons);
• It was the 9th largest world producer of cashew nuts (141 thousand tons);
• It produced 135 thousand tons of sunflower;
• It was the largest world producer of Brazil nuts (36 thousand tons);

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.^[11]

History

However, the air of the country is very healthful, fresh, and as temperate as that of Entre Douro e Minho, we have found the two climates alike at this season. There is great plenty, an infinitude of waters. The country is so well-favoured that if it were rightly cultivated it would yield everything, because of its waters.^[14]

— Pero Vaz de Caminha, Carta de Pêro Vaz de Caminha (Full text on Wikisource – in Portuguese)

Early farming

Brazilian Natives ("Indians") began farming some 12,000 years ago. They farmed cassava, peanuts, tobacco, sweet potatoes and maize, in addition to extracting the essence from other local plants such as the pequi and the babassu. Production was for food, straw or lumber. They cultivated local fruits such as jabuticaba, cashews, Spondias mombin and Goiabas.^{[citation needed]}

The Indians both influenced and were influenced by the Europeans who arrived in the fifteenth century. The Portuguese "nourished themselves with wood-flour, slaughtered the big game to eat, packed their nets and imitated the rough, free life", in the words of Pedro Calmon.^[15]

Until other crops began to be exported, brazilwood was the main reason Portugal wanted control in Brazil.^[16]

Fires

One practice of indigenous Brazilians was to clear land for cultivation by burning it. This provided arable land and ashes for use as fertilizer and soil cover.^{[citation needed]}

Scholars such as Monteiro Lobato considered this practice to be harmful. However, burning only became a problem when the Europeans adopted the practice aggressively around 1500, divided land into farms, began monocropping, etc. The combination of burning with these new farming methods decimated native flora.^[17]

International problems

Brazilian coffee production exceeded global demand at the beginning of the 20th century. This resulted in the Taubaté Agreement, where the State began acquiring surplus for destruction and planting seedlings was forbidden—with the goal of maintaining a minimum profitable price.^[18]

Rubber suffered from foreign competition. In 1870, English smugglers smuggled rubber tree seedlings out of Brazil and in 1895 began production in Asia. In the 1910s and 1920s this competition practically eliminated Brazilian production.^[18]

Agronomy schools

In 1887 during the Empire era, the first school dedicated to the training of agronomists opened in the city of Cruz das Almas. In 1883, in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, a second school opened.^[19]

The first school was officially recognized thirty-five years after its creation, with Decree 8.319/1910. The agronomist profession only came to be recognized in 1933. Seventy regular agronomy colleges operate in Brazil. The day the decree was publicized, 12 October, became the "Day of the Agronomist".^[19]

Professional registration is managed by Regional Engineering and Architecture Councils, integrated at the national level by CONFEA.^[20] Educational activity is supported by the Federation of Brazilian Agronomy Students.^{[citation needed]}

Diversification: 1960–1990

The Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA) was established during the military regime in 1973 with the objective of diversifying production. The body was responsible for the support of new crops, adapted to the country's diverse regions. The expansion of agricultural borders towards the Cerrado had begun, and of monocultural latifundia with production at a semi-industrial scale of soybeans, cotton and beans.^[18] Czech-Brazilian researcher Johanna Döbereiner helped lead Brazil's Green Revolution, winning her the UNESCO Science Prize for her work on nitrogen-fixing microorganisms.^[21]

In 1960, four main agricultural products were exported, growing by the early 1990s to nineteen. Brazil also moved "downstream" to expand post-harvest processing. In the 1960s, unprocessed goods made up 84% of total exports, falling to 20% by 1990.^[18]

Agricultural promotion policies included subsidized credits, bank debt write-offs and exports subsidies (in some cases, reaching 50% of the product value).^[18]

Mechanization: 1990s

Beginning with the 1994 creation of Plano Real for monetary stabilization, Brazilian agriculture went through a radical transformation: the State cut subsidies and the market began to finance agriculture, leading to the replacement of manpower with machines. Brazil's rural population fell from 20,700,000 in 1985 to 17,900,000 in 1995, followed by a decrease in import taxes on inputs and other measures that forced Brazilian producers to adapt to global practices. The raise of productivity, mechanization (with reduction of costs) and professionalization marked that period.^[18]

Irrigation

The first irrigation experiments in Brazil occurred in Rio Grande do Sul, for cultivating rice. The first record dates to 1881 with the construction of the Cadro dam which began in 1903.^{[clarification needed]} However, the practice broadened in the last thirty years of the 20th century between the years 1970 to 1980.^[22]

Private initiative developed irrigation in the South and Southeast regions.^{[citation needed]}

In the Northeast official bodies, such as DNOCS and CODEVASF, led the way beginning in the 1950s. In 1968, the Executive Group on Irrigation and Agrarian Development (GEIDA) was set up, and two years later it instituted the Multi-annual Program of Irrigation (PPI). The majority of resources were directed to the Northeast.^[22] These federal initiatives, however, did not achieve success. In 1985 a new guidance and in 1996 a new direction produced the New Model of Irrigation Project. The Project intended to broaden the use of irrigation in agriculture and drew on more than 1,500 national and foreign experts.^[22]

According to the World Bank, Brazil's irrigation potential is about 29,000,000 hectares (110,000 sq mi). In 1998, however, drought reduced capacity to only 2.98 million hectares.^[23]

At the end of the 20th century, the country primarily used surface irrigation (59%), followed by overhead (35%) and then targeted irrigation. The South represented the largest irrigated area (more than 1.1 million hectares), followed by the Southeast (800 thousand hectares) and Northeast (490 thousand hectares).^[23]

Currently, a regulatory milestone of irrigation is making its way through the National Congress of Brazil, through bill 6381/2005,^[22] which aims at replacing the Law 6662/1979, which regulates irrigation policy.^[24]

Water resources policy is regulated by Law 9433/1997, and managed by the National Council.^[22]

Infrastructure

Storage

Crop storage facilities require expansion in order to keep up with increasing production. Brazilian storage capacity in 2003 was 75% of grain production,^[25] well short of the ideal of 120%.^[26]

Farm-based crop storage (e.g., using silos) is not common in Brazil. Lack of storage forces produce to be commercialized quickly. According to Conab data, only 11% of warehouses are located on farms (by comparison Argentina has 40%, the European Union has 50% and Canada has 80%). Farmers rely on third party storage services.^{[citation needed]}

Lack of access to capital, exacerbated by financial instability from factors such as exchange rate volatility, prevents most producers from building significant storage.^[26]

Transport

Crop transport is a longstanding structural problem for Brazilian agriculture. Calmon noted that, since the Empire, "the disposal of the harvest is difficult" and indicated that "the old projects of iron roads or cartable paths, linking the coast to the central mountains are resisted by skeptical statesmen, quoting Thiers, who, in 1841, believed that railways were not convenient to France".^[27]

Crops are immediately trucked to market via highways, mostly in poor traffic conditions at high cost.^[28]

For the 2008–2009 harvest, for example, the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of Goiás denounced poor road conditions in the Center-West region, despite repeated requests for federal assistance over several years.^[29]

In 2006 the federal government issued a National Plan of Logistics and Transportation, meant to improve production flow.^[30] Lack of investment, however, continues to be the main obstacle to distribution logistics.^{[citation needed]}

Regulatory stocks and minimum price

A good example of the need of regulatory stocks is in the production of ethanol as a fuel from sugar cane. The elevated price variation during the harvest year, that varies for climatic and plant health reasons, justifies the formation of stocks.^[31] Stocks also aim to stabilize farmers' revenues, and avoid price fluctuations between harvests.^{[clarification needed]}

Until the 1980s, Brazil employed the Minimum Prices Policy. That policy had lost relevance by the 1990s, due to globalization.^[32]

The composition of stocks at the national level is the responsibility of the National Food Supply Company (Conab).^[33]

Family farming

Official definitions of a family farmer differ from country to country in Latin America. There are three general categories: subsistence farming, intermediate family farmers and consolidated farms.^[34] In Brazil, the Family Farming Law (Law 11,326) defines family farmers through four criteria related to land tenure, farm size, dependence on farm income, and the use of predominantly family labor.^[34] In Brazil, the large majority of family farms are in the northeastern, southern and southeast Brazil. Family farmers in Brazil produce 21,4% of food consumed domestically.^[35]

During the 1990s, the Lula administration implemented a set of policies that addressed food security on federal, state and municipal levels, the aim of which was to increase federal government support to family farmers. In 1999, the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA) was created to support family farmers and promote land reform and sustainable land development.^[36] A host of government policies and government-supported programs in the interest of family farmers then emerged, where the family farmer is recognized as a pillar of national development. Since then, the MDA along with other institutions were created with the family farmers and other traditional communities' interests in mind,^[37] where policies targeting family farmers were designed to introduce market incentives, promote adequate food distribution and provide technical assistance.^[38]

In general, family farms are establishments that employ mostly family members^[39] with up to five temporary workers.^[40] Family farms provide the majority of Brazilian staples, including 84% of manioc, 67% of beans and 49% of corn.^[39] Family farms also have a large role in the livestock and dairy industry, producing 58% of milk, 59% of pork, 50% of poultry and 31% of cattle.^[37]

According to the IBGE's 1995–96 Farming and Livestock Census, there were 4,339,859 family-run establishments in the country, the largest farm being 100 ha in area.^[40] In 2009, Brazil's Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA) reported that 84.4% of all rural properties are in fact family farms.^[37] In the 1990s family farms experienced productivity growth of 75%, compared to only 40% for larger-scale producers. The difference is largely due to the creation of PRONAF (National Program on Family Agriculture), which opened a special family farm credit line.^{[citation needed]}

Up to 2009 six Family Farming and Land Reform National Fairs were held, the first four in Brasília and the last two in Rio de Janeiro. They highlight the importance of family farming to Brazilian economy, accounting for 70% of the country's food consumption and 10% of Brazilian GDP.^[41]

Food security in Brazil

International monitoring organizations assert that a third of Brazil's population is food insecure.^[42] Despite increased food production since the industrialization, a large proportion of Brazilians, especially the urban and rural poor, have difficulty meeting their nutrition needs.^[43] Small farmer, landless worker and indigenous movements that had consolidated during or after the military dictatorship mobilized nationwide, pressuring the authorities to prioritize food and nutrition security rose in the 1980s, and were able to strongly shape the direction of developmental policy.^[44]

The notion of access to food and proper nutrition was first recorded official terminology in 1986 as segurança alimentar (food security).^[45] The right to food and nutrition was established on 25 August 2010, when Brazil adopted the Policy on Food Security and Nutrition (Decree 7.272).^[46] Food security refers to being able to meet dietary needs through an adequate, secure supply of nutritious food.^[42] The term rose into Brazilian popular consciousness in 1993 after campaigns by a national movement called Citizens' Action Against Hunger and Poverty and for Life. In that same period, Consea (National Food and Nutritional Security Council) was established. the 1st National Conference on Food Security was organized by a combination of policy and grassroots mobilizations. Consea ran from 1993 to 1994, with little success in shaping public policies, was halted until after the establishment of the Fome Zero Program.^[45] The 2010 Policy names Consea as an instrument in proposing programs that promote food security on a federal level.^[46]

PRONAF (National Program for the Strengthening of Family Farming)

Due to financial limitations, small farmers generally have difficulties securing the capital necessary to stay in rural areas and maintain production on a small scale. PRONAF was the first policy in 1994 to be created to meet the specific credit needs of family farmers. In order to stimulate agricultural production, the instrument provides incentives in the form of reduced-interest loans from national funds for rural development, targeting low-income farmers and agrarian reform farmers.^[47] Set against a backdrop of policies opening Brazil to Neoliberal economic forces and intense competition through Mercosul, PRONAF marked the institutionalization of a differentiated policy approach to family farming in Brazil.^[45] The economic and social importance of family farmers and their specific needs were recognized through PRONAF, at least on paper. The creation of PRONAF has been credited to favorable political circumstances, beginning with Brazil's re-democratization in the 1980s and a receptive Cardoso administration to the mobilizations of a number of agrarian civil groups.^[45] Loans written out to family farmers through PRONAF rose from US$1 billion in 2000 to an estimated US$5.8 billion in 2008.^[47] Other credit programs targeted at family farmers that came after PRONAF include PROGER and PROCERA.^[47]

Gathering

The country's colonization began with harvesting native plants where they grew. Cultivation followed much later. The exploitation of brazilwood, known to the natives as ibirapitanga, and which ended up naming the land was begun by the Portuguese.^[48]

Brazil operates forty-nine gathering reservations and sixty-five forests protected by federal law. The gathering of plant resources is encouraged as a means of interacting with, but not degrading, the environment.^[49]

Lack of government funding has destabilized this use of forest resources. The case of natural rubber is typical: in Acre about 4,000 families have apparently abandoned the activity, as revealed in early 2009. After undergoing acclimatization, rubber trees were grown successfully in São Paulo state, where more than 36,000 hectares were planted – while Acre accounts for little more than a thousand hectares.^[50]

Homma claims that gathering rubber is economically impracticable. For example, in native forests, rubber trees are found at a density of some 1.5 trees per ha, versus hundreds of trees per ha on rubber plantations. Cultivating degraded areas with native trees has been successful with trees such as cupuaçu and jaborandi.^[49]

According to IBGE, in 2003 the gathering sector's output was divided into timber (65%) and non-wood (35%), at a value of four hundred forty-nine million Reals, with the following main products: piassaba (27%), babassu (nut – 17%), açai (16%), yerba mate (14%), carnauba (8%) and Brazil nut (5%).^[51]

Soils

The program of mapping and classifying the country's soils began in 1953, with the Chart of Soils in Brazil. IBGE published the first map in 2003. Soil knowledge helped allow the expansion of agricultural production from 1975. The expansion of the Center-West required new technology because the region is mainly formed by oxisols, which favor mechanization from soil preparation to harvest, partly because they are nutrient-poor.^[52]

Soil classification, study and systematization are championed by Embrapa Soils, with participation from groups such as the RADAM Project, the Rural University (now UFRRJ) and other agronomists.^[53]

Agribusiness

In 2010 Brazil was the third largest exporter of agricultural products in the world, behind only the United States and the European Union.^[54][55]

During the last two decades of the 20th century, Brazil witnessed a doubling of yield per acre. This resulted from input improvements (seeds, fertilizers, machinery), public policies that encouraged exports, reduced tax burden (such as the 1996 reduction of the circulation tax), more favorable real exchange rate, which had allowed price stability (in 1999), increased Asian demand, productivity growth and reduced trade barriers.^[56]

Farming accounted for almost a third of GDP, once everything from agricultural inputs to food processing and distribution are included.^[56]

From 1990 to 2001, farming employment fell, although overall agribusiness employment jumped from 372 thousand to 1.82 million. The number of companies grew from 18 thousand in 1994 to almost 47 thousand in 2001.^[57]

Factors that limit further expansion range from pests evolving to target monocultures, infrastructure issues, etc.^[56]

Trade balance

The 2007 harvest enabled gross agriculture exports yielding 68.1 billion dollars, and net exports of 57.3 billion dollars.^[58]

In 2008 Brazil's biggest export market was the European Union, while China was the largest single importing country with a 13.2% share, followed by the Netherlands with 9.5% and the US at 8.7%.^[58]

Regions

Brazil's regions offer a wide diversity of climate. Agriculture reflects this diversity. In 1995, the North produced 4.2%, the Northeast – 13.6%, the Center-West – 10.4%, the Southeast – 41.8% and the South – 30.0%. The Center-West and North regions have recently expanded their share to the total.^[59]

South

The southern Brazilian states are Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná. Cooperatives are a common feature of agriculture there. Soy, corn, wheat, rice, tobacco, grape, apple, sugar cane, cassava and beans are the highlights of the region. It also has relevant productions of orange, oat, barley, peach, fig, onion, garlic, tangerine, persimmon and strawberry.^[60] The region is Brazil's largest tobacco producer and the world's largest exporter.^[61]

In 2020, the South produced 32% of the national total of cereals, vegetables and oilseeds. There were 77.2 million tons, second place in Brazil, losing only to the Midwest. Paraná (14.9%) and Rio Grande do Sul (14.3%) are the 2nd and 3rd largest producers in the country.^[62]

Rio Grande do Sul is the largest producer of rice in the country, with 70.5% of Brazil's production, close to 7.3 million tons in 2020. Santa Catarina was the second largest national producer, with around 1.1 million tons of the product.^[63][62]

Rio Grande do Sul is the largest producer of tobacco in Brazil, and is the largest exporter in the world. Brazil is the second largest producer in the world and leader in tobacco exports since the 1990s, with 98% of Brazilian production being carried out in the South Region.^[64][65]

The western region of Paraná is today the main pole for transforming grains into animal protein in the country.^[66]

In soy, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul are among the largest producers in the country, with about 16% of national production for each one, second only to Mato Grosso, which has 27% of production. Paraná produced 19.8 million tons in 2020, and Rio Grande do Sul produced 19.3 million tons. In 2019, Santa Catarina harvested 2.3 million tons.^[67][62]

Regarding sugarcane, Paraná was, in 2017, the fifth largest producer of cane, third of sugar and fifth of alcohol in the country. It harvested about 46 million tons of cane this year. The state's sugar and alcohol sector has 25 plants and employs around 55,000 people. The regions of Umuarama, Paranavaí, Maringá and Jacarezinho concentrate production. Brazil is the largest world producer, with 672.8 million tons harvested in 2018.^[68][69]

In cassava production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Paraná was the 2nd largest producer in the country, with 3.2 million tons. Rio Grande do Sul was 4th, with almost 1 million tons. Santa Catarina produced 351 thousand tons.^[70]

About orange, Paraná was the 3rd largest producer in Brazil in 2018, with a total of 834 thousand tons. Rio Grande do Sul was 5th, with 367 thousand tons. Santa Catarina had a small production.^[71]

The South Region is the largest producer of barley in Brazil. In the 1990s, the state of Rio Grande do Sul was the largest producer (66.8% of the country's total production), however, in the following decade Paraná started to occupy this position (49.8% of production). In the 2007-2011 period, 55.0% of the cultivation area was concentrated in Paraná (62.6% of production), 42.4% in Rio Grande do Sul (34.9% of production) and 2.6% in Santa Catarina (2.5% of production). The state of Paraná harvested 219.2 thousand tons in 2019, 60% of the national production. In addition to the cooler climate required by barley, the advantage of producers in Paraná is the proximity to the largest malting plant in Latin America, as the barley is grown on a commercial scale exclusively for use in the manufacture of malt, the main raw material of the beer industry. However, Brazil is far from being self-sufficient in the production of barley. The Brazilian market consumes, on average, 1.5 million tons per year. Brazil produces 335 thousand tons, close to 22%. Most, 73%, come from Argentina and Uruguay.^[72][73]

Rio Grande do Sul is also the largest national producer of wheat, another crop that requires cold climates, with 2.3 million tons in 2019. Paraná is the 2nd largest producer, with a production almost identical to Rio Grande do Sul. In 2019, the 2 states harvested together about 85% of Brazil's harvest, but even so, the country is one of the largest global importers of cereal, having imported about 7 million tons this year, to meet a consumption of 12 million tons. Most of the wheat that Brazil imports comes from Argentina.^[62][74][75]

The South Region is also the largest producer of oats in Brazil. In 2019, national production was close to 800 thousand tons, being almost all carried out in the South (Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul), with a small production in Mato Grosso do Sul.^[76][77]

In 2017, Paraná was the country's second largest producer of corn with 41.5 million tons; third, Rio Grande do Sul, with 35.3 million. In 2019, corn production in Santa Catarina reached 2.8 million tons.^{[78][79][80][81]}

Since 2006, Paraná has been leading the production of beans in Brazil. Brazil is the 3rd largest producer of beans in the world, with an annual harvest of around 3 million tons, 11% of world production. In 2018, the South Region was the main bean producer with 26.4% of the total, followed by the Midwest (25.4%), Southeast Region (25.1%), Northeast (20.6%) and North (2.5%). The State of Paraná leads the ranking of the main national producers with 18.9% of the total produced.^[82][83]

Rio Grande do Sul is responsible for 90% of the national production of grapes, and produces 90% of the wine produced in the country, 85% of the sparkling wine, and 90% of the grape juice, mainly in the area of Caxias do Sul and surroundings. Santa Catarina had an annual production of around 23 thousand tons of grape in 2019, with 86% of the state production located in the municipalities of Caçador, Pinheiro Preto, Tangará and Videira. Most of the national production, however, is located in Rio Grande do Sul (664.2 thousand tons in 2018).^[84][85][86]

The three Southern States of the country are responsible for 95% of the national production of apple, and Santa Catarina appears at the top of the production list, disputing with Rio Grande do Sul. The region of São Joaquim is responsible for 35% of the national apple plantation. Rio Grande do Sul harvests 45% of Brazilian apples, and is the largest exporter of apples in the country. The region in the vicinity of Vacaria is the highlight: it concentrates 88% of the state's production and 37% of the national production.^[87][88]

Rio Grande do Sul is the largest producer of peaches in Brazil, with half the volume harvested in Brazil in 2018. The rest of the Brazilian production takes place in Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.^[89]

Rio Grande do Sul is also the largest producer of fig in the country, according to data from 2018.^[90]

Santa Catarina is a national leader in the production of onions. In 2017, it produced 630 thousand tons, especially in the municipalities of Alfredo Wagner, Angelina and Rancho Queimado. It was also the third largest producer of garlic in Brazil in 2018, with a planted area of approximately two thousand hectares. The Curitibanos region is the largest producer in the state.^{[91][92][93][94]}

In coffee, Paraná is the producer state located further south in the country. It was once the largest producing state in Brazil: in 1962, Paraná accounted for 58% of national production, but in 2017, it had only 2.7% of the total produced in the country. The coffee culture has been replaced by other planting crops, and the state's focus today has been to invest in special, more expensive coffee beans.^[95][96]

In 2018, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná were the 3rd and 4th largest producers of tangerine in Brazil. Rio Grande do Sul is also responsible for 19% of Brazil's persimmon production, being the 2nd largest national producer.^[97][98]

In 2019, in Brazil, there was a total production area of around 4 thousand hectares of strawberry. Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná were the 3rd and 4th largest producers in the country, with an area of approximately 500 ha planted.^[99]

Southeast

The Southeast region includes Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. It's responsible for the largest share of Brazilian agriculture, but other regions are growing rapidly.^[59] It's a giant producer of coffee, sugar cane and orange, and also has large productions of soy, beans, peanut, sorghum, carrot, potato, banana, tangerine, lemon, papaya, persimmon, strawberry and cassava.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004 the Southeast produced 49.8% of the nation's fruit.^[100] The region hosts 60% of agribusiness software companies, according to a survey carried out by Embrapa Livestock and Farming Information Technology (located in Campinas/SP).^[101] Its agribusiness sector was second in the national ranking, in the period from 2000 to May 2008, representing 36% of 308 billion dollars of total exports. The biggest exports were sugar (17.27%), coffee (16.25%), paper and cellulose (14.89%), meats (11.71%) and horticultural and fruit (especially orange juice) with 10.27%.^[102]

In 2020, Minas Gerais was the largest producer of Coffea arabica in the country, with 74% of the national total (1.9 million tons, or 31.2 million 60 kg bags). Espírito Santo was the largest producer of Coffea canephora, with a 66.3% share of the total (564.5 thousand tons, or 9.4 million 60 kg bags). In 2017, Minas accounted for 54.3% of the total national coffee production (1st place), Espírito Santo accounted for 19.7% (second place) and São Paulo, 9.8% (third place).^[62][96]

The Southeast is responsible for most of the sugarcane production in the country. In 2020, São Paulo remained the largest national producer, with 341.8 million tons, responsible for 51.2% of production. Minas Gerais was the third largest sugarcane producer, accounting for 11.1% of the total produced in the country, with 74.3 million tons. The area around Campos dos Goytacazes, in Rio de Janeiro, has been suffering from the decay of this activity: in the beginning of the 20th century, Campos had 27 plants in operation, and throughout the century, it was one of the largest producers in Brazil, however, in 2020, only two sugar mills operated in the city. The state, which harvested about 10 million tons in the 1980s, harvested 1.8 million tons in the 2019–20. Espírito Santo harvested almost 3 million tons in the same year.^{[62][103][104][105]}

About orange, São Paulo is the main producer in the country and responsible for 77.5% of the national total. In 2020, production was estimated at 13.7 million tons, or 334.6 million boxes of 40.8 kg. Most of it is destined to the industrialization and export of juice.^[62] Minas Gerais was the 2nd bigger producer in 2018, with a total of 948 thousand tons.^[71]

The cultivation of soy, on the other hand, is increasing, however, it's not among the largest national producers of this grain. In the 2018–2019 harvest, Minas Gerais harvested 5 million tons (7th place in the country), and São Paulo, 3 million.^[67]

Minas Gerais is the 2nd largest producer of beans in Brazil, with 17.2% of national production in 2020. In addition, it's one of the largest national producers of sorghum: about 30% of the Brazilian cereal production. It's also in 3rd place in the national production of cotton.^[106][62]

The state of São Paulo concentrates more than 90% of the national production of peanuts, with Brazil exporting about 30% of the peanuts it produces.^[107]

São Paulo is also the largest national producer of banana, with Minas Gerais in 3rd place and Espírito Santo in 7th place. Brazil was already the 2nd largest producer of the fruit in the world, currently in 3rd place, losing only to India and Ecuador.^[108][109]

In cassava production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. São Paulo was the 3rd largest producer in the country, with 1.1 million tons. Minas Gerais was 12th, with almost 500 thousand tons. Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo had a small production.^[70]

In 2018, São Paulo and Minas Gerais were the largest producers of tangerine in Brazil. Espírito Santo was the largest producer of papaya. About persimmon, São Paulo is the largest producer in the country with 58%, Minas is in 3rd place with 8%, and Rio de Janeiro in 4th place with 6%.^{[110][111][98]}

In 2019, in Brazil, there was a total production area of around 4 thousand hectares of strawberry. The largest producer is Minas Gerais, with approximately 1,500 hectares, cultivated in most municipalities in the extreme south of the state, in the Serra da Mantiqueira region, with Pouso Alegre and Estiva being the largest producers. São Paulo was in 2nd place with 800 hectares, with production concentrated in the municipalities of Piedade, Campinas, Jundiaí, Atibaia and nearby municipalities.^[99]

The Southeast is the largest producer of lemon in the country, with 86% of the total obtained in 2018. Only the state of São Paulo produces 79% of the total.^[112] Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Agriculture_in_Brazil
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