Trends in Agricultural Mechanization in Brazil

an Overview

byE. C. MantovaniSenior Researcher,EMBRAPA Corn and Sorghum Research center,Sele Lagoas, MG. .BRAZIL

I. A. NããsProfessor,Slate University of Campinas.Agricultural Engineering College.

. Campinas. SP.. j BRAZll

R. L. GomideSenior Researcher,EMBRAPA Corn and Sorghum Research center,Sete Lagoas, MG.BRAZIL

Introduction

Brazil has a territory of roughly8.5 Mkrrr', representing 20.8% ofthe American Continent as well as47.0% ofLatin America. Over 41%are flat lands, 58.5% are altiplans,and less than 0.5% are mountains.Brazilian climate is predominantlytropical, being partially equatorial,semi- arid and subtropical in someregions. The annual average tem-perature is 22°C and rain precipita-tion is 1,300 mm. The totalBrazilian population is about 165million inhabítants, with an averagepopulation density of 19 inhabit-ants per km2. Approximately 76%and 45 % of the country popuiationlive in urban and in the Southemregion, respectively.

The economic activities havegrown in the last 10 years. In 1980gross GNP representedUSS 173, 153 millions and increased3.5 times throughout the period,reaching 1998 with USS775,700millions, representing different sec-tors of the economy distributed asfollows: agriculture 6.84%, indus-tries 38.43%, and services 54.80%.This trend points out a small in-crease on lhe industrial businessand a largo dccrcase in lhe agricul-

tural activities (ALVES et al.,1999). Nowadays the Brazilianeconomy eontributes around 60%of the total South America grossdomestic product which representsaround USSl,316.6 millions (IP-EA,2000).

The size of the country as well asthe uneven distribution ofland withagricultural potential in some re-gions make the concentration oflarge fanns in frontier lands wherethere are problems regarding theagricultura! products storage anddistribution for different markets.This paper presents a prospectiveoverview of the agricultural mecha-nization in Brazil.

Today's Agricultural Pro-duction Profile

The Brazilian agricultural pro-duction is spread over available ara-ble land which is divided in 5 majorgeograpbical regions. The South-eastem region produces mainly cof-fee beans and sugarcane. Dairyproduction is also important, repre-senting around 50% of the total Bra-zilian production. The region'smain characteristic is the intensiveindustrial processing of the agricul-

GOM I DE, R. L.

2003

tural productian partly using laboremployment at farm leveI. TheNorthem region is located mostJyinthe Amazon rain forest. Agricultur-ai production ís rnainly subsistencelevei, even though there are changesin some áreas where beef caule basbeen introduced as well as soybean,com and bean crops. With dry andbot clímate, Northeast BraziI hasbeen develaping tropical fmitscrops in areas where irrigation isavailable such as melon, grape,pineapple and cashew. This area isknown for intensive agriculture. Insome sub-regions, irrigated comand saybean bave been grown with

~ success. \Vith large cultivated area,- the States ofPernambuco and Ala-

goas have a significant sugarcaneproduction,

Many regíons in Brazil are in theprocess of development and expan-sion of agricultural lands, but oneof the gn:at concems o( govem-ment is lhe agricultural use for tlte127 millioa ha of the arable landsin lhe so-caUed "cerrados "(savan-nas). These lands extend over partof Center-\Vest, Northem, North-eastem and Southeastem regions ofBrazil, wlúdt relate to one of thefewest avaiJable lands in the worldfor increasing food production. The

/'

\'OL.3~ i'\OA 2003 AGRICULTURAL ~IECIIA~IZATIOX IN ASIA.AFRICAANDLATIN AMERlCA 55

currcnt annual agricultural produc-tion of cerrados corrcsponds to25% of the Brazilian production,which can bc considercd very im-portant for thc cconomy.

The cost of equipment allied tothe unstable cconomy problems inthe country and the cut in agricultur-aI subsidies, ma de it very difficultfor farmers to invest in purchasingnew equipment. On the other hand,the process of elirnination of smallfarrning units due to the lack of eco-nomical powcr for purchasing newtechnology is proportional to the in-

!dustrial and urban expansion. Theurban employment is a factor ihatmay regulate this. However, thewhole process is not proper1y man-aged by govemmental policies lead-ing to high unemployment rates andthe consequent crisis and social con-flicts.

In other areas where crops likesugarcane dominates, the smallfarrn units are already gone or rent-ed. Without capital for investmentin updated machinery, it is nearlyimpossible for small farrners to re-main in business, and this has al-ready caused a major process inland ownership concentration. Incrops such as coffee, mechanizationhas not been yet the interfering fac-tor in the change in land distribu-tion. However, lhe harvestingtechnology for both coffee and sug-arcane production is in large expan-sion processo This means that alarge number of labor force em-ployed in the fields will soon be outof work, adding to the already largc

Crop Production by Geographic Region (109t)

377~

~12.5

•••••..,~ 24.1

rale of urban unemployment. In ad-dition, due 10 environmental en-forccment laws the buming ofsugarcane prior to harvest has beenrestricted and, the only option is re-placing the human labor force bymachine harvesters.

Agricultural machinery in Brazilis mainly owned by either the farm-ers or cooperatives so that the con-tractors do not have an importantrole in the agricultural business asin other countries.

InteractionsProductionEconomy

of Agricultura!and Brazilian

According to IBGE (1998) totalBrazilian production of grainsreached 82.5 milIion tons in 1999,increasing 9.83% compared to the1998 production. The Southeast,South and Center West regionswhich contributed 90% of the total.presented an increase of 7.18 %.while the rcgions North and North-east, reflecting 10% ofnationaI pro-duction, increased around 44%.Fig. 1 summarizes the total Brazil-ian grain production in 1999. byeach geographic region. Fig. 2shows the evolution on crop pro-duction through the late years.

The South and Southeast regionsrepresent over 50% ofthe crop pro-duction of the country. It is in thoseregions that agriculture is moremechanized. In the beginning ofthe90s in the whole country, there were6 million of rural enterprises of380

ái North a Nottheast o Ce~t~~West [J Southeast • sOlÁ;':

Fig. 1 Brazilian crop production in each geographicregion (IBGE, 1998).

million ha, where 60 million farmshave approximately 750,000 trac-tors or about 80 ha per each tractor(Alves et ai, 1999). Among the ruralbusiness in both South and South-east regions, there have been immi-grant entrepreneurs that carricd outan important segment of the smallscale agricultural business, Howev- I

er, the pressure today is more to-wards eliminating the smallagricultural business which liescompressed, at least in some transi-tion áreas, between the medem andoldfashion agricultural trends.

According to Mantovani et al,(2000), in 1990 Brazil exported3,744 milIion dollars 'of sugar,10,996 million dollars of raw coífeeand around 1.644 million dollars ofsoybeans. Even though fluctua-tions on the extemal market involv-ing lhe orange prices influences thenational production, this is lhe sec-tor that developed most in lhe pastyears. In 1990 the exports of orangejuice was of 6.180 million dollars.On the other hand, Brazil importedsome of the fertilizers used in agrí-cultural production. During lhe lastfive years lhe percentage of produc-tion versus consumption increased,representing a deficit of5.1% of'ni-trogen, 3.2% of phosphate and8.8% of potassium which was sup-plied by imports,

Over ali. the Brazilian labor forcein agriculture is very significant rep-resenting 60%, while animal trac-tion is 31% and mechanizedagriculture is only 14%. Southemand Southeastem of Brazil detains

Fig, 2 Brazilian crop production evoíution, 1980 to 1999 (adaptcd[com SBEA. 2000).

56 AGRICUL TURAL ;\IECIIANIZATIOS IS ASIA. AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA 1003 VOU.s NO ..s

around 28% 01' lhe rncchanizcdland. Tablc 1 shows lhe percentevolution of thc country land withagricultural potential, indicating lhegrowth in the agricultura! prcduc-tion indexes relating 10 the intensiveuse of rnechanization, proportionalto the labor force migration from ru-ral arcas bctween 1970 and 1995(Manitova el aI., 2000).

Several investrnents were made inorder 10 increase lhe use oftractors inBrazil. However, the lack ofreal ag-ricultura! governmental subsidiesmade it very difficult for the srnallfarmer to invest in infrastructure.The size ofthe country as well as theuneven distribution of land with ag-ricultura! potentia1 in some regionsmade the concentration of largefarms in frontier lands where there'are concentrated problemsof storageand distribution for the market.

The implement industry was alsoafTected by the same crisis thatmerged with the traetor market.Lately this industryhas been in-volved in a direction changethrough no-tillage planters produe-tion, and that is strongly pushingthe prices up mainly for industrythat has a good no-tillage planter tooffer the market. A well designedimplement has been associatedwith air seed meters and that hasbeen possible by joint ventureswith foreign companies that pro-vide sueh teehnology.

From 1970 to 1975, the meehani-zation leve! of Brazil, ha/wheeltraetors, improved 57%, and 35%from 1975 to 1980 (Tablc 2). Thedata also show a non-growth periodfrom 1980 to 1990, and a 17% de-erease up to now, with a meehani-zation leveI of 116 ha/wheeltractors, in 1998. Comparing thesenumber it ean be seen that eventhough improving the existing

problerns lhe counuy index are faraway from the developed coun-tries' results that have as Brazil,large production áreas,

Trends in Precision Farming

The conflict between lhe old andmodern techniques is evident insome farming aetivities. A smallfarmer with up to 50ba com and drybeans farming, just feasible in amechanized system,bardly survivesin an ceonomy that is in transition tothe '50 called developed world. Acrop like soybean isnot competitivewithout mechanizatien, at least forharvesting operatioa, Few projeetshave been tried to adjust Iow scalemechanization systcm for smallprodueers without success.

The timing for plowing in theBrazilian savanna area (cerrados)is short for the conventional sys-tem. In order to plant in this largearea within the rigbt schedule, theconventional system does not applyefficiently, Ieading to Iosses inquality and soil management. Thisdifliculty related toa lack of horse-power resulted in lhe preferentialuse of no-tillage teclmology by thefarmers during the short rain peri-od. In the last three years, morethan 3 million ba of lands wereadded to this no-tillage crop pro-duction system.

A proper infrastmcture construc-tion is needed in arder to use theexisting agricultural potential in thecerrados and attenel production de-mando The increase in couon pro-duction at Mato Grosso State(located within the ãmits of Longi-tude 50-58" \V and Latitude 15.5-

16° S) with the deveIopment of aresistant variety to insect infesta-tion is an example. In this region,several projects have been workedintroducing new technological al-tematives to the farmers for a goodqualitative and quantitative agricul-tural production response. It is alsoobserved that some farmers strug-gle to reduce the grain productionmanagement and processing costs,for competing in lhe global market

The country's dimension de-mands a critericasiy technologicalevaluation for each country regionas well as the distinct agriculturalproduction systcms adopting for aproper mechanization systern, inorder to attend the soils and culturalneeds in an economic way.

The Brazilian agricultural sys-tems have a great application po-tential in precision farmingtechnologies, mainly in lhe center-west region, where most of the 50combines with yield monitor arecurrently at WOrL An improvementhas been observed in the Iast 10years on agricultural project appli-cations involving the use of ma-chinery equipped with sensors,remote sensíng, image processing(surface, aircraft and satellite).More recently. the preeísion farm-ing technoIogy is alfowing the or-ganization and maintenance ofspatial and temporary crop produc-tion systems databases, which isimportant for the development oftechniques seeking the rational useof natural resources and agricultur-a! inputs, with consequent reduc-tion of agricultural productionsystems costs and environmentalimpaets, assuring a sustainable ex-ploration. This new tecbnology is

TabJe 2. Fann Mechanization levei in Brazil, 1960-1998Yí Cultl\'atc:d alta \VhccllraC:lOrs

CZ".W!OO ha) (units)Mcchanization Ievel

ha/whcel tractors

Tablc 1. Evolution of Land with AgriculturalPotentialin Use

1960 25.671.7 62.684-1970 -34.8H:I=~ 97,1601930 47.640.6 480,3401990J 47,666.4 515,815191J8 53.500.0 542.143

Year 1970 1980 1990 1995Land wilmtial (%) 197.84 220.95 240.80 245.20

Adapted frorn fAO. 1995.

4103599992

116

-~----- -~;-~

Ad.1ptcd írom Manitova et al; 2000.

VOL.34 1\OA 2003 AGRICULTURAL ;\IECIIANIZATION IN ASlA.AFRICAANDUTINAMERICA 57

bcing uscd as a tool to nurnnuzelosses and to rcducc the productionsystems vulnerability, The tradi-tional systems management with in-cfficicnt trcatrnent of variabilityfactors that afTect crop produetion(fertility, soil rnoisture, plant dis-ease control, ete.) uses the averageconcept for cxtensive áreas.

Preeision fanning can be an eco-nornical strategy and ecologieallymore effieient, as it treats speeifiesites, and Brazilian agriculture canbenefit from preeision fanning toproduee more food for the intemalmarket and to export with competi-tive prices compared to developedcountries. The agricultural techno-logical modification happening inthe world each time more competi-tive, especially in food production,demands an adoption of these newtechnologies.

In spite of the precision fanningbeing a new theme in Brazil,progresses have been obtainedmainly in the machines and irnple-ments development that allow spe-cifie site management. The mostadvaneed resources of the electron-ies and infonnation technology, asGPS and GIS, remote sensing, con-trol and data aequisition systems,sensors, among others, are being in-trodueed in the field. Thus, it willbe possible for the optimization ofagricultural inputs, based in preci-sion fanning, for an economical re-tum and environmental benefits.The variability quantification al-lows identifying the productive po-tential arcas, which can be worthlarger investment in inputs for max-imizing production. Regarding theareas with low production potential,produetivity improvement can orcannot be considered, depending oneconomical feasibility. The dataanalysis allows natural resourcesand agricultural inputs optimizationand variable rate inputs maps gen-eration that takes into account spa-tial and temporal ficld variability, ,

The Brazilian agriculture actualscencrycan lead to a decreasing

productivity, sincc techniciansworks with base in ficld consider-ations that can difTcr with the physi-cal, chemistry and biological realityof diffcrcnt soils. For instance, theapplícation of fertilizer Icvels basedon the whole areas uniformity infanning fields that presents a greatspatial variability (average treat-rnent), can lead to unbalance thoseplots that are already fertile and notto benefit others presenting nutrientlacking. This kind of decision cancompromise possible strategies ofsoil management addressed to lhehigh productivity indexes, A meth-odological approach capable towork these differences in an auto-rnated way to allow adjustment inthe fertilizer levels recommenda-tions still needs to be investigated.In addition, the characterization andmodeling of the crop productionsystems spatiaI variability and theevaluation of lhe technical feasibili-ty of the agricultural inputs locatedapplication concepts can promotethe associated use of more ad-vanced technologies. The acquir-ing, organizing and use of databasefor management support decisionswill allow for global diagnoses, in-volving alI the decisive factors inthe productive chain,

Trends in Irrigated Agricul-ture

Irrigated agriculture in Brazil isan important aspect, being responsi-ble for 1.4 and 2.8 million direct andindirect jobs, respectively. The po-tential for irrigated agriculture is es-timated in 49 million ha, ofwhich 33million ha are low flat lands (floodirrigation schcmes) and 16 millionha are upper lands (Christofidis,1999). According to the NationalPlan for Irrigation and Drainage, bythe end of 2000, an expansion ofabout 500,000 ha is expected. In thelast 50 years (1950 to 2000) the irri-gated area has expanded from60,000 ha to 2.87 miJIion ha, of

which about 0.96 million ha (33 %)are the low flat lands in the South,mostly used for flood irrigation.Presently, lhe total irrigated arcarcpresents about 6 % ofthe total na-tional area planted, most of il is pri-vate, with only 4.2 % of publicirrigation districts, comprisingabout 120,000 ha, Santos (1998)points out that the irrigated arca inBrazil is contributes to 16 % of thetotal agricultural production and for35 % ofthis production value, repre-senting one of the most cost-effec-tive ways to generate employment.

Brazil has a great potential toyield írrigated grain crops, such assoybean, com and bean, in terms ofquantity and quality. The country'sNortheast region has developedtropical fruits crops, since the dryand hot dimate is favorable, maínIyin areas where irrigation is avail-able, Fruits such as melon, grape,pineapple and cashew are economi-calIy important in this region, Also,irrigated com and soybean has beengrown with success.

Mechariization of ditTercnt irriga-tíon schemes occurred io BrazilmaioIy due to increase of fann laborcosts, together with the shortage oflabor for different farm practicesand operations. This labor scarcity00 irrigated fanns has acceleratedlhe trend toward mechanized irriga-tion systems, such as traveling gunsprinklers, side-roll sprinklers, cen-ter-pivot sprinklers, and someofthelocalized schemes (trickle or dripand micro-sprinkler systems). Thesurface irrigation schemc is lhe mostused in Brazil, with about 1.7 mil-lion ha (59 %) which is concentratedat the North and South regions, Onthe other hand, in other regions the ~sprinkler scheme predominates inapproximately 1,005 million ha (35%). The lowest area is used with lhelocalized irrigation schemes withabout 176,000 ha(6 %), which is ex-panding, mainly at lhe Northeastand Southcast regions (Christofidis,op.eit.).

58 AGRICUL TURAL MECII,\NIZA TIO~ IN ASIA. AFRICA ANllL\ TIN A:\tERICA 2003 VOU", NO.4

Conclusions privare enterprise, which providesequipment aod modern technology

Thc levei ofrcscarch and technol- for farrners, and lhe agronomic sec-ogy development for diffcrent re- tors which generatc proper technol-gions in ordcr to reach the national ogy for exteasien.dcrnand for a convenient degree of Precision farming can be ao effí-mechanize agriculture was rnet cient tool for Brazilian agriculturethrough in thc late years. There is an and can help farmers manage spa-installcd chain oftrained profession- tia! variabiliay, as well as to supportals able to respond to an ernerging food production for lhe internaldernand for agricultural products in market and to export with competi-both research and educational sys- tive prices compared to developedtems. Apparently, despite all these countries.the problems and limitations Brazil Brazilian irrigated agriculturehas developed an infrastructure ca- has great potential in terms of food

, .pable of supporting the agricultural __ p-roduction and employmem gener-expansion to supply the interna! and ation. Most mcchanization of dif-export market demando ferent irrigation schemes occurred

The trends lead to the develop- due to increase of farm labor costs,ment of the new agricultural fron- together with lhe shortage of labortier; in the Cerrados area, in terms of for difTercnt fann praetices and op-expansion of !and with agricultura! erations.potential, and the use of precisionfarming in large cultivated land inorder to reduce production costs. REFERENCES

Brazilian agricultural expansionpotential is large and mechanization 2000. http://\\'\Vw.ipea.l!:ov.br/plays an important role for support- FAO. 1995.Quaterly Bulletin of'Sta-ing the production systems. There is tistic, v. 7, D. La need to decrease the gap between mr.E. 1996. Contagem da popu-

laçãe, sistema de recuperação deinformações municipais (CD).Rio de Janeiro. RJ. Brazil.

SBEA. Brazilian Society of Agri-cultural Engineering. 2000.SBEANcws #8. Editorial. Jaboti-cabal. SP. Brazil.

Alves, E., topes, M., Conéni, E.1999. Colll()l está pobre nossaagricultura.

IBGE. Brazilian Institute of'Geogra-phy and Statistics. 1998.FAO(ONU). (site IBGE)

Mantovani, E.C., Nã ã S, .D\..am1t . ~.

Hermmann, P. R. 2000 The fulUre. oL_rnechanization: trends and

requirements for the Latm-Amer-ican countríes: Brazil case. Paperpresented al lhe First Latin Amer-ican Meetíng of the Club ofBolo-gna.

Christofidis, D. 1999. Recursoshídricos e irrigação no Brasil.Centro de Desenvolvimento Sus-tentável. UNB, Brasília, 34 p.

Santos, J.R.M. 1998. Irrigar é preei-

so.Agroanal}'sis, RJ, vol. 18 (3):29-34. ••

\'OL.J.1 ;'\0..1 2003 AGItICULTURAL i\IECIIA;,\IZATIO:'iIN ASIA,,\FRICA ANDLATIN .\MERICA. 59