Increase of Agribusiness in the Brazilian Amazon: Development or Inequality?

Abstract

The growing global demand for soybean production combined with its increased market value could result in a new supercycle for this commodity. For Brazilian agribusiness, there has been an opportunity to increase exports, particularly in soybean production, in recent years, and therefore, soybean production has been expanding more and more across the states of the Brazilian Amazon. Soybean is the most important grain crop among temporary crops in the Brazilian Amazon; in 2019, it reached a value of USD 21.78 billion, using a planted area of 124,947 km2 (about 55% of the planted area). At the same time, overall deforestation increased significantly in recent years: 10,897 km2 in 2019 and 9811 km² in 2020. To study these changes, economic, social, and environmental sustainability indicators were identified and analyzed using a regression model, and changes in the main economic and socio-environmental indicators were observed that identified a strong positive correlation between agricultural GHG emissions and soybean-planted area. The impact on the local population was also analyzed between the years 2000 and 2019, and there was a mismatch between the population growth rate and the growth rate of the harvested area, which resulted in the displacement of the populations to the cities, and identified a strong positive correlation between the unemployment rate for young people and the soybean-planted area. In this context, this paper presents an analysis of the correlation between soy expansion and the main economic indicators and socioenvironmental impacts in the Brazilian Amazon.

Early Sowing on Some Soybean Genotypes under Organic Farming Conditions

“…Epoxidized soybean oil is a raw material for biodegradable polymers [8], and it is notable that in human consumption, soybean peptides have positive effects on chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems [9]. Furthermore, soybean cultivation improves soil quality and local biodiversity [10,11], but on the global level, extending the soy crop by deforestation is causing environmental and social problems [12]. Thus, agronomists are being driven by the rising demand for soybean products in Europe to broaden cultivation restrictions and investigate new crop production conditions [13,14].…”