Farming and land use changes in Cerrado biome: the case of East Maranhão – Brazil (1985/2018)

Abstract

O artigo analisou as mudanças no uso do solo na Região de Caxias, Leste do Maranhão, Nordeste do Brasil, entre os anos de 1985 e 2018. Essa delimitação encontra-se no MATOPIBA (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí e Bahia), parte do Cerrado. Para tanto, utilizou o mosaico de imagens do Mapbioma para detectar a localização das florestas e campos agrícolas e dos dados agropecuários fornecidos pelo IBGE. Além disso, empregou-se as informações obtidas por meio de entrevistas e questionários aplicados aos produtores de soja da região e stakeholders dessa cadeia como forma de obter informações empíricas adicionais. Enumerou-se as seguintes categorias para analisar as motivações que acarretaram as mudanças do uso do solo na região: (1) melhorias na infraestrutura, (2) disponibilidade de solos para a agricultura, (3) entrada de companhias globais do agronegócio no Brasil, e (4) quantidade significativa de pequenos produtores rurais. Apesar do aumento da sojicultura no Leste do Maranhão, impulsionada pelos investimentos em infraestrutura e TI, a pastagem, usado para a alimentação do gado, foi o principal responsável pelas mudanças no uso do solo na região. Dentre as principais dificuldade enfrentadas pelos sojicultores, a demora em obter licenças ambientais e a de adquirir tecnologia para a produção agrícola em larga escala são os principais obstáculos. Dessa forma, o grande desafio do Leste do Maranhão é garantir a proteção dos seus recursos naturais sem comprometer a agricultura familiar, a pecuária bovina e a produção de soja.AbstractThis paper analyzed the reasons for land use changes in Caxias, East Maranhão, in the Northeast region of Brazil, between 1985 and 2018. The analyzed region is located in MATOPIBA, which includes the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia, part of the Cerrado and also known as the last agricultural frontier. Remote sensing using MapBioma to detect the location of forest lands and farming fields was applied combined with IBGE database about the agricultural production. Additionally, the application of questionnaires and interviews with regional soybean farmers and stakeholders was used to obtain additional empirical information. The following four categories probably responsible for those land use changes were analyzed: (1) infrastructure/investments in facilities, (2) environment/availability of natural cover for agriculture, (3) economy/entrance of global agribusiness companies; and (4) demography/number of smallholder´s properties. Even though soy production has increased significantly in Maranhão, due to large investments in infrastructure and IT, the main responsible for deforestation and changes in land cover in the Caxias region has been pasture and cattle breeding. Tight environmental procedures and strong difficulties to acquire large areas of suitable land for high-tech commodity production have been the main obstacles for more significant advances of soybean production in Caxias. Thus, protection of forests, multitask agricultural activities, sustainable cattle breeding and soy production as part of a global supply chain should be harmonized in order to guarantee well-balanced co-existing and development.

Climate changes and land use in farming regions: evidence from Buritirana district (Jalapão gateway), Tocantins state, Brazil: 2004-2018

“…Thiago José Arruda de Oliveira, Stefan Hubertus Dorner than to soybean fields expansion (10%). These results match other studies about modern agriculture, as high-tech farmers usually expand their business based on available technology (improved seeds, machinery, and chemical inputs) and funding, instead of climate factors (OLIVEIRA et al, 2020). However, the linear regression results are statistically insignificant in the annual precipitation (mm) parameter.…”

“…Although, land use at Buritirana district became more intense due to soybean expansion. Even as precipitation have decreased since 2004, to monoculture farmers, at least on the short-term, such evolution seems no real obstacle for their activity, as other factors such as access to technology and funding are more decisive (OLIVEIRA et al, 2020). In contrast, small farmers of the agricultural settlements, usually cattle breeders, have been extremely dependent on stable weather conditions.…”

“…In spite of the negative impacts, expansion of Brazilian agricultural has increasingly supplied food, especially to China, speeding up world economy and growth of global population (PIENIZ, 2016). For the next years, the core challenge in Brazil will be to develop a harmonious coexistence of natural forests, traditional communities with high-tech and export-oriented monocultures (OLIVEIRA et al, 2020).…”

At the limits of sustainability: Exploring extended producer responsibility in the management of agrochemical packaging

“…The exploratory and descriptive analysis is based on secondary data provided by relevant bodies, with the intent to ascertain farmers' responsibilities within the Campo Limpo System. Initially, it was observed that the Brazilian crop production structure is heterogeneous, even though the expansion of soybean cultivation in the last three decades brought an apparent spatial homogeneity to the Brazilian agricultural landscape (OLIVEIRA; RODRIGUES, , 2020RODRIGUES, , and 2021. To illustrate this issue, data from the 2017 Agricultural Census carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) is used.…”

“…Although tobacco, citrus, cotton, and tomatoes are the main crops on which agrochemicals are employed (PIGNATI et al, 2017), soy has a greater share in the Campo Limpo System than other crops. That is because soy is widely diffused and it is strongly linked to large farmers, making it a key pillar of globalized agribusiness (OLIVEIRA; RODRIGUES, 2020RODRIGUES, , 2019.…”