With the intention of increasing the harvest and encouraging farmers, the federal government accelerated the process to reduce bureaucracy and modernize the rules of the Ministry of Agriculture. The new perspective has been directed especially towards municipalities in the Northeast, which stand out in Brazilian agricultural production.
According to the latest research on Municipal Agricultural Production (PAM) – Temporary and permanent crops, released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the champion municipalities in individual agricultural production in Brazil and in fruit production are in the Northeast.
Among the measures adopted is Agro+, a plan launched in August aimed at reducing bureaucracy, modernizing and simplifying the rules and procedures of the Ministry of Agriculture. With Agro+, the government intends to increase the Brazilian agribusiness participation in world agricultural trade from 6.9% to 10%.
Agro+ emerged after the Ministry of Agriculture intensified conversations with local farmers to understand the flaws in the legislation and the changes that need to be made to increase production.
Production
In 2015, the leader in individual agricultural production was São Desidério, in Bahia, which grew by 23.3% and accounted for 1.1% of the value of national production, with R$ 2.8 billion. Cotton is the main item, responsible for 52.9% of the value produced. Next comes soybeans, with 39.6% – the municipality is the fourth largest producer of the grain in the country.
In fruit growing, the champion is Petrolina, in Pernambuco. With 2.8% of national production and a value of R$ 749.6 million, the value of production increased by 18% in 2015, and the municipality is 28th in the country's agricultural ranking. According to IBGE, a large part of the city's production is intended for export.
Despite having a favorable area for fruit planting, some states in the Northeast are facing a water crisis that compromises agriculture. The government, however, focuses its efforts on transposing the São Francisco River and on actions that guarantee the irrigation of planted areas.
“Now, with the transposition of the São Francisco River, businesspeople and production can move to areas where there are soil and climate conditions, taking advantage of the water from the São Francisco that is arriving”, says the Minister of Agriculture, Blairo Maggi.
