Brazil Agriculture Sustainability Institutional Barriers Global Development
Description
Brazil’s agricultural system, though a beacon for sustainable agriculture, has been working with practices that don’t provide equal access to development resources for all. These institutional barriers have impacted the producers socially and economically. Previous research sheds light on how productivity takes a toll due to such barriers and focuses more on the practices of deforestation in the Amazon region. However, this paper studies the same barriers to analyze differences in access for producers and their impacts on them through indicators like ‘Total Factor Productivity’ and ‘Net Farm Income’. It was found that there is a stark inequality in terms of productivity among different land sizes; the governmental policies are divided, and the lack of financing opportunities enhances this disparity. These findings are essential to reforming current policies towards agriculture and helping to alleviate the disparities among producers.
Lessons Learned
Scattered levels of agricultural productivity
Although Brazil fares very well in total agricultural productivity, these levels are scattered across different regions in Brazil, with small and large farms doing much better than middle-sized farms.
Lack of cohesive governmental policies
Even though Brazil has been performing at a commendable level in agricultural productivity, its ineffective utilization of labor is not just unsustainable but is a catalyst for increasing inequalities within the farming sector. It was found that the two major agricultural agencies in Brazil—the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agrarian Development—have starkly different areas of interest. While the former focuses on elite farmholders, the latter makes policies for small-sized farms, which leaves out mid-sized farms.
Unequal access to technology
Unequal access to technology has also been noted to exacerbate the divide among producers. The enduring social disparities in Brazil imply that technological openness is meaningless as long as financial expenditures are required to obtain technology
A shortage of financing opportunities
Brazil’s producers have restricted access to credit options, with higher credit costs and the high rate of debt among crop and livestock producers making household debt a bigger predicament for producers.
Case Study Evaluation using Project Evaluation Tool
Developing Performance (an score of 2.7, which falls under the “developing” category)
Well-Being
Score: 3/5
Current policies in Brazil’s agricultural system have room to improve the well-being of all the participants involved, instead of focusing on a portion of the farmers.
Equality
Score: 3/5
Despite improvements in resource access for small producers, mid-sized farmers still face challenges in benefiting from these improvements.
Sustainability
Score: 2/5
Brazil’s unsustainable agricultural system is largely due to its ineffective use of land and capital, despite its significant potential for improved land resource utilization.
Agency and Empowerment
Score: 3/5
The study revealed incoherence among government organizations, leading to negligence, suggesting the need for collaboration between institutions to create more holistic policies.
