Area under soya plantations increases ninefold in Brazil

A MapBiomas study shows that the area under soybean cultivation in Brazil has increased from 4.4 million hectares in 1985 to nearly 40 million hectares in 2023. This nine-fold increase represents 14 per cent of the country's agricultural land.

In the first 23 years of the analysis, from 1985 to 2008, the cultivated area reached 18 million hectares, of which 5.7 million (30 per cent) resulted from the clearing of native vegetation and 5 million (26 per cent) were converted from pasture to soya crops. This is reported by Brasil 247, a partner of TV BRICS.

Between 2009 and 2023, soybean area will continue to grow, increasing by a further 17 million hectares. Of this, 6.1 million (36 per cent) will be converted to pasture and 2.8 million (15 per cent) will be converted from areas previously covered by native vegetation.

The study also noted a significant increase in temporary crops, including soya, sugarcane, rice and cotton, which grew from 18 million to 60 million hectares over 38 years. 

The report also showed that pasture covers about 164 million hectares, which corresponds to 60 per cent of Brazil's agricultural area and represents an increase of 79 per cent since 1985.