The 150 years of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply

Abstract

With the advantage of 150 years of hindsight, it can be affirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa) has been an important player in the history of the development of Brazilian agriculture. It was not the leading actor – farmers have always performed that role. For sure it was not the director, for countless times it asked: what am I doing here? Nor was it the narrator, because this is a story where the epic plot is written as the episodes enfold, sometimes as a drama, sometimes as a tragedy, and even as a comedy. What can be affirmed is that the ongoing episode would be more tragic if it were not for interventions made by the Ministry.